So today, instead of partaking in the Bard-Smolny scavenger hunt (I hate being told to look for things, and it's very cold), I decided to go see Дворец Меньшевиков (Menshikov Palace).
So, to start things off, a little history! It was the built in 1710, making it the first stone palace in Saint-Petersburg. It was built for Governor-General Александр Меньшевиков, and opened in 1711, but construction didn't end until Menshikov's exile in 1727.
The palace sits on Васильевский Остров (Vassilievsky Island), next to СПБГУ (Saint-Petersburg State University). It is quite a fancy place, and it itself is actually an extension of Hermitage, so luckily for me, that means my entrance was completely, wait for it, free.
I am usually awestruck by all the palaces I go to, because in the USA we don't have anything close to it unless you go to Northeastern USA, because those Yankees really like to live luxuriously. Plus, I have no business in the northeast other than to study.
(Au Pont Rouge на Гороховой Улице)
(A selfie on my favorite bridge, as per usual)
(A statue of someone I don't know)
(Saint Petersburg State University)
СПБГУ
A statue of a book
A statue of a book with a view
I'm trying to read!
I don't get it.
We made it to the palace
Let's jump into my oven collection!
Peter the Great as Mars
I say who these are in the video.
But, back to the Palace. It has a smaller art collection, mainly a few things left over during Menshikov's time there, and several pieces from before the restoration. My favorite thing is actually the picture of Peter the Great being depicted as the Roman God Mars (pictured above).
After this good 2 hour walk through the palace, I decided to head down Nevsky and walk around slightly. I went into the Zenit Saint-Petersburg Store, and everything was expensive, which was not unexpected. Afterwards, even though the video states I went to buy a ticket, I didn't, because I don't know my schedule for my next year, and I really don't want to buy a ticket for something I don't know if I'll be able to attend. Pictured are also pictures of the Казанский Собор and other small places on Nevsky.
Soon after that, I walked to a place called Cafe Georgia, where I got myself Зелёный Чай (Green tea), Хачипури (Hachipuri) and Люла. (Lula) I have no idea how to translate the last two dishes, but they were all so good. Hachipuri is a long bread with cheese and an egg in the middle. So filling and oh so delicious, and Lula is essentially a long meatball. I walked out of there unable to walk due to how full I was. I suppose dinner is not an option tonight.
And soon after that, I decided to head home and finish up my reading for class, and work on several other things. My host mom had a friend over, and we ended up talking about several different things, ranging from movies and books, including my continued rant on War and Peace. My host mom's friend explained to me why Tolstoy did this things without spoiling the book for me, which was just absolutely fantastic.
All in all, a great weekend.
September 17th, 2016
So today, I decided to stay at home and read. It was quite nice being able to finally finish reading the second volume of War and Peace bye Лев Толстой (I so hate writing Russian names in latin letters). Only 2 more volumes to go! Also, the end of the second volume made me rant to several friends about what had occured. At least I know I'm emotionally invested. Why can't this be Game of Thrones where I know I can't do that?
But after finishing the second volume and drinking an absurd amount of tea, I decided to head out and actually do things! So I went to Невский Проспект and to Дом Книги, and bought Сказки Пушкина (Pushkin's Fairytales) and Братьев Карамазовы in both English and Russian, this is mainly because fairy tales are easy to understand, and Dostoevsky is..... Let's just say while the Russians love him, he's more akin to our reading of Shakespeare.
If anything, I have become massive amounts of tea, and coffee is getting out of my system. I am quite enjoying the tea, because I add massive amounts of honey to it... and I am still sick, but I still need something to wake me up. Where are my packages of Death Wish coffee people? Tell me if you need my address! I really need more coffee! And Peanut Butter! I can't live without Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter!
But after that, I knew what I had to do. I had bought tickets about 3 weeks ago to see something I've never actually seen before, a musical. And in my opinion, this was the best musical to have as my first one, do to my infatuation with the book, The Master and Margarita.
Of course, it was in Russian, but having a prior understanding of the context in the novel helped my understanding of what was occuring. My only trifle with the musical was the physical representation of Woland, who is also known as the Devil. I do not envision him with having long, silver hair. If anything, I wanted to see him as a clean cut older man, and as a smooth talker. Essentially, my version of Woland is comparable to Frank Sinatra (who wouldn't want a man like Frank Sinatra as a hero?)
But of course, I'm not in charge of the visual design of the character, and I was still able to enjoy the show, especially with the massive amount of crowd interaction that they made. My favorite part, (For those of you who haven't read the Master and Margarita, go become cultured. You will love this book) was the magic show. In my opinion, the one thing they had to do, they did correctly. This was dropping causing money to apparate and fall onto the crowd. It was spectacular and I couldn't help but grin the whole time during the show. I was so enraptured with the music (none of which I understood) and the actors, that I couldn't help but keep my joy from showing.
If anything, I will rate this musical an 8.5/10. It loses 1.5 points due to the physical portrayal of Woland seemed out of place, Behemoth didn't have his little oven at all times, and not enough Master (there's little of him in the novel, but still enough). Margarita was just spectacular, and of course, so was Helga, Behemoth, and Korolyev. Maybe my standards were a bit too high for this show after all.
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