Cathedrals!

                Today was amazing, and I feel like I got so much done! I started with a nice survey of Dostoevsky in class, which admittedly could have been more fun if we had read the whole book and had more time (as in, if we spent the entire month here on Crime and Punishment. That’d be fine, right?). Still though, really wonderful intellectual and psychological start to the day.

                This was followed by a business lunch at Кофе Хаус (coffee house transliterated into Russian – it’s the Russian Starbucks, practically three on every block). They have beautiful salads (I believe vegetables are somewhat less lacking in Petersburg than they are in Moscow). Anyway, the only point of mentioning any of this is to demonstrate how ridiculously unwilling Russians are to make change. My friend had to break a 1000 ruble note (about $35), so she paid the entire bill of 300 rubles with it, hoping that the amount was large enough that they wouldn’t mind it too much. The waitress argued strenuously with us (read: me. Only I knew some Russian), pointing several times at the amount that was clearly below 1000. I apologetically explained that that was the smallest bill we had, and she gave it to us with a huff. I felt bad, and we left her a good tip for it, but this still confuses me. What is so hard about pulling out a few more bills? My only explanation is that only small amounts of change are kept in the actual counter as a protective measure against theft, and thus it’s a very large hassle to get more than trifling change for a customer. But then again, this is Russia – no logic is required.

                After lunch, all of the girls went to the Peter and Paul Fortress. This was a terrible, terrible disappointment. The area with the last Romanovs was roped off, so I couldn’t really get to it and had to very hurriedly take pictures after I shoved through the crowd to see the tombs. Also, the prison cells which held Dostoevsky and the Decembrists weren’t open to touring. Best perk out of the place: free student tickets, and learning that Gorky and Trotsky were in the same cell. The only way this could be better is if they were both imprisoned in that cell at the same time (otherwise known as, best bromance ever). We then walked to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, where we first went up to the Colonnade and got to view the entire city. It was gorgeous. I could see the admiralty, the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood, the Winter Palace, and so much more. I could very much imagine Peter’s vision at that point. It was a city on the water, all his creation. And all so beautiful. It’s something to take pride and pleasure in, if nothing else. Only terrible when one remembers it was built on the graves of thousands of laborers… as so much was (it still kind of scars to me think of taking the Moscow metro).

                And finally, because I was already dressed for churches and in the area, I went to the Kazan Cathedral to venerate the Kazan Mother of God. The line to see her was much shorter than I expected, though still quite sizeable. I got in right before they cut it off for Vigil, too. I spent a lot of time in line meditating on her… she was very sorrowful, and poignant. But also quite powerful. She did not feel like a woman I would want to mess with, but rather a queen who knows exactly what she wants, and will get her servants to work for her. A stern, but loving Mother. Almost immediately after I venerated her, a Vigil began (why they were cutting it off, I suppose)… so I decided to hang around. Very nice voices on the clergy, all around. I particularly loved the deacon – he had some serious lungs on him. Fun fact: also discovered that this is the current seat of the bishop in Petersburg. Thinking about going back for liturgy tomorrow, since there’s no class. It’s a ten minute walk from my hotel, and I’d get to spend more time with the Lady of Kazan. Sounds like a winning situation to me…