May 18

We started the day a bit later with breakfast at 8:30 and then a slow start while trying to get a few clothes washed and the day organized. The first stop for the day was the Alexander Nevsky Monastery which is actually designated a laura or lavra as was the monastery in Sergiev-Possad. A lavra is large, rich monastery that enjoys special privileges and is a cultural center in the regions it occupies. Founded by decree of the Emperor Peter I in 1710, the monastery is located on that very place where, according to the legend, prince Andrey, a son of prince Alexander Yaroslavitch (Nevsky), gained a victory over the Swedish troops in 1301. The construction started in the early 1710 and lasted almost till the end of the XVIII century and it is considered to be one of the largest architectural constructions of the 18th century. After the October revolution the monastery was closed by the Soviet authorities as were most churches in Russia. It was only in 1956 that the Trinity Cathedral was given back to the Orthodox Church.

We entered one of the two baroque-style churches on site, the Church of the Holy Trinity. There was a service being conducted so I dutifully wore my orangutan head scarf. The here were not a lot of people and both the priest and the worshippers sang the unaccompanied hymns. We observed briefly and then departed and walked to the Lazarev and Tikhvin Cemeteries. We only spent time in the Tikhivin cemetery which is filled with the graves and elaborate tombstones of notable Russians. The woman at the kiosl nicely reviewed the map showing all the graves and made me feel guilty so I gave her 30 rubles ($.90) for a map, although I only recognized about a half dozen of the names. We saw more or less all the graves, but focusind the ornamental tombstones for Alexander Borodin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Anton Rubinstein, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky. I am not a person who particularly enjoys prowling around in cemetaries; I tend to find the experience in general of being in one sobering and sad. However, to be so close in a sort of spiritual way to such creative persons who contributed in such major ways to Russian and world culture was something of an awesome experience.

Michael and I sat for a bit with maps and guidebooks to plan our next stop. We had purchased a museum ticket to the Russian Museum which included several other smaller museums so we attempted to locate them and Michael made a list of some museums he was interested in. Back in the Metro (Subway), the deepest in the world, to the central area of St. Petersburg. We decided we wanted some lunch and were walking up the street to find a café when we spotted the Marionette Theater and impulsively decided to buy tickets for the 2 PM show. Tickets in hand (and show to be seen unknown) we walked a bit more and had respectively a roast beef with grilled vegetables on dark Scandanavian bread sandwich and trout wrap with a dill sauce at the Coffeehouse, a chain all over the city which apparently has its home in Vienna. I had a cup of café Americano (black coffee) which was remarkably bad (watery and tasteless). Michael had tea (chay), a safer bet.

We went back to the theater and found third row seats. I think we were the only adults there unaccompanied by children. Interestingly the theater had these seat adapters for the children that were booster seats with little stairs to climb up on. We saw the show which was entertaining. The puppets were not marionettes, but hand puppets and the actors do the puppetry were in costumes and right on the stageThe puppetry was very different than that we had seen at the Puppet Museum we had visited in Yaroslavl where the actors were not seen and the puppets were more complex. A later internet search determined the show we watched was a Grimm fairy tale, Ms. Blizzard. The Demmeni Marionette Theater is the oldest professional puppet theatre in Russia dating back to 1918.

We then walked a few blocks to "Engineering Street" to the State Museum of Russian Political History. However, no museum was to be found - turned out we had the mixed up some addresses, so we walked another ½+ mile or so the Marble Palace, part of the Russian Museum, and one of the places we had already paid to visit. The Marble Palace was built from 1768-1785 with granite and marble of different colors by Count Gregory Orlov, a favorite of Catherine the Great. He died in 1783 and did not see its completion. She bought the palace from his heirs and gifted it to her grandson, grandson Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich on the occasion of his marriage. In the late 1800s, the palace became the centre of cultural life in the capital. Musical evening parties were held in the rooms of the palace. Intellectuals of the capital gathered there, read and discussed the best works by foreign and Russian writers, staged performances in which Konstantin Konstantinovich, his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikeyevna and their children took part. From 1919 to 1936 the palace was awarded to the Academy of the History of Material Culture. In 1937 a branch of the Central Lenin Museum was opened in the halls of the Marble Palace. This new use led to the loss of the décor in the halls on the first floor. The palace's unique fireplaces and decorative fabrics were destroyed. In the halls the artificial marble was painted over, the murals whited over. In 1992, the building became part of the Russian Museum and restoration began.

There is a beautiful staircase with multiple colors of marble leading to the second floor. The 6 or so galleries have various paintings of Russian artists on the walls and selected furnishings and objets d'art. n 1995 the Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum permanent exhibition was opened in the Marble Palace. It was donated by famous German collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig and displays works by European, Russian and American artists. Here there is a Picasso and Andy Warhol painting. There is a temporary exhibition of paintings by Yuri Rysukhin, a contemporary Russian artist, whose work I really liked. The paintings contain bright colors reminiscent of those used in the more primitive icons of the Russian orthodox church and the subjects are reflective of Russian (and Venetian) daily life.

We left and headed through a park across the street to discover that we had could have cut through the park to come to the museum but actually had walked about four blocks out of the way. Just after we crossed the street we heard a loud speaker, turned around and saw a van coming around the corner blaring something (in Russian) followed by many persons on rollerblades coming through the street. Have no idea what that was all about. We walked through the park, saw locals out and about, including a bride and groom in wedding attire standing by some bushes smoking cigarettes (seemed a bit incongruous). On the opposite side of the park was the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood. As our host driving us to the opera had recommended visiting the interior and we were there, we bought a ticket and went inside. This church is similar to St. Basil's in Moscow, sort of kitschy in appearance, but with beautiful icons floor to ceiling on the inside and ceiling domes with the faces of Jesus painted on them. I guess it was worth the $7 or so to get in and view the splendor. (Nothing except maybe the bus and metro is inexpensive here.)

We proceeded back to Nevsky Propect, the main street, and decided to have some coffee and stop rushing about. There is this wonderful building, the Eliseev Emporium, we had passed several times. The building was constructed in a flamboyant art nouveau style between 1902 and 1903, and has been beautifully restored. Inside gourmet food stations (confectionaries, breads, cheeses, meat and sausage) surround the perimeter. In the center is a huge artificial palm plant surrounded by tables and chairs, a small café. We found a table, ordered iced mochas, and then found ourselves in conversation with our neighbors, a French couple who live in a very rural area of southern France and had come to St. Petersburg to see the ballet and celebrate the wife's birthday. Michael chatted with them about French wine and I about the letters of the Russian alphabet and other small talk subjects. When done we left to return to the hotel. Michael however wanted to visit a gourmet wine store he had seen so I went with him. He viewed the wines and commented on quality and price. I wanted to get back to the hotel so left him there and walked the 10-15 minute walk back. He showed up not too much later.

A quick freshening and a few minutes walk to Mama Roma, one of a chain of Italian restaurants around town. We met Michael Igdalov and his wife Helen. I had been corresponding with him priori visit. Several years before I had located his son on the internet and had contacted him. He was not quite sure how or if we are related. I did not realize Michael was the father, but found him doing my Russian internet Igdalov search before the trip. He was quite responsive and interested in meeting us. He is a dentist here and his wife has an after school center for elementary school age children. Their son Sasha has moved to Toronto. We had a wonderful dinner and learned about each other's families and lives (another story, another time.) They graciously treated us to dinner and brought us a gift, chocolate bars from Moscow, and a souvenir plate of St. Petersburg porcelain. We parted as newfound friends and family.

It is now late and time to go to bed. My son Michael has gone out to prowl the streets. Tonight is International Museum night with many museums open for free all night, but I could not get motivated to go back out and do that and think it is time to get some sleep.