Today
we took an excursion to Pavlovsk. Pavlovsk is an 18th Century
imperial palace built by Paul I (Catherine the Great's son) of Russia in a town near Saint
Petersburg. It is beautiful and opulent, like so many palaces
in the region, and I am sure, like elsewhere in the world. However,
much of the palace now is restoration rather than original splendor
because much of it was destroyed during the Second World War. The
tour that I had of Pavlovsk today was all in Russian, which is great
exposure, but in all honesty, much of the vocabulary used I do not
know. Thus, it was hard to follow. I was curious, so I
decided to look up some information, and it is very interesting. In
June 1941, after the Nazis started attacking the Soviet Union,
curators at Pavlovsk decided to rescue the artifacts of Pavlovsk,
board up the windows, and place sand on the first floor of the palace
to shield it. For two and a half years, the Germans occupied
Pavlovsk, and when the Soviets liberated the palace in January 1944,
much of the palace had been destroyed. Even while the war raged
on, the Soviet government convened and discussed the restoration of
Pavlovsk so that future generations could enjoy and know the history
behind it. It is fascinating to realize how close the Germans
were to the city of Saint Petersburg. Pavlovsk is around an
hour away from Saint Petersburg by train. In a couple of weeks,
I will be going on a special tour of Saint Petersburg that highlights
the Siege of Leningrad, and suddenly, knowing what I know now about
Pavlovsk, I am really excited for it.
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| The Palace at Pavlovsk |
The
train ride to and from Pavlovsk was interesting. People passed
through the cabins playing music, the woman sitting across from me at
one point insisted that one particular dacha we passed belonged to
Vladimir Putin, and another woman, a babushka, passed through the
train blessing all those around her. That train ride was nothing
like I have experienced in the United States.
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| Vitebskiy Station in Saint Petersburg |
Something
special happened at Pavlovsk today that I must share with you. I
went sledding. I have not been sledding since I was a young
child. This experience brought out the youthful side of me, it
brought a smile to my face, and a spark to my eyes. It was in
that moment, flying down the snowy hill at Pavlovsk with friends, and
with Russian families, that I felt my first real connection with
Russia. This past week, I kept asking myself when I would feel
something, what I would feel, and how I would react to it. I
was slightly scared that everything would continue to feel surreal,
that I would spend a semester in Russia but fail to really be here.
Today, however, sledding down that hill, I suddenly felt a connection
that was soulful and spiritual. I feel ready to embrace Russia with
an open heart – and all the joys and the frustrations that will
come with it.
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| Sledding! |
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| Pavlovsk's Portal to Heaven |
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