Eyes on Fire

I finally made it to the Hermitage! Jackie, Beryl and I were there for around 3 hours, and we only made it through HALF of the first floor. The Winter Palace, as you can imagine, is enormous. They say that the Hermitage is second to the Louvre in terms of art, and I can see why. Earlier today I wrote that I would get lost so easily if I were left alone in the Yussoupov palace. While that still holds true, I would literally starve to death before I found a way out of the Winter Palace if there were no signs and if it was just me inside. These palaces are so ridiculously intricate and full of rooms on rooms on rooms that the frickin’ Minotaur would have a hard time. The Winter Palace is a labyrinth, but it is absolutely breathtaking. 

We covered most of the palace interior rooms and the exhibits dedicated to Russian culture. There’s just so much I have no idea where to begin. After a while, you just can’t handle it anymore. There is so much gold. Every chandelier is a masterpiece. The candle holders are worth more than a year at Connecticut College (I just made that up; I don’t know if that is actually true [probably not]). You also begin to wonder how anybody could spend that much time carving ceilings or painting portraits. Every square inch of the Winter Palace must have taken someone, or a team of people most likely, years to complete. I certainly appreciate it, but damn! Rich people are CRAZY. Did you really need to pour that much money into your chair? Your tea sets? I am really happy that peasants were not allowed inside the Winter Palace because if they saw where all their tax money went I’m convinced they would have staged a revolution centuries before 1917. I’m not saying that the Winter Palace should not be this extravagant. Hell no. This place is incredible and I’m eternally grateful it exists, but sometimes you have to wonder. Somebody had big dreams. My goodness!

It was pretty awesome to see paintings and grand staircases that I read about in my textbooks. There is a giant hall with portraits solely dedicated to the Romanov Tsars, starting with Mikhail and ending with Nicholas. I really enjoyed that, but my favorite part of what I saw today was Nicholas’ library by far. You walk in and you’re like, hot damn. Now, THIS is a library. It wasn’t huge or anything, but it was dark and old. The books look like something Indian Jones would be searching for. You couldn’t see any walls in his library; they were bookcases instead. There was also a mini wooden staircase. I don’t know why it was so small, but it only added to the room's general charm. I think part of the reason I liked this room so much is because it was infinitely more humble than any other room in the Winter Palace. It didn’t set your eyes on fire. Very much Nicholas’ style. He wasn’t a fan of court life and his preferences were less fancy. He sometimes needed to leave meetings to just go out for a walk or chop wood (my L.L. Bean boyfriend circa 1900?) to clear his head, and he liked to wear simple peasant shirts “around the house,” so to speak.

All in all, it was amazing, but there was just too much. Serious sensory overload. I’m going to need to take a few more trips to cover everything, but thanks to our handy-dandy student IDs we can get in for free (thanks Bard-Smolny!). Soo, let’s go back next week? I think so. 

Afterwards Jackie, Beryl and I decided to find a cafe to relax for a bit before we took the metro home and went our separate ways. We headed back the way we came, to Nevsky Prospekt, and ended up at the Literature Cafe. The Literature Cafe is where Pushkin went right before his fateful duel. As expected, Pushkin is everywhere in this cafe. You can find portraits and drawings of him on the walls, along with Dostoevsky and Lermontov, and there’s even a wax figure of Pushkin sitting at a table, sideburns and all, in front of the window. I just had a hot cocoa that had the consistency of cream almost, but it was super tasty. I’m glad we went — it was on my bucket list. 

Check! √

Today was definitely a success, but I’m exhausted (I've added at least 300 photos to Facebook today, so go check them out!). Time to be lame and catch up up on what my favorite vampires and kings are up to. I should probably get some work done. 

Maaaaaybe...