Tuesday, August 26th - Fun in Peter

So this morning we had planned to visit the monster that is the Hermitage. However, we found out the Church on Spilled Blood is closed on Wednesdays, so we figured we better swap and go to the Hermitage (aka "the Herm") on Wednesday. Probably a good decision anyway since we had to make the long trek to pick up our registration in the afternoon (pouring rain, of course). Note - when saying the word "registration" you must pronounce the "g" like the "g" in "get"...it makes things so much more fun to speak as the Russians (kinda like "when in Rome...")! Now, before I tell you about Spilled Blood and it's awe inspiring beauty, I must back up a bit. I don't think I have ever mentioned what we Johnson's have lovingly dubbed "Peter Belly"; if you have a weak stomach, you might want to read ahead. We leave the apartment and walk about a half a block to the bank to get some more roubles (aka "Monopoly Money"). We no sooner walked into the ATM vestibule when I began to dry heave. Talk about embarrassing! I had to stand outside, pseudo hiding from the passersby, waiting for Kris to get our cash...not a good feeling! Back to the apartment we went, for me to, well, let's just say, take a few moments to myself! At that point, we decided we better go ahead and eat lunch at home before heading out again. So, what is Peter Belly you ask? For those of you that have traveled to Mexico, think "Montazuma's revenge". Basically the water here has the parasite giardia in it and even brushing your teeth with the water will send you running to the toilet...not so fun for sight seeing! Note to self...only use & drink bottled water when traveling to Russia, unless you're looking to lose a few pounds! Ok - back to Church on Spilled Blood. We walk up and stand in the line that is formed outside a big black box-type thing that houses what says "KACCA" (cashier). Being the stupid Americans that we are, we stood in line waiting to purchase our entrance tickets. We get to the front and head up to ask the lady for our two tickets (with the extra fee for taking pictures, of course) and she pulls out this long pointer, extends it, and raps it on the window pointing to the fine print, which reads "purchase tickets inside" (or something to that effect). Ok...so what is the line for then?! Why were other people walking away from the box with tickets in their hands?! After talking to Paul & Courtney (the American friends we're staying with), we found out that the line outside is for Russians; all foreigners must purchase theirs inside. I don't know about you, but that's just weird! Anyway, back to the church...one word can be used to describe the church...amazing! It's a Russian-style church that was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881. The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when Stalin went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country It took about 24 years to build the church; 26 years to restore. During the times it was not being used as a church, it was used to store set design for the theather, and during WWII it was used as a veggie market (which earned it the nickname "Church of our Savior on Potatoes"). Seeing the inside of the church was even more amazing than the outside, which we didn't think could be possible. (I'll post pictures on snapfish & send later.) The interior frescoes are all comprised of tiny tiles in bright colors and pure gold. They all tell the stories of Christ, and inside several of the "onion domes" (the round tops on top of the outside of the church) have beautiful pictures of the Virgin Mary. Apparently during the restoration of the church, a German bomb, left over from WWII, was found lodged in the rafters of the church and had it actually gone off as planned, the enitre church would have been destroyed. Thank God for small miracles...I guess technically that's a rather large miracle, but you get the point! We went out for dinner at a primarily vegetarian restaurant called the Idiot. It was kinda payback...Monday evening we ate dinner at Carl's Jr - used to be called Hardee's in the US until Carl's Jr took them over. Basically the choices were burgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, and french fries. You all know what I ended up eating...and no, dad, I didn't decide to finally eat meat again! The restaurant is Dostoevsky-inspired and has a very bohemian vibe...and the best part...the servers speak English & actually acknowledge you when you walk in! Of course, we leave the restaurant happy and full, only to be greeted by more wonderful pouring down rain! Did we bother to bring the umbrella? Nope. You would think that we were smarter than that, but, we've apparently lost our minds on this trip! We've about run the gamut in the weather department (knock wood we don't wake up to snow tomorrow!). When we came here for our first trip in early July, it was beautiful. Sunshine (almost 24 hrs...it was during White Nights...we had about 3 hrs of darkness), and warm (mid 70's). When we arrived mid-August, it was kind of similar; pretty warm (high 60's, low 70's) and sunny. When we came back this week, it all changed. It's pretty chilly (highs in the mid 50's...that's pretty much like winter for Texas!) and rains every day...or at least drizzles off and on. Kris packed for himself this trip, so he's sans jacket and wearing one of the same three sweaters every couple days! I can't really talk either, as I brought layers, so am pretty much wearing the same items every few days too. It's so hard to pack for 3 weeks when you are on a weight limit (for flying), not to mention, having to pack for different seasons all in 3 weeks!