Seeing Russia Through New Eyes
When our friends Adam Arenson and Rebecca Rosenthal told us they wanted to come visit us here in SPB, we were of course excited and elated. Here are two friends who we've known for quite a while, and we couldn't wait to hang out with them, show them around SPB and Moscow, and catch up on our lives. We figured it would be just another fun week of tourism and seeing the sites. What we didn't expect, however, was the way that seeing Russia through their eyes would impact the way we personally see this country and our experience here. After all, it's been almost 10 months now, and it's time for a little reflection.
Sitting in a cafe with Adam and Rebecca.
The trip has been great so far. You know, it's easy to get down here in Russia when the skies are grey and the people aren't always friendly. But when you get out of the day-to-day work, and enjoy SPB's amazing sites, it's easy to forget the problems of daily life here and simply enjoy the fantastic history and culture.
For example, we took Adam and Rebecca to Peterhof -- our second time at this amazing palace, with its stunning fountains, lush gardens, and fun atmosphere. We both decided this is our favorite tourist attraction in the region, now that we've seen everything multiple times! You can check out all the pictures by clicking here. I got the crazy idea to take the same picture that we took there 10 months ago. That's us from back in August on the left; that's us from this past week on the right. Notice any changes?
After running around SPB, we headed down to Moscow to see the capital city. Although I had been there back in November, I was excited to return and show Alyson the ins and outs of this massive megalopolis. But my favorite part of Moscow wasn't seeing the Kremlin or the various interesting parts of the city; rather, it was a special meeting I was able to set up with a group of Moscow Jewish young professionals. As you may remember, we met a group of these people when they were visiting Washington, DC, back in May of last year, so I was able to call them up and set everything up very easily. We met in a kitschy and eclectic club called "Petrovich," but the strange nature of the club didn't detract from our getting to know these inspiring young people and sharing our own ideas and thoughts. Coincidentally, there just happened to be a rock band playing at the club, and everyone got very excited, because this band got its start through Moscow Hillel as a klezmer band! So of course we made a special request for klezmer music, and they were happy to oblige. You can see them rocking out by clicking here.
Eating cakes and drinking coffee with the group. Check out the club's decorations in the back!
Sitting in a cafe with Adam and Rebecca.The trip has been great so far. You know, it's easy to get down here in Russia when the skies are grey and the people aren't always friendly. But when you get out of the day-to-day work, and enjoy SPB's amazing sites, it's easy to forget the problems of daily life here and simply enjoy the fantastic history and culture.
For example, we took Adam and Rebecca to Peterhof -- our second time at this amazing palace, with its stunning fountains, lush gardens, and fun atmosphere. We both decided this is our favorite tourist attraction in the region, now that we've seen everything multiple times! You can check out all the pictures by clicking here. I got the crazy idea to take the same picture that we took there 10 months ago. That's us from back in August on the left; that's us from this past week on the right. Notice any changes?
After running around SPB, we headed down to Moscow to see the capital city. Although I had been there back in November, I was excited to return and show Alyson the ins and outs of this massive megalopolis. But my favorite part of Moscow wasn't seeing the Kremlin or the various interesting parts of the city; rather, it was a special meeting I was able to set up with a group of Moscow Jewish young professionals. As you may remember, we met a group of these people when they were visiting Washington, DC, back in May of last year, so I was able to call them up and set everything up very easily. We met in a kitschy and eclectic club called "Petrovich," but the strange nature of the club didn't detract from our getting to know these inspiring young people and sharing our own ideas and thoughts. Coincidentally, there just happened to be a rock band playing at the club, and everyone got very excited, because this band got its start through Moscow Hillel as a klezmer band! So of course we made a special request for klezmer music, and they were happy to oblige. You can see them rocking out by clicking here.
Like good TourMentors (see a previous post), we've been running our victims--oops, I mean guests--ragged running from place to place. Although Russia still has a long way to go in terms of welcoming tourists and making places easy to navigate, we've learned a few tricks of the trade and can really pack a day with activities! Here are a few more pictures that I wanted to share with you. Even more pictures from Moscow are available by clicking here.
<- In front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. The weather has been beautiful lately!
The four of us at Peterhof.
<- In front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. The weather has been beautiful lately!
The four of us at Peterhof.
posted by Matt Fieldman at 12:19 PM
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