Yesterday we went to the Alexander Pushkin Apartment and Memorial Museum. Situated in the center of town in a great old building once split into spacious apartments, the museum had been there for almost 90 years now to preserve the last home of Russia’s most famous poet and one of its greatest authors. We toured exhibits about the fatal duel Pushkin fought with a man out for his wife’s affection and saw the living quarters of him, his wife and 4 children. The interior was almost exactly like that of the Dostoevsky apartment a few weeks ago, though it was better furnished and larger (as a result of his greater success during his lifetime I assume). I like Pushkin's work quite a bit, especially some of his short stories and in Russian class here we learned part of one his poems in the original Russian!
This excursion, unfortunately, was my least favorite of all those we have been on so far for a few reasons. The tour guide did not mention anything about Pushkin’s works, not much about events of his life not related to his fatal duel and never even said his profession! We had one of the shortest tours I have been on; in fact we spent more time in the lobby, coat check, and gift shop then on our actual tour.
After leaving the apartment I spent the rest of the day going around downtown and the south of the city doing a bit of shopping and exploring before the cold and dark made us beat a hasty retreat back to the dorm. Of note today is the first day I have seen the canals through the city completely frozen over, and the Neva River is starting to freeze in places now as well. Here are some pics from the day:
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| Literally right outside my front door! |
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| The museum complex |
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| A "cold greeting" from Alexander Pushkin |
In Other News:
Until just a few hours ago it has been constantly snowing since last Monday, making it 7 straight days of snow, with about a foot and a half of snow on the ground. The temperature has also dropped significantly over the past few days. Saturday and Sunday had highs in the teens, but tomorrow the high is 6… But that thankfully looks to be the coldest day of my remaining 13 days here. I have been enjoying the snow, learning about the different kinds, techniques for walking on it and why it is preferable to rain. On balance I have learned a lot about winter weather here and I will never be able to complain about being cold again at home I think!
This week is my last week for classes and the following week I have a final each day Monday-Thursday. On Tuesday we are going to see a Russian Opera “The Brothers Karamazov” which should be the most unique performance I see here (and by far the hardest to understand). This weekend we are going on the last major excursion of my time here, to one more royal palace on the outskirts of town: Catharine Palace in the village of Pushkin. After that I will be mostly studying for my all important Russian language and history finals and trying to finish my almost exhausted checklist of places to go and things to do. Today also marks my second to last Sunday here, only 13 more days until I pack up and return home.
But until next time, I promise to remain warm!
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