my russia in snapshots

if you ever have the opportunity to travel to russia, go. looking through my photos today, i still feel awed by the history, the beauty, the complexity of this country and its people. i'll certainly write more later, but here's a preview in pictures ...

while the students were in committee, i climbed to the top of the bell tower of smolny cathedral (left). i had intentions of taking wonderfully artsy photographs, but the wind is so strong there at the top, that my fingers froze on the buttons and i simply snapped as quickly as i could before rushing down the shaky iron staircase.

it's unreal, really, how beautiful it was up there.

before leaving for moscow on thursday afternoon, we visited the czars' summer palace. one of the rooms (here at right) is available to be rented out, though one can only guess at the price. elton john played for royalty in this room laced with pure gold once upon a time, so i imagine it's not readily accessible to your average joe eager to host his own bar mitzvah and show-up his friends. the room is amazing.

fortunately, after WWII when the nazis had come through and pilfered much of the gold, the russians were able to return the excessive and dramatic decorations to the original summer palace appearance. the palace is extraordinary in its showiness and is complete with a room whose walls are decorated entirely with amber. jaw-dropping, indeed.

st. petersburg i'd compare a lot to beijing, the same way i'd compare moscow to shanghai. st. petersburg feels older, more laid back, more focused on academics and history. moscow feels busy, feels constantly changing. but then you visit the kremlin, and there in red square, you see before you the incredible st. basil's cathedral (below left) commissioned by ivan the terrible and built between 1555 and 1561, and you must pinch yourself to believe you are actually seeing this thing, live and in person. legend has it that on completion of the church, the tsar ordered the architect to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again.

i stood outside that evening, looking at st. basil's against the backdrop of one of the most gorgeous skies i have ever seen. everything looked created by crayola, like i was flipping pages of a storybook and not standing only feet away from this enormous and breathtaking cathedral in the middle of one of the most historic landmarks in the world.

i expected so little from russia. what a fool i am. i cannot wait to go back.