Story, part II
Okay, I know I have to finish this, or I’ll never forgive myself!
Our first full day in Piter was spent at the Hermitage, taking in as much art as is possible in several hours (4, I think). There comes a point, however, when one’s brain simply cannot bear to look at one more painting, or it will explode. We finally went back to the hostel, got into our room and showered and rested for awhile. It had started raining so our sightseeing options were limited and after dinner we went on a boat tour of the canals. The boats were warm and sheltered and I did my best to translate for Sarah, and well, I don’t think a career as simultaneous translator is in my future.
Afterwards we went to Marina’s and I was sooooooo happy to see them. (Even though it had only been about 2 weeks) ?
The next day….oh yeah! It was Victory Day – May 9th, the end of the war in Europe (not official our Victory Day though, of course). We slept late enough that by the time we got out on the street, at about 11am, we thought we had missed the parade and were kind of bummed. We passed through Palace Square where they had a stage set up and people were milling, but decided to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress. We walked across the Trinity Bridge and the wind was nearly the end of us – we weren’t dressed for a gale! I hadn’t been to the fortress since 1997 and the memories were kind of vague. The fortress is built into the Neva River and was the official start of St. Petersburg – the fortifications to protect the new capital.
We went to the main cathedral, the city history museum, had lunch in a caf? and walked up to the ramparts to see the city. I was thrilled because the Rostrelli columns at the Vasilyi Island spit were lit. I’ll post a picture, its pretty awesome.
Everyday at 12:00 noon they fire a cannon from the fortress and you can hear it for quite some distance. We arrived just before noon, and somehow, even though we were expecting it, we weren’t, and it caught me so off guard and nearly hit the deck! I think I even screamed!
After the fortress we met Alina on the spit, and decided to head back to the hostel before more sightseeing. Turns out that was a good decision, because while we were on the bus heading up Nevskii prospect, we noticed that there were a lot, a lot of people on the street and hardly any cars – it turns out we hadn’t missed the parade! So we got off the bus and found spots on a ledge so we could see over the crowd. And suddenly, as if by a miracle (the miracle of planes salting the clouds to the tune of $300,000) the skies cleared, the sun came out, and it warmed up.
The parade was nothing short of remarkable and moving. Despite all the pomp and circumstance of Moscow’s official parade, I’m sure this one blew it out of the water. St. Petersburg had summoned all of its veterans and they marched down Nevskii, in uniform, according to their branch of service. Some had medals covering their entire chests. All were decorated, men and women, for their bravery and service. And there were several thousand of them, at my guess. People in their 80s, marching down the street sixty years after a horrible, horrible war – one that we can’t even imagine. And it was truly a people’s parade, not closed like Moscow’s. The streets were packed and everyone waved flags, cheered, applauded and cried thanks to the veterans. Its really difficult to describe how moving it really was, knowing how much the Soviets (in the inclusive, non-ethnic term that encompasses more than the Russians) really suffered during the Second World War, and the in the decades leading up to it at the hands of their own leaders. That they still had the energy to hold Fascist Germany at bay and gradually push it back, keeping them busy while we prepared to invade from the west, is really amazing. Twenty-seven million people died between 1941 and 1945. That’s 27,000,000.
[side note: you’re having a good day when one beer nearly wipes you out]
Zhenya had to go back to Moscow that night, so Sarah and I went with Alina back to Vasilyi Island to watch the fireworks salute. Marina came and joined us and at 10pm, when the fireworks were supposed to start it was still as light as day.
And believe it or not, they started the fireworks at 10, but they were really wimpy and generally sucked. Everyone started making comments about it, like how all the money got sent to Moscow and how the New Russians have better fireworks at their birthday parties. Basically, most people, including us, turned away from the river banks and left, despite my personal skepticism that it was over. We went back to Marina's to see the events on TV when lo and behold, we heard the fireworks at about 11:15. We dashed out of the apartment (and Sarah was like - why are we always sprinting somewhere in this country?) made it to the river and were able to see what was, indeed, a rather spectacular display.
...to be continued...
[in the meantime, I'm working, working working and sweating away in my apartment while it is about 90 degrees here in Moscow at 9pm]
