The other Capitol of Russia

Hard to know exactly what to write today. My head is filled with domes, sculptures, paintings, facts, legends and figures!

We spent our last 2 days with Svetlana in Moscow celebrating the city's 855th birthday. One day at the WW2 museum in Victory Square, and the next day driving around the city with her family enjoying the views and festivities. Our last night in Moscow we went to the Old Russian Circus, which we thought may be the normal animals, super-human tricks, etc. It ended up being one of the best shows we've ever seen - for a mere $10/person.

The Circus reminded us of the Mystere show we saw in Vegas, which is much more than your average circus! There were people flying into the air on 7 foot pogo sticks and landing perfectly, swinging around the room from a single rope, spinning from a swing to just barely catch the hands of their partner, and the list goes on. My hands have never been so sweaty from nervousness and my cheeks sore from laughing in the same 2 hours. It was a fantastic surprise to see such an amazing show.

We took the night train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and met up with a friend of Svetlana's, named Katia. For the past 2 days she has been showing us the sights of St. Petersburg from a very special perspective. She just finished university last year, one year of which was spent in Portland, Oregon, and she now works for the Hermitage Museum. The Hermitage is one of the most prestigious museums in the world, filled with original art from many famous painters like Monet, Rembrant, etc. Since her career and life dream is based in art, she has been able to give us the meaning and history of each painting, sculpture, building, and park. She knows the history of all the Russian Tsars and their families, the 'dirt' and the kudos behind each one, and her English is spectacular. She has been wonderful to tour this cultural city with.

Yesterday we visited St. Issac's Cathedral (and got a panoramic view of the city from its dome), the Russian Museum, the summer garden, and many other important places in the city. Today we went to the majestic Peterhof, which was originally Peter the Great's palace on the Gulf of Finland. The palaces and grounds (most of which were added after the humble Peter had passed on) are like something out of Disneyland...the perfect sprawling mansions, the Grand Cascade waterfalls that lead directly to the sea, and the perfect paths that always lead to another fountain, sculpture, or quiet tea house to rest from walks in the garden. Dreamy.

We actually haven't been to the Hermitage yet - we are saving it for tomorrow, our last day. Katia will be our personal guide through the museum....WOW. It should be a great day.

MH.

At the end of the day we are heading for Latvia in the Baltic States. This will be our longest bus trip to date, 12 hours, Yeah.

I have a lot to say about Russia but just really don't know how to say it. I will try and get my thoughts down on cyber paper later.