From the west to the east, Baltic States to Moscow

Plane & train, Riga, St Petersburg, The Golden Ring and onto Moscow. A self guided and city guided tour, October 2017

Out last night in the Baltic States was spent in a room where the floor sloped about ~12 degrees from level – which may not sound much, but was nerve wracking when partnered with the angled beams that threatened to crack our heads if we sat up too fast in bed or needed to use the bathroom. Yay for old Latvian Hotels! So long to the Museum of Marzipan, ornamental sailing ships made entirely of Baltic amber, and leopard-skin print puffer jackets…

 We are now in Russia. It came as a surprise that the Russians do not strongly identify with Europe. They see themselves as unique, straddling Slavic lands and Asia – not European at all. We can speak with some authority as we had deep and meaningful conversations about national identity one night, in a tiny hidden bar 'Beergeeks' in St Petersburg. The entire pub (about 10 people) joined in our conversation. As the night progressed, two chaps who couldn’t speak English would periodically break into Russian folk songs, just to contribute. Everyone would respectfully stop talking, cheer their singing, and then pick up the conversation again. Too many brewskis and several hours later, we had to navigate our way home from one of our new found friend’s place – his dental offices! Surreal.

 The language has quite different sounds - heavy on the d’s and l’s, like fat dripping wax. Cyrillic, the written form of Russian, is derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs and bears only a little resemblance to European characters - quite the challenge when entering wifi passwords. Russian Orthodox churches are more akin to Mosques than to European Churches in both design and decoration. In old times, they built 2 churches side by side – one for summer and a smaller, easier to heat winter church. They are richly decorated with floor to ceiling frescos, huge chandeliers and whole walls of Icon paintings. We were lucky enough to hear some of the solemn but very beautiful singing of the mass. 

 It’s colder here than we expected and the wind is truly biting. Folks dress in luxuriant wraps, lined leather boots and glamorous furs. The ‘Clan of the Cavebear’ fur fashion we currently see in NZ is utterly outclassed by Russian women fully clad in pink mink or ermine chinchilla. As one woman said with a wry smile, “ Ve haf no Grreenbeace in Rhussha”. Unfortunately summer has been so poor that some of the fruit didn’t even ripen. Yet recycling, global warming and other problems of worldly concern do not seem to hold much sway. In the countryside the people are still reeling from the changes caused by Perestroika (the shift from a Soviet controlled economy to the competitive economy of the west), and there is much unemployment as a result of factory closures as they can no longer compete. But the main cities are so wealthy it makes your eyes water. 

 The museums are dripping with obscene riches, from the stunning Faberge Eggs complete with exquisite ‘surprises’ made of gold and diamonds (Easter gifts for the Tsar’s family), to opulent golden ballrooms, ornately painted using brushes made solely of squirrels tails. The lavishness is beyond anything we have seen before – think Versailles on steroids. It’s easy to see why the Russian peasants revolted against the Tsars. The excesses seriously piss you off. New excesses abound however. Aside from the stunning marble and chandeliers of the 65m deep Moscow Metro (Lenin said they should be 'the peoples palaces') the people seem quite aware of the corruption that occurred during the fall of communism, and continues in the political system today. Those who took advantage are referred to as the new Oligarchs – those who have taken from the Russian people. Putin is viewed with some bemusement (his motorcade sped past us in St. Petersburg – large black cars moving far too fast for the conditions) and there are mugs and calendars of him in various shirtless poses, hugging tigers and riding bears J.

 My belated birthday treat was to see the Bolshoi Ballet, in Moscow, at the Bolshoi Theatre. A stunning display of grace and showmanship in a theatre designed for the Tsars. Just wonderful! 

Tonight we board the trans-Siberian rail to head East. Mammoth country…

 T-shirt of the day: A picture of Putin and Trump with the quote “Making Russia great again”