"In this room from 10th of November 1917 to 10th of March 1918 lived Vladimir Ilich Lenin"
A portrait of Lenin
Lenin's living room
A rough draft of the first CCCP constitution
Where Lenin and his wife slept
An epic portrait of the revolution
Lenin's sitting room
A portrait of Lenin sitting in his sitting room
Me sitting in Lenin's office
Party members
Portrait of Stalin
Trotsky on a horse
Portrait of Trotsky
The halls had portraits of all the Communist party members
A conference room that is still in use today
The center of St. Petersburg: Moskovskiy Vokzal also known as the train station
I stayed up until 1:00am to see the bridges go up on the Neva River. It was an adventure because it took energy to stay up and then walking about an hour to the other side of St. Petersburg all the way at the end of Nevsky Prospekt.
A boat coming by in the background in front Peter and Paul Fortress
"Дворцовая площадь" or "Palace Bridge" in front of the Winter Palace
I got to go on an excursion to the Baltika brewery. It was very informative and a lot of fun. I learned the difference between Ale and Lager and I also learned that Baltika is the biggest brewery in Eastern Europe. It was very hot for most of the time but I had a blast seeing how the infamous beer of Russia is made.
A Baltika bus came to pick us up when we got off the metro
A cool sign
Putin shaking hands with someone important
CIEE prepared a Thanksgiving feast for all us Americans. Behind us is a looong table with all the food on it
One of the 20 or so turkeys we mutilated
Some more of the food. This is the cranberry sauce I made
Vika and I enjoying our Thanksgiving feast
Sochi countdown! 99 More days!
Russian Museum of Ethnography where I got to explore the Russian people's history of culture and habits
Some of the clothing the women wore in Siberia
Stopped by the classy Comedy Cafe off Nevsky Prospekt for a real cup of coffee and some sweets
Went to explore the Hermitage once again...because I can
Got a personal tour of the St. Petersburg National Public Library from their very own former employee and my friend, Ira.
After we got scolded by a grandma for taking pictures Ira was satisfied I got the ultimate feel of the conservative and antiquated atmosphere this library holds.
Ira and I
Outside Lenin's hall. I joked that after seeing where Lenin lived, slept, ate, is kept now, and where he studied I can now go back to the states in peace....
The inside of Lenin's hall (where Ira and I got scolded by the grandma)
I also went to a Zenit game. Despite the freezing weather, intimidating securities, and the fact that Zenit brutally lost, it was a great experience!
Some fanatics
I went to the countryside again for the weekend to a dacha
Enjoying the Russian winter
Serozhya and Tanya preparing the stove to warm up the banya. This is the entrance room, the coolest one where you undress and rest after bathing
Pumping ice water from a barrel to pour on ourselves after steaming in the banya
Carrying the ice cold water down the street to the banya
This is the second room or washing room where you rinse with ice cold water after steaming and before going in the cooler room to relax and eat refreshments of tea, chocolates, and fruit. After about the second or third sweat, we hit/massaged ourselves with bunches of dried leaves called "веники" to improve circulation.
Vika and I after steaming and cooling down in the entrance room and trying on "Valenki's": traditional Russian winter footwear made of felt. Banya's have multiple health benefits such as detoxification, weight loss, and improves your immune system not to mention it is relaxing.
Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo
Main staircase
The Grand Hall
Looking out the window of the Grand Hall
The Ceiling
The Golden Suite
Main White Dining Room
Crimson and Green Pillar Room
Human size model of Catherine II
The portrait of Catherine II
Green Dining Room
Bedchamber
Gallery Anteroom
Putin meeting important people in this palace
A kiosk with souvenirs
Celebrating the snowfall by eating ice cream and перошки
After spending the day in Tsarkoe Selo, Vika and I bought tickets to a modern ballet 3 hours before the performance at the nearest "театральная касса" or box office
The ballet was a contemporary interpretation of Gogol's "Шинель"
