Russian New Year's

Before I post my Nigeria impressions, here are a few more tidbits about my time at home. Beside the fact that it was REALLY cold (around -5F for a few days before I left), I had a great time, and the reason for it is that I really love celebrating New Year's in Russia. It is the biggest holiday there, and there are certain common tradition in addition to family-specific ones. My family usually cooks and cleans during the day, then takes it easy in the late afternoon, and then sits down to eat around 10, watching various holiday programs on TV. The celebration culminates at 11:55 when everyone watches the President's Speech, and the Kremlin clock chimes midnight--at this point, you raise a Champagne toast and then continue eating and watching TV until you fall asleep sometime between 2-5am. The meal includes very typical dishes, which I truly miss, so it is always fun. This year, it was just my parents and myself (since my brother was vacationing in the Philippines), so we followed the usual routine, except that we ate so much that I was feeling unwell, so my Mom and I decided to talk a walk around the neighborhood. Even though it was relatively cold, the streets were jampacked with people. We went to bed around 5am. The only negative part about New Year's celebration in recent years is the ridiculous amount of fireworks that people shoot all through the evening---it really sounds like a war zone. The "battle" intensifies around midnight and then dies down slowly.

Snowy Russia

Despite the numerous times I have visited home, this is only the second time I'm visiting in the winter. Unlike the last time in 2006, when there was no snow and it was quite warm for December, this time the typical Russian winter has taken its course with a ton of snow and cold temperatures that feel just right for this time of the year. I have been having a very relaxing time here: sleeping a lot (even though I definitely had a mean case of jetlag), eating delicious homecooked meals, catching up with family and friends, enjoying the New Year's lights and decorations around the city, and watching all my favorite Russian movies. Tonight is perhaps the biggest holiday in Russia, New Year's Celebration. Everyone stays up at least until midnight, eats good food, watches the traditional Russian movies all evening and then the president's speech at 11:55pm, and then goes for a walk after midnight to speed up the digestion process a little and socialize. My brother is welcoming 2010 in the Philippines, so it will be just my Mom, Dad, and myself tonight to celebrate. We are definitely eating all my favorite traditional foods and have already begun the movie marathon, but Im not sure if we'll make it outside after midnight. Happy New Year!

Some family time

After seeing Meg off in Moscow, I returned to Vladimir for a few days with my family. My brother came from St. Petersburg the next morning so we had a chance to hang out and catch up. During that week we made a day trip to Suzdal, which is about 45 min away from Vladimir and is an old historic town, which used to be the capital of the Russian kingdom at some point and was a home to numerous monasteries. Many of its old historic buildings are still preserved, so we walked around, went to a museum, and even visited an ancient church (build in the 12th century), which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The night before I left we went to our cabin in the country, had Russian-style barbeque, and took numerous pictures of a seagull that made a nest in one of the trees, chasing the poor thing off her laid egg (This actually became a family obsession throughout the evening as we tried for hours to take a picture of the bird on her nest---she was very alert and would fly off the nest the second anyone would approach. My dad, who is an old-time hunter, had me put on a dark jacket (since seagulls apparently can recognize colors:), sit in hiding for about 30 minutes, and then go from behind the fence, where we were finally able to snap some shots of the bird on her nest). Here are some pictures.

View of Suzdal

Birdhouse on one of the trees near our cabin, which is occupied every spring with new tenants

View of the Russian countryside (I used to swim in this river every summer growing up)

With my bro (that's right, the t-shirt was a gift from me and the color is not accidental---Go Celtics!)

Finally, I was able to sneak up on the poor seagull and take some pictures of her on her nest

Red Square and other sites

After spending a day in Vladimir, we took a morning train to Moscow for about a day and a half before Meg's flight back to the US. After settling into our hotel, we decided to take a short nap, which actually turned into a few hours of hardcore jetlag-induced sleep. However, once we woke up and felt refreshed, we headed out to the Moscow city center to do some sightseeing. I had told Meg that a visit to Russia can be summarized by a picture of a person in Red Square---and we got it, so Meg can now officially say that she has been to Russia.

We walked around the square, which was already decorated for the Victory Day celebration (May 9th), went into my second most favorite church building in Russia (St. Basil's cathedral), witnessed the change of guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier right outside of the Kremlin, walked through the Alexander Gardens (alongside the Kremlin wall) all the way to the magnificent Church of Christ the Savior (very tumultuous history) and then down Old Arbat, a very old cobble-stone street that is filled with artists (similar to Montmartre in Paris), and finished the night by eating at my favorite pancake chain.

St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square

The Kremlin clock tower (we did hear it chime)

Church of Christ the Savior

On the banks of the Moscow river overlooking the Kremlin

Quick trip to the homeland

Even though it has almost been two months, I wanted to post a quick recap of my trip home to Russia in early May. Considering that this was a very unexpected trip (you simply cannot pass up a $230 ticket to Russia!), it didn't have a whole lot of adventures, but included a quick trip to Moscow, this time actually for fun, and not for an errand. My travel buddy Meg came along for a few days (hey, her ticket was only $213!), so it was fun to show her around my city and then spend a day in Moscow walking around some of the most famous sites. Here are some pics from Meg's 1 day in Vladimir---we walked around the historic downtown, went to a couple of museums, stopped by my favorite tea shop, and even had lunch at a Soviet-style cafeteria (a restaurant made to look like the caf with decorations and food).

The Golden Gate, the symbol of Vladimir, a former fortress now a museum

In front of the Church of Assension, a beautiful orthodox church in Vladimir

St. Petersburg, Part 6

Our last morning in St. Pete, we decided to make a quick tour of the monastery and the adjacent cemetery where many of the Russian nobility and famous painters, composers, singers, and dancers are buried. It was quite interesting walking around the graves of Tchaikovsky and Glinka and some others about whom I learned in school. Before leaving town, we had yet another sushi meal and got on a place to Moscow and a train to Vladimir.

St Petersburg, Part 5

On our last full day in St Pete's, we decided to visit one of the most famous museums in the whole world, the Hermitage. It is actually housed in the former Winter Palace, which itself is a gorgeous building. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones who wanted to see the museum---we stood in the longest line in the world for over 2 hours. However, once we got in, it was definitely worth it. After walking around the magnificent halls of the former palace, we toured the Italian halls where we had an opportunity to see some Michelangelo, Rafael, and Da Vinci, including 2 famous Madonna paintings by Rafael and Da Vinci (while trying to break through the crowds of over-excited Italians eager to see their countrymen's works). After walking through some ancient sculpture halls, we decided to call it a day---after al, you can't cover all art epochs in one day.

St Petersburg, Part 4

The next day we decided to take it a bit easier and just walk around the city and visiting some of the famous landmarks. Among them were the famous bronze statue of Peter the Great (lovingly nicknamed by me, "Peter on the horse"), the beautiful St Isaac Cathedral, which had a very interesting resemblance to St Paul's Cathedral in London, and the Hermitage (or the Winter Palace) and the Palace Square, the seat of the tzars and the site of several historic events connected with the Russian Revolution.

St Petersburg, Part 3

We continued our intensive sightseeing the following day. The destination was the Peter-and-Paul Tower, which is sort of similar to the Tower of London in its structure and purposes, even though the architectural style is completely different. This structure, located on what is called the Hare Island, was actually the first building in St. Petersburg and is considered the site where the city was founded by Peter the Great. It used to be a military/defensive structure, the site of the first church, a prison, and the site of the first Mint, which is still functioning in some capacity. Every building there is a museum, spanning the history of the Tower, the city itself, and Russian monarchy. A particularly interesting one was an Air and Space Museum---very interesting to see clippings from newspapers when Yuri Gagarin did his flight around the Earth in space (Yes, Russia was the first country to send the man into out space, despite what the US textbooks will tell you). The church is quite unique also---it is actually the burial site of most Russian monarchs, including Peter the Great and the last Russian tzar and his family.


In the evening, we took a boat tour around the city's numerous canals. St. Petersburg is actually build on a man-mind island, amidst swamps and marshes, and on the banks of the Neva River. Besides, its particular geographic location allows it to have the "white nights" (nights when it never gets dark) and long light evenings. The boat ride took us around some of the more historic areas of the city, even though there is hardly a building in the vicinity of the downtown that was not at one point a home to a famous poet, painter, musician, writer, or a member of Russian nobility.

The last stop of the day was actually just a few blocks from where my brother lives---a site of this incredibly beautiful Cathedral and the adjacent building that serves as the seat of the mayor of St Petersburg. This group of building actually played a prominent role in the Russian revolution. It used to be a prestigious boarding school for the daughters of Russian nobility, but was overtaken by Lenin and his posse on the eve of the revolution---it is from this building that all the main decisions were made during the final hours of the pre-communist Russia.

St. Petersburg, Part 2

The next morning my Mom and I took a boat ride to Petergof, another former royal residence of the Russian monarchs. This place is especially beautiful: some incredibly gorgeous fountains of different themes scattered over a park with a magnificent palace on top of the hill overlooking the Finnish Straight that connects Russia to Northern Europe. I actually remember visiting this place when my family first traveled to St Petersburg in the summer of 1992. We walked around, took numerous pictures, went into a few auxiliary buildings, went underneath the Palace to examine how the fountain system works, and just strolled leisurely on the vast grounds of this estate.





In the evening, we took a walk around the city after dinner, going to perhaps my favorite church building in Russia: the Church of Christ the Savior. The domes are so unique that they look like they are made of mozaic, not of stone.

A visit to one more famous landmark that evening: St Isaac Cathedral.

St Petersburg, Part 1

Two days after my arrival in the homeland, my Mom and I took off on an overnight train to the great city of St Petersburg where my brother leaves. The last time I was in St Pete was when I was twelve years old. I remember not knowing much about history, art, or architecture, but still being fascinated by the city and the friendly people who inhabit it. This time, I was coming to explore it with a greater appreciation and knowledge of history, so I was very excited to look at the city with "new eyes."

Even though it was a loooong sleepless trip on the train, my brother, being the great tour guide that he is, took us on a tour of the a beautiful garden estate that used to belong to the Russian tsars---it was their "summer" residence. Besides the absolutely gorgeous and very tranquil grounds and gardens, it is also the site of a unique palace with the famous Amber Room---a room made entirely of amber, which was stolen by the Nazis during their siege of St Petersburg (the estate is about 40 min outside the city). The entire room has never been recovered, and its whereabouts remain unknown. However, several pieces were found and brought back to the palace, and the room was restored to look identical with the original pieces incorporated into it.

Here are some pics to capture the day:



After a delicious sushi dinner, we hung out until about 1am and then embarked on a night tour of the city. Since it is located on a navigable river, its bridges gets drawn up every night beginning at 1am, one by one. It was very crowded on the embankment, but the "bridge show" was quite incredible.