St. Isaac's

Last Saturday, Sveta took us on another cultural excursion. We went to St. Isaac's cathedral in central St. Petersburg. At first my thoughts were "Another cathedral. What else is new? Ah well, at least they're all pretty." Then we got there; I saw the building for myself. And, though I have been in many, many cathedrals by now - including the famous St. Basil's - what I saw there stunned me. Really, I gasped when I walked in the door.

It's very, very sad that all you have to look at are pictures. They just don't do the place justice! But I'll give them to you anyway. But here; first, let's get into the mood. Everyone ready? One, two, three . . . GASP!

Oh yes. St. Isaac's is the Sistine Chapel of Russia. In fact, the artist who painted those ceilings - Karl Bryullov - did it in the same manner as Michaelangelo - that is, he lay down on a board strung from the ceiling and painted it that way. Of course, St. Petersburg is a lot colder than Italy - especially when it's the 19th century and you have no conventional heating systems. So Bryullov was exposed to the frigid wind and climate of Russia for hours at a time while he painted. He eventually became very sick, and died shortly after handing over the work to his apprentices. A sad story, but he left behind a beautiful legacy.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Why should you get a shortcut into the building? You should have to go about it the way I did. That means first you have to walk there!

Ah, walking. I think that is what has occupied my time
more than anything else in this country. At least it's usually nice outside.
(And by nice, I mean 'It's not snowing yet.')

Look at the leaves! Fall has finally arrived in St. Petersburg.
The leaves are changing colors and falling from the trees,
and nobody is happier about it than we American girls.
(Allison's on the phone, there, or she'd tell you herself.)

This is Sveta, our cultural guide.
A couple hours before this picture was taken,
she was in our apartment, teaching us how to make blini,
and dancing to our silly American music.
"I am old," she told us, laughing, "but not very."

This is St. Isaac's cathedral. Back when St. Petersburg was
the capital of Russia, this was the main cathedral for the country.
Isn't it deceptively stern and plain on the outside?
I think this is part of why the majestic interior shocked me so.

Here I am, thinking, "How should I pose for this picture?
Oh, shoot, I'm taking too long and I look stupid.
I should just pretend this is the pose I wanted,
because I think she's about to take the picture.
Dang. Why can't I just do "jump" pictures like everyone else?"

*camera click*

Okay, okay. I'll admit that it's beautiful on the outside too.
Just in a more austere way. Oh! And look at that dome.
See that? Yeah, I walked around the outside of that thing.
Hellooooooo, Colonnade!

And now, we get to the inside. I think for the most part,
these pictures speak for themselves. The building is a
monument to fine art - and the detail work? Astounding!

So it turns out that when you stand directly beneath a chandelier
and look up, it looks strikingly similar to a ship's helm.
Also, it makes for a pretty awesome picture.

Pfft. Tourists.

Look closely. In that big painting of Christ, there is a hulking dark figure
strewn at the bottom. It is the skeletal figure of death.
He is holding a broken sythe, defeated
once and for all by the Savior of all Mankind.

Those big green pillars are made from pure marble.
Just under that archway are some smaller, blue pillars,
and those are made from lapis lazuli.
I can't even begin to imagine how much this place costs.

These are a couple of big, sculpted doors.
There are three sets of them, and each one is carved
with different religious and historical scenes.
The attention to detail here is simply exquisite.

This is a bust of Karl Bryullov. It's not painted - it's made
in many pieces, the different colors being different stones.
See, the sculptor created the bust using a bit of every type
of stone that was used in the creation of the cathedral itself.
It's a nice tribute, I think:
Bryullov and St. Isaac's are very much a part of each other.

Just for fun: That is a painting of one of the many, many,  saints.
It just so happens to be Saint Nicholas.
(*waits for you to make the connection*)
Yup. Take a good look. That's Santa Claus!

The one in the middle there is St. Isaac.
Just in case you wanted to know something of the man
after whom this cathedral was named.

After checking out the inside of the cathedral, a few of us got to
go up to the colonnade and look out on the city.
(It cost an extra 150 p. but it was definitely worth it.)

Of course, that meant we had to climb this giant spiral staircase.
(Over 200 steps to the top. Kaylie here shows that it was a tiresome effort.)

Notice how I'm wearing much thicker layers here
than I was in that picture from our Baltic Sea trip?
Yes, Winter is coming. It is very cold here already,
and we Americans are nervous for the coming months.
(But eager, too. We volunteered for this, after all!)


(OH! And take note: that is my newly purchased
RAVENCLAW SCARF!
Hurray for Russia! Thank you for finally having the right scarf!)

Looking down from the top of the staircase.
It was a fun climb. The tower has these little archer windows,
and multitudes of tourists have left kopeks in them, for luck.
(As a side note, kopeks fascinate me. They're 1/100th of a ruble;
There are 32 rubles to the dollar right now; so it would take
32 kopeks to equal the value of a penny.
And we thought pennies were worthless!)

Climbing out of the tower, you have to walk this ladderway
to get to the colonnade/dome. This is the point where you
realize that the wind is a lot stronger up here;
and you are very glad you wore your [Ravenclaw]scarf.

\Ooh! But isn't it worth facing the cold to get this
beautiful panoramic view of St. Petersburg?!

I never noticed how red the city was before.

FYI: That big building across the grass circle from us?
It's the Mariinsky Palace. Look it up.

Oh, St. Petersburg. You are soooo big!

That's me, looking out over the city. It was a great trip.
I'll always be glad I had the chance to see St. Isaac's cathedral.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

- Jessica Grosland

P.S. This one's for the girls, (namely, Ewan and Johnny):

(As seen in a Russian bookstore. Nerds are universal.)

(Miss you.)