We are exactly half done with our study abroad in Russia! Yesterday we went to the city of Novgorod, which is either the oldest or second oldest city in Russia (long story). We saw many wooden churches and also an active monastery built in the 12th century. Audrey and I had to wear skirts and cover our heads when we went in since it was still active and the walls were completely covered with paintings. The monastery was so old the domes weren't onion shaped, they were "helmet" shaped, because that is how they did it back in Constantinople. It was really cool when a true Russian monk walked by. We waved but i think he thought we were being inappropriate...we were. Novgorod is truly a city full of history, the Nazis came in and completely took over the city and burned it to the ground. which is convenient because the city is made out of wood. Most of the original buildings do not exist today but the Russians have done an amazing job restoring the city. We had a very large picnic on the beach and afterwards decided to go to...you guessed it...another church. Novgorod is not exactly close to Petersburg and the bus took 3 hours each way. Listened to basically half my ipod. We went on a nice but extremely dull boat ride that showed us absolutely nothing but water and...more churches. To be fair the church made completely out of wood was cool and made me appreciate not having those anymore.
Today, we went to another church!!! The church of spilled blood, which marks spot where a czar Alexander II was mortally wounded by a suicide bomber...yes a bomber...on the 8th attempt on his life. I wanted to know more about these terrorist in the 1800's but instead we went into the church. This church is not a functioning church and is made entirely out of mosaics because of the humidity along the river. Pictures really cannot describe how beautiful the church really is and it must be seen in person. so... get on it. A cool fact about the church is that during WWII the Nazis dropped a bomb on the church but miraculously it did not detonate. Several men risked their lives to remove the bomb from the roof of the church and detonate it nearby, thus saving the church. Afterwards we walked for about a minute and reached the Russian museum. The museum in arranged in chronological order and it begins with approximately a millennium of icon paintings!!!! Jesus never looked so good. We then moved to Czarist Russian paintings and sculpture. it was really boring and i wanted to leave...and i did. We went and ate blinis. They were good...i love ordering food in Russian. The weather is not the greatest outside but we all are enjoying ourselves. about to run out of time at the internet cafe. talk to you later!
Love,
Jess