Laura’s Russian Adventures

On Saturday, my roommates and I decided that we were finally going to hit up the Peter and Paul Fortress! I have been waiting to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress since I got to Russia (as well as Tsarskoe Selo). It just so happened that this weekend was the best weather we’ve had since I got here. The sun was shining beautifully and it was still cold enough to keep the ice frozen and the snow beautiful on the ground. Ah! Amazing weekend weather.

Anyway! So we headed off to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Luckily, since we’re students of the State University, we get free admission! (actually, this is the rule to most Russian Museums. If you don’t get in for free, you get a seriously reduced price)

Here I am in front of the Gates to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Check out those double eagles. Ahh.. could I ask for more? I was in heaven.

The Peter and Paul Fortress, as some of you may already know, is a massive fort built in 1703 to protect the area from possible attack by the Swedish army and navy. The Swedes were defeated before the fortress was even completed. For that reason, from 1721 onwards the fortress housed part of the city’s garrison and rather notoriously served as a high security political jail. Among the first inmates was Peter’s own rebellious son Alexei. Later, the list of famous residents included Dostoyevsky, Gorkiy, Trotsky and Lenin’s older brother, Alexander. But what’s important to me, is in the middle of the fortress stands the impressive Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of all the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and Family.

So without further ado, the Peter and Paul Cathedral:

This is one of the few pictures that turned out of the interior. Because I take all my photos with flash off (one has to preserve the artifacts!) not many turn out like I would hope

What’s important to me however, is that it was the place in 1998 where Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, three of their five children (Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia) and three loyal friends (Dr. Botkin, Trupp, and Demdova) were buried.

Here is a photo Leah got of me looking at the graves:

And here is a photo I took of the graves:

It was a very interesting feeling to know I was standing where Nicholas and Family were buried. The silly thing is, I don’t really feel like they are buried there, in the Peter and Paul Fortress, rather, I still feel like they are in Ekaterinburg.

Regardless, it was one of the things in Russia that I had been looking forward to seeing. As the roommates and I went through the Fortress, I got to explain who was who inside the vaults, it was a nice feeling knowing the history behind each vault. I feel that I can better appreciate this trip because of it.

After we left the Fortress, I took a parting shot, you can see how beautiful the day was in the shot too:

After this, the roommates and I headed towards the Trubetskoy Bastion. The Trubetskoy Bastion is a jailhouse first built in 1703 (later additions and renovations were made), but it housed some of the most famous opponents of state. A.I. Ulyanov (Lenin’s older brother), L.D. Trotsky, Anna Vyrubova, and the participants of Kronstadt uprising of 1921, to name a few. It was interesting to see the cells of the jail, as outside of each cell was information on who was detained in that cell, for how long they remained in the prison, and their ultimate fate.

A good friend at home does research on Anna Vyrubova, so this one is just for you Joanna:

This is Anna Vyrubova‘s cell. She was detained in 1918 for questioning regarding her part in the Rasputin scandal (as well as her involvement and “sway” with the empress during Nicholas II reign).

After we finished with the Trubetskoy Bastion we headed out for Dinner. Since it was my birthday on the 11th, my roommates were going to take me out to dinner at one of the best restaurants in St. Petersburg (at least in my opinion). ‘The Idiot’ is the name of the restaurant, and it serves vegetarian cuisine with a Russian twist. I’m taking that the name of the restaurant is what Russians think of vegetarians

It truly is the restaurant for me. It had everything I could want in one Restaurant. Its four rooms are decorated with antique furniture, oil paintings and bric-a-brac, it also has of chess and blackgammon sets available, as well as my favorite part, an English-language bookshelf on Russian History! (and Russian poetry).

Ross and Leah grabbed some inside shots of the place, it was amazing. Cozy, great food (truly! the food was amazing) and great company.

Ahhh… a truly welcome sight!

I grabbed this one off the net. We didn’t get a full picture of the room, but this is the exact room we were dining in (in the top right corner).

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. The food was amazing! I got Bilini for starters, followed by a mushroom Alfredo pasta for the main course, and ice-cream with caramel for dessert. I drank freshly squeezed lemonade (amazing) as well as a shot of vodka they include for free with every meal.

It was a great dinner, and my roommates paid for me! What a treat! A great dinner, for free! I am truly spoiled by them.

After dinner we made our way home and conked out, because we had a very busy day coming up.

I sign off now, so I can take a deep breath and start the huge post for the next days events!

♥ Laura

Ps. Here is one more shot of the Peter and Paul Cathedral I took on the walk away:

Laura Mabee Uncategorized