Adventures: Novgorod the Great (who is not, apparently, a person)

This weekend we went south to Novgorod for an overnight trip. There were, of course, some adventures.

First, I got to walk to Kazansky Sobor at 7:45am. This might not sound glorious to you, after all it is horrifically early, but the trek from my home stay to Kazansky is amazing. I follow the Griboyedova Canal towards the colorful Church on Spilled Blood, passing old Baroque-style buildings and the famous golden lion bridge. At 7:45am on a Saturday very few people are out, the temperature is nice and cool, and the sky is still pink from the sunrise. It might be totally silly to admit, but I think wearing only my backpack for the trip; knowing exactly where I was going; listening to Coldplay; and getting to approach such a fantastically old and bizarre cathedral made that walk the moment I most remember feeling really excited and happy to be studying here.

So the bus we took was a double-decked German-made bus. We sat on the second level, which was fun because the top of the bus was in a constant state of motion (swaying) which worsened whenever the driver changed lanes. Also Russian roads are notoriously awful, and someone put on a loud Russian musical film right after we pulled out of the cathedral, so sleeping was out of the question. More interestingly, our bus got pulled over by two MILITSYA (those scary-as-crap police officers) carrying AK-47s. We saw them walk over but then we couldn't see them anymore, and we started talking about whether or not they were seriously going to check all of our spravkas.... when suddenly one of the guys POPPED UP from the stairwell, baring his weapon, scaring the pee out of everyone... it got completely silent as he looked at us in silence and we looked back at him with really wide eyes. - Awkward ten seconds or so ensued - Then he was gone and we were moving again. Jarlath told us they were just stopping cars to look for a fugitive.
 
Ok so we finally got to Novgorod, and much to my surprise it was pretty large and modern but at the same time underpopulated and slow, like a small town; however it was not a city of picturesque little wooden houses or people in traditional dress walking around trading livestock (yea I know). Heather and I had our first taste of borscht (see documentation below) and it was delicious! I still am unsure what beets taste like and don't want to think about it too much.

We had a bus tour around Novgorod that involved a lot of getting out in the rain and walking around. There are so many churches; we probably saw 8 churches in two hours. There were at least 5 churches in one square mile near the fortress. I like churches, I really do. Especially beautiful Russian churches with onion domes and interesting histories (which are all muddled in my head now). But it is hard to distinguish in my mind or in my pictures between most of the small churches we saw. There was one church with a worn dirt path around it - women run around it three times to guarantee a happy family life and good marriages. Naturally Heather and I did three laps, just to be on the safe side. I, for one, am very excited about my future happy family life.

We went inside the fortress, which was cool. My FAVORITE PART, however, was without a doubt the Cathedral of Saint Sophia. That cathedral is my favorite place in Russia so far. Orthodox churches are incredible. They are much darker and more vertical than other churches, with lots of candlelight reflecting off colorful and gilded icons lining every wall and outwardly spiritual attendees bowing and kissing icons in a trance. There are huge ornamental chandeliers and murals on the ceiling, even.  After our tour guide moved on, a few of us stayed behind admiring, and after some time choir voices filled the church from somewhere hidden... it sounded like voices were coming from the ceiling... and a service started! There are no pews in Orthodox churches; everyone is free to walk about or stand. The priest was a wonderful singer, and they kept coming from the other side of the "gates of paradise" to complete the ritual and bless everyone in the church. It was so neat!
The next day we went to a monastery and a forest filled with replications of Novgorodian wooden houses and churches dating back to 1530. The bus ride home seemed to take forever, but it was neat to see rural parts of Russia. So much land. We're back in Petersburg, and it is high time for me to hit the hay. Sorry it was such a long blog, but I had a great time exploring a new part of Russia this weekend with some great people!
More to follow...
Пока! -Эmily