SWITZERLAND AND ON...

We arrived in Zurich on our last overnight train to be met by Maritza, an old friend from Temuco, and her Swiss husband Pascal. We enjoyed visiting the city, seeing the Grossmunster (where Zwingli started the Swiss reformation) and climbing its tower for a view over the city and down the lake. We spent the afternoon on a beach by the lake – very busy as it was the first fine day for several weeks! We also took a water taxi down the Limat River under the low bridges; the service had been suspended the previous week because the water level was too high.
We also both had our first haircuts since Almaty!

From there we took the Swiss train (setting our watches by the departure time!) to Chur to stay a few days with Anne-Marie and Florin, and baby Maya. Their house in the little village of Felsberg (not in the photo!) – overhung by a crumbling mountain – was very welcoming, and the city of Chur (claiming to be the oldest in Switzerland, founded by the Romans in 15BC) was charming. We had four days walking, doing a two day trip over the passes from Davos to Berguen and staying in the Kesch hut. The weather was cloudy but dry; we came down to the pretty village of Berguen in the afternoon and booked into the 18thC coaching inn, with its low ceilings and panelled walls. The only surprise came when the fire alarm went off at 2 a.m.; luckily it turned out to be a false alarm.

Then Florin and A-M came to Berguen on the lovely sunny Sunday, with Maya and Heidi (the dog) and we all walked up from the village together – well, some took a chairlift some of the way! (Florin's photo!)

Our final train ride took us to Amsterdam for two days to see Mehran, also an old friend from Chile, and from there we boarded our first plane since Beijing for the crossing to England.

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Llegamos en Zurich viajando por tren nocturne por ultima vez, para estar con Maritza, una amiga de Temuco, y conocer a su marido Suizo, Pascal. Disfrutamos de la ciudad y de la Grossmunster (la Iglesia Grande, donde Zwingli inicio la reformacion suiza) – donde subimos la torre para tener una panorama de la ciudad y del lago. Pasamos la tarde en una playa del lago – muy recorrido, ya que era el primer dia bonito en varias semanas! Tomamos un botecito por el rio Limat, pasando debajo de los puentes; se suspendio el servicio la semana anterior por el nivel alto del agua. Nos cortamos el pelo por primera vez desde Almaty!

Tomamos el tren (tan puntual que los suizos reglan los relojes por las salidas) a Chur para quedar unos dias con Anne-Marie y Florin, y la pequena Maya. Nos dieron la bienvenida en su casa en el pequeno pueblo de Felsberg – en la sombre de un cerro dedonde caen frecuentes piedras – y la ciudad de Chur (se dice la mas Antigua de Suiza, fundad por los Romanos en 15AC) es encantadora. Caminamos cuatro dias, incluyendo una caminata de dos dias desde Davos a Berguen, alojando en el refugio de Kesch. Habia mucha nube pero no llovio; al final bajamos al hermoso pueblo Berguen en la tarde y alojamos en un hotel del siglo 18, de cielos bajos y paredes forradas de madera. El unico inconveniente era que sono la alarma de incendio a las 2 a.m.; afortunadamente no era de verdad.
Florin y A-M llegaron a Berguen un hermoso dia domingo de sol, con Maya y Heidi (la perrita) y subimosal cerro desde el pueblo – algunos caminando, otras no...

El ultimo viaje en tren nos llevo a Amsterdam para dos dias con Mehran, tambien un amigo de Chile, y cruzamos a Inglaterra en el primer vuelo desde nuestra llegada a Beijing.

PRAGUE

On hearing our next destination Gorgias commented that it would be an interesting competition which was the more beautiful city – St Petersburg or Prague. While such a competition would be both invidious and subjective (and thus meaningless) it recognizes that these two cities were the cultural, and especially architectural, highlights of our journey.

Prague's history stretches back to at least the 9th century when the Premyslid dynasty (Vaclav I – or Good King Wenceslas) adopted one of the two already fortified high points straddling the Moldau, to create what was then the biggest fortress in Bohemia and is today Prague Castle. We were able to visit St Vitus' cathedral, a massive gothic structure started by Charles IV in the 14 th C and only completed in the 20th century. The castle also contains more modern palaces, houses and churches. We even went to a lunchtime concert (flute, viola and piano) in the Lobkowicz palace.

Charles IV, who came to the throne in 1346 when his father, Blind King John of Bohemia and Luxemburg, was killed at the Battle of Crecy, was Bohemia's most significant ruler. He devoted much of his considerable energy to developing the city, among other things founding a university and building a new bridge, which stands to this day.

Jan Hus started the Reformation in Prague, and a local political tradition was created when three Catholic councilors were thrown out of the windows of the city hall, famed especially for its astronomical clock which plays a tune on the hour while the figures of the 12 apostles peep out of two doors. Hus was martyred in 1415, but the result of the so-called Hussite Wars was that Prague remained a protestant city until the forces of catholic conservatism (the Empire) defeated Bohemian resistance at the beginning of the Thirty Years War in 1620. The war had been triggered two years earlier by the Second Defenestration of Prague when the governors imposed by the emperor were thrown out of the palace windows in the Castle.

A famous general of the imperial army, Count Wallenstein, was able to buy an extensive site beneath the castle walls and built himself a magnificent early baroque palace in the 1620s.

With the capital of the Empire definitively established in Vienna, Prague became something of a political backwater, allowing architecture, music and other arts to flourish in peace. Musical visitors included Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt, while home-grown composers reached their high point in the 19th century with Smettaner and Dvorak. Mozart's Don Giovanni was premiered here and we went to a 'reconstruction' of the first production in the same theatre, built three or four years earlier...

Many mediaeval and renaissance churches and other buildings grace the centres of the four boroughs which compose the old city, but above all Prague is the city of the Baroque.

Another period of architecture produced Prague's Art nouveau buildings, One of the best known is the Grand Hotel Europa (no photo!), where we took coffee and stickies on our last afternoon for a flavour of the early 20th C city...

Also a figure of the 20th C, Franz Kafka was born in Prague. The house still stands and the square before it bears his name.

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Al saber nuestro proximo destino, Gorgias comento que seria una competencia interesante cual ciudad era la mas hermosa – San Petersburgo o Praga. Si bien tal competencia seria demasiado subjectivo, reconoce que estas dos ciudades eran los principales hitos culturales, y especialmente arquitectonicos, de nuestro viaje.

La historia de Praga empieza en el siglo 9 cuando el dinastia Premyslido (Vaclav I) adopto uno de dos cerros fortificados que controlaban el rio Moldau, para crear lo que era entonces la mayor fuerte de Bohemia y es hoy el castillo de Praga. Pudimos conocer la catedral de San Vito, una masiva estructura gotica empezada en el siglo 14 por Carlos IV, y terminada recien en el siglo 20. El castillo tambien contiene palacios mas modernas, ademas de casas e iglesias. Hasta fuimos a un concierto de mediodia en el palacio Lobkowicz.

Carlos IV, quien ascendio al trono en 1346, era el rey mas significante de Bohemia. Dedico mucho de su considerable energia al desarrollo de la ciudad. Entre otros, fundo una universidad y construyo un nuevo puente, el cual todavia existe.

Jan Hus inicio la Reformacion en Praga, y se establecio una tradicion politica local cuando tres consejeros Catolicos fueron echados por las ventanas de la municipalidad. Esta esta especialmente conocida por su reloj astronomico, que toca una melodia cada hora mientras aparecen los 12 apostolos en dos puertas. Hus morio como martir en 1415, pero el resultado de las 'Guerras Husitas' era que Praga quedo como ciudad protestante hasta que las fuerzas del conservatismo catolico (el Imperio) derroto la resistencia Bohemia a principios de la Guerra de 30 anos en 1620. La guerra se gatillo dos ano anteriormente con la Segunda Defenestracion de Praga, cuando los gobernadores impuestos por el imperator fueron tirados por la ventanas del palacio antiguo en el castillo.

El celebre general del ejercito imperial, el Conde Wallenstein, pudo comprar un sitio extenso debajo de las murallas del castillo y construyo un magnifico palacio en el estilo baroco temprano en los anos 1620.

Una vez que el capital del imperio se habia instalado en forma definitiva en Viena, Praga perdio su importanci politica, lo que permtio un florecimiento de la arquitectura y otras artes. Las visitas musicaes incluyeron Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven y Liszt, mientras los compositores autoctonos se destacaron al final del siglo 19 en las figuras de Smettaner y Dvorak. La oper 'Don Giovanni', de Mozart, fue estrenado aqui, y asistimos a una 'reconstruccion' del estreno en el mismo teatro, construido unos 3-4 anos anteriormente...

Muchas iglesias y otros edificios de los epocas medieval y renacimiento ornan las 4 municipalidades que componen la ciudad antigua, pero Praga es sobre todo una ciudad baroca.

Otro periodo arquitectonico produjo en Praga los edificios del estilo Art Nouveau. Uno de los mas conocidos es el Grand Hotel Europa, donde fuimos a tomar cafe y kuchen en nuestra ultima tarde en Praga para un gusto de la ciudad a principios del siglo 20...

Otra figura destacada del siglo 20, Franz Kafka, nacio en Praga. La casa existe todavia y la plaza donde esta lleva su nombre.

MOSCOW 2

The Kremlin itself, along the west side of Red Square, is an extensive complex of palaces and churches enclosed in a triangle of heavily fortified walls. The present walls date back to the 15th century, but there has been a stronghold here since at least the 12th century, and habitation since perhaps the 6th.

We visited with a rather hectic guide, Tatiana, who wore very high heels and admitted to being 39... She tried to fit in too much resulting in superficial coverage of what we did see, made worse because the Kremlin was rather crowded. We made the obligatory stops at the beautiful Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral (17th Century) and the horrible Congress of Soviets (1960s), and ended in the Arsenal, which houses the Imperial crown jewels and an impressive mixed collection of objets d'art, ambassadorial gifts of silver and crockery, 18th and 19th century carriages, arms and armour, Fabergé eggs etc. We also saw where Mr Putin has his office, in the same building used by Stalin, who used to leave a light burning night and day – and reputedly had a bust made of himself to cast a shadow on the curtain – so that all would know how hard Big Brother was working to look after them. We were assured that Putin was away, as the guards looked pretty relaxed.

The most interesting member of the group was a Brit who was in Russia on business for 36 hours – he left the tour early to catch his plane home. He had last visited Russia as a student in 1983, crossing the Trans-siberian railway. He likened the difference between then and now as a change from a black and white photograph to colour.

"What was it like then?" was the question on everyone's lips (including ours throughout our time in Russia). Although the mosaic of facts and opinions, together with the language barrier, make it hard to feel that one has a true picture, we felt that we had come close to some realities about both then and now. One thing that struck us was the attention paid to the education and devlopment of children. Naturally there were schools, but in many cities we saw other facilities for children ranging from playgrounds to art and music centres dating from the soviet period. Without denying the repression, the inefficiencies, the stifling of initiative and all the other grim aspects of soviet life, we gained an insight into some of the good intentions and successful aspects of a regime which could hardly have survived as long as it did if it had not got something right.

Across the river to the south is the area of Moscow which we most enjoyed, the Zamoskvorechie, an area of busy narrow streets with a mixture of tourists and locals, and frequent trams. Here is also the Tetryakovsky gallery with a large collection of Russian paintings, especially portraits of the 17-19th centuries. However, many works of some of the most important late 19th and early 20th century artists – notably Repin – were copies, often not very good quality, and without any comment. We noticed when works started appearing which we had seen in the Russian Museum in Petersburg. Often they bore a label saying that they had been collected by one of the Tetryakov brothers and our guess is that they were moved during the soviet period to the more prestigious gallery.

We went to a ballet, "Don Quixote", in the Bolshoi’s Children’s theatre. The Bolshoi itself is closed for major repairs until September 2008, swathed in protective netting, and there were few other events available during the summer holiday months.

Not far away stands the infamous Lubyanka political prison, which now contains a museum of the KGB. If I had taken this photo 20 years ago I would probably have ended up inside.

Another building in the same category is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of the "Seven Sisters" of stalinist architecture, another being the Moscow State University.

Finally, we visited the Novodevichy Convent, a quiet corner south of the Zamoskvorechie where Peter the Great's first wife Yevdokia 'retired'. His sister Sofia was also confined here after he deposed her, and after the Strelsky rebellion, in which she was implicated, some of the ringleaders were hanged outside her windows... Both are buried in the cathedral.

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El mismo Kremlin, en el borde oeste de la Plaza Roja, es un complejo extenso de palacios e iglesias, dentro de un triángulo de murallas fortificadas. Las actuales son del siglo 15, pero existe una fuerte aqui desde el siglo 12, y un centro de habitacion desde tal vez el 6.

Fuimos con una guia un tanto desordenada, Tatiana, quien llevo tacones en aguja altisimos y reconocio la edad de 39 anos... Trato de incluir demasiado, con el resultado que las visitas que hicimos eran muy superficiales; ademas el Kremlin estaba llenisimo. Hicimos las paradas de rigor en la bella catedral Uspensky (Asuncion de la Virgen del siglo 17) y el horrible Congreso de Sovietos (decada de 1960), terminando en el Arsenal, donde se encuentran las Joyas Imperiales y una coleccion imponente de objetos de arte, dones de embajadores varios de plata y loza, carrozas de los siglos 18 y 19, armas, huevos de Fabergé etc. Tambien vimos las ventanas de la oficina del Sr Putin: en el mismo edificio que ocupaba Stalin, quien dejaba una luz prendida noche y dia – y supuestamente mando a hacer una estatua de si mismo para dejar su sombra en la cortina – para que todos supieran cuanto trabajaba para cuidar a su pueblo. Nos dijeron que Putin no estaba en Moscu – las guardias parecian bien relajadas.

El integrante mas interesante del grupo era un Britanico quien estaba en Rusia en un viaje de negocios por 36 horas – se retiro temprano para tomar su avion. Habia conocido Rusia como estudiante en 1983, cuando cruzo el pais por tren. Comparo la diferencia entre "entonces" y "ahora" a la que existe entre una foto en blanco y negro, y una de color.

"Como estaba entonces?" era la pregunta de todos (incluido nosotros durante toda nuestra estadia en Rusia). Si bien el mosaico de hechos y opiniones, junto con la barrera linguistica, dificultan una buena comprension, sentimos que habiamos entendido algunas realidades, tanto sobre "entonces" como "ahora". Un aspecto que nos llamo la atencion era el enfasis en la educacion y el desarrollo de los ninos. Por supuesto existian colegios; ademas en muchas ciudades vimos otras instalaciones para ninos, desde parques con juegos hasta centros de arte y musica, que venian de la epoca sovietica. Sin negar la represion, las ineficiencias, el ahogamiento de la iniciativa y tantos otros aspectos terribles de la vida sovietica, tomamos conciencia de las buenas intenciones y algunos exitos de un regimen, que no habria sobrevivido tanto tiempo si no tuviera algunos aspectos favorables.

En la orilla sur del rio se encuentra la zona de Moscu que mas nos gusto, la Zamoskvorechie, una area de calles angostas, llenas de vida, con una mezcla de turistas y locales, y hartos tranvias. Aqui se encuentra tambien la galeria Tetryakovsky, con una coleccion importante de pinturas Rusas, en especial retratos de los siglos 17-19. Sin embargo, muchas de las obras de algunos de los artistas mas importantes del siglo entre 1830 y 1930 – especialmente Repin – eran copias, a menudo de calidad indiferente, y sin comentario. Nos fijamos en esto al ver obras que ya habiamos visto en el Museo Ruso en Petersburg. Muchas veces llevaban una etiqueta, diciendo que habian sido adquirido por uno de los hermanos Tetryakov, y nosotros adivinamos que fueron cambiadas durante la epoca sovietica a la galeria mas prestigiosa.

Asistimos a un balet, "Don Quixote", en el Teatro de Ninos del Bolshoi. El mismo Bolshoi esta cerrado hasta Septiembre del 2008 para una restauracion importante, y tapado con malla protectiva, y de toda manera no pasa mucho durante los meses de las vacaciones.

No muy lejos esta la celebre carcel politica: Lubyanka, que ahora contiene un museo del KGB. Al tomar esta foto hace 20 anos atras, es muy probable que habria terminado adentro... Otro edificio de la misma categoria es el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, una de las "Siete Hermanas" del arquitectura stalinista, otra siendo la Universidad Estatal de Moscu.

Finalmente, conocimos el Convento Novodevichy, un rincon tranquilo al sur del Zamoskvorechie donde la primera esposa de Pedro el Grande, Yevdokia 'se retiro'. Su hermana Sofia tambien fue encarcelada aqui y despues de la rebelion de Strelsky, en la cual estaba implicada, colgaron a algunos de los principales frente a sus ventanas...

MOSCOW - 1

Moscow, nine centuries of triumph and tragedy, art and inhumanity, revolt and repression.

Just as Russia is an enormous country, so Moscow with its population of 8,000,000 matches its huge scale. Our hotel – 8,000 rooms in four towers – was built for the 1980 olympics. From our twenty-fourth floor window the city could be seen stretching away for miles across the flat expanse.

Our first introduction on arrival by train was the "Vladimir Ilich Lenin" Metro system – said to carry more passengers than those of London and New York combined, although I am suspicious of that bit of propaganda. It was built from the '30s onwards, and now includes 173 stations, many of them works of art to the glories of Russia and the Revolution. Our station was "Partisans", with statues of two notable WWII resistance fighters (one a woman) as well as an anonymous group. Revolution Square has dozens of bronze workers, soldiers, athletes, poets, parents with children etc suggesting that the revolution was for everyone.

Perhaps the most emblematic building, not only of Moscow but of the whole of Russia, is the Cathedral known as St Basil's, at the south end of Red Square. Built in the 16th century for Ivan IV (The Terrible), its official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession. The apparently chaotic design in fact consists of a central church – small in area but with a high vault up the central tower – surrounded by 8 even tinier chapels with various dedications. At a later date an additional chapel was added for St Basil and his name became synonymous with the whole structure. Inside, the chapels are linked by a narrow, labyrinthine passage; one chapel has become dedicated to the modern deity of consumption and sells souvenirs and religious tat. In another, a choir of five male voices sang an orthodox anthem every five minutes. The whole is in brick, plastered and painted in places, exposed in others, sometimes to create whirls and other patterns.

In a cube of polished red (of course) stone on the Kremlin side of Red Square lies the embalmed body of Lenin. Stalin was also placed there on his death, but after he was discredited the body was removed and buried just behind, along with other soviet notables. Lenin's days may also be numbered, for either political or preservative reasons (he has have his fluids topped up frequently!) but the building has been declared of architectural importance so will remain for the foreseeable future. It is no longer a cult centre – the 24-hour guard of honour has been moved round the corner to the WW II memorial with its eternal flame.

Opposite stands the GUM, a splendid turn-of-the-century "shopping mall" worthy of Paris. Famed for the lack of items for sale under the communists, it now houses all the smartest Moscow and international consumer outlets.


We were informed that the buildings on Red Square are all original, except two, a church and an entrance gate, both pulled down on Stalin's orders to facilitate the movements of military hardware for May Day parades, and both reconstructed in detail.

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Moscú, nueve siglos de triunfo y tragedia, arte e inhumanidad, rebeldía y represión.

Russia es un pais enorme, y Moscú con su población de 8,000,000 le corresponde en escala. Nuestro hotel – 8,000 habitaciones en cuatro torres – fue construido para los juegos olímpicos de 1980. Desde nuestra pieza en el piso 24 se apreciaba la extensión de la ciudad.

Nuestra primera introducción al llegar en tren, era el sistema de Metro "Vladimir Ilich Lenin" – dicen que lleva mas pasajeros que los de Londres y Nueva York juntos, aunque ese item de propaganda no me convence mucho. Se construyo a partir de los anos 1930, y ahora tiene 173 estaciones, muchas de ellas obras de arte a las glorias de Rusia y la Revolución. Nuestra estación era "Los Partisanos", con estatuas de dos famosos integrantes de la resistencia de la Seunda Guerra Mundial (uno de ellos mujer) ademas de un grupo anónimo. La estación Plaza de la Revolución tiene docenas de obreros, soldados, atletas, poetas, padres e hijos, etc de bronce, para indicar que la revolución era para todos.

Tal vez el edificio mas emblemático, no solo de Moscú sino de toda Rusia, es la Catedral conocida como San Basilio, al sur de la Plaza Roja. Construida en el siglo 16 para el tsar Ivan IV (El Terrible), su nombre oficial es la Catedral de la Intercesion. El diseno aparentemente caótico consiste en una iglesia central – pequena pero con un techo alto en la torre central – más 8 capillas, mas pequenas aún, alrededor. Posteriormente se agregó otra capilla dedicada a San Basilio y su nombre se hizo sinónimo con la estructura entera. Las capillas estan comunicadas por un pasaje angosto y laberintino; una capilla ahora está dedicada al dios moderno del consumo, vendiendo souvenirs y otros cachurreos. En otra, un coro de cinco voces masculinas cantaba un pequeno himno cada cinco minutos. La construcción es de ladrillo, estucado y pintado.

En un cubo de piedra roja (por supuesto) y pulido en la Plaza Roja, debajo de la muralla del Kremlin, descansa el cuerpo preservado de Lenin. Stalin tambien fue colocado aquí después de su muerte, pero posteriormente, al ser desacreditado, lo enteraron atrás del mausoleo, junto a otros grandes soviéticos. Es posible que a Lenin también le vayan a cambiar de lugar, por motivos políticos o prácticos (tienen que cambiarle los fluidos preservantes cada vez más a menudo!) pero el mausoleo mismo se ha declarado estructura de importancia arquitectónico así que quedará por un buen tiempo más. Ya no es centro de culto de la persona de Lenin – la guardia de honor se ha desplazado al memorial de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Frente al mausoleo está el GUM, un magnífico "mall" de principios del siglo 20, digno de Paris. Se hizo famoso durante la época soviética por su falta de mercancías, ahora alberga todas las tiendas muscovitas e internacionales más top.

Nos contaron que los edificios del la Plaza Roja son todos originales salvo dos – una iglesia y un portón – ambos destruidos por orden de Stalin para facilitar el movimiento de tropas y tanques en los desfiles del 1 de Mayo, y ambos reconstruidos en detalle.

PETERSBURG (2)

We spent over 5 hours in the Hermitage, including a lunch break. The collection, originally the private collection of Catherine II (The Great) is housed principally in her Winter Palace, in a magnificent setting - see the film "The Russian Ark" if you haven't already!
It has also spread to the neighbouring buildings. Enlarged by 19th century tsars, its already huge size reputedly tripled after the Revolution with objects seized from the aristocracy and other wealthy collectors (including the Yusupovs). We saw mainly Russian and Italian works, and the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (more than 20 Picassos, if that's what you like!) Outside, the band was testing sound for a Rolling Stones concert in the evening, making for a unique mix of "cultural experiences". But perhaps what will remain with us more than any individual work are the state rooms of the palace itself, of course beautifully maintained and/or restored. Catherine's dazzling throne room; Peter's more simple throne (installed here for visitors to see although the palace was built after his death); the grand staircase; and the "1812 room" with portraits of tsar Alexander I and representative commanders and princes, of both Russia and her allies, in the defeat of Napoleon. Wellington merits a full-length portrait, as does the king of Prussia...

The other major museum which we visited was the Russian Museum - founded by a bequest of Alexander III and exclusively devoted (not surprisingly) to the work of Russian artists. Here we saw the original of Repin's 'Barge-haulers on the Volga' (See our stay in the Volga Valley). It is housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, said to have been built for Grand Prince Mikhail, younger brother of Alexander I and Nikolai I, as consolation for not having a chance to be tsar...

One of the highlights was a visit to the Mariinsky theatre (1859) for a performance of "Carmen" - in French, with Russian sub-titles. The theatre is beautifully maintained - we sat over the Imperial Box with a huge imperial crown of gilded wood just to our right! The performance was excellent, our only criticism was that in two and a half hours of music we had three intervals of half an hour each, certainly not justified by the scene changes! No doubt bar sales are an important part of theatre revenues...

Another interesting visit was to the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky monastery (at the end of Nevsky Prospekt) where there is a special graveyard for artists and other distinguished persons - it was opened around 1800 and maintained throughout the soviet period, although no doubt the qualification criteria changed somewhat. Apart from Dostoievsky we found Tchaikovsky, Glinka (next to his wife, who survived him for more than 50 years), Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Our other Dostoievsky moment was dinner in a vegetarian restaurant called "The Idiot" - in no other city in the world could a restaurant get away with such a name! It is in a cellar on the Moika canal, no more than 500 metres from the Yusupov palace. I should add that the dinner was excellent.

We also went to a concert by the male choir of Petersburg - THE choir of the Orthodox church, formed in 1993 to recover the church's choral music (and technique), which have a history going back to the 14th century. SPECTACULAR. 15 voices: 7 tenors (1 and 2) and 8 basses (3 or 4 baritones and the rest bassi profundi - what basses!!!!!!!! ) Mainly liturgical music and arrangements of folk songs.

The concert was in the notorious Peter and Paul Fortress, built by Peter I on an island across the Neva from where Catherine would build her Winter Palace.
The fortress has a cathedral with one of the three gilded needle spires which grace the Petersburg skyline.
Here political and other prisoners were incarcerated over a period of some 200 years, many to die there and many more destined for the scaffold or Siberia. Peter the Great is said to have supervised the torture of his son Alexei (the pathetic history of this young man is too long to tell here. Look it up in wikipedia - we saw the original painting in the Russian Museum!) and our old friends the Decembrists were held here after being interrogated in the Winter Palace by Nikolai I.

It is still a "forbidding" place!!!
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Pasamos mas de 5 horas en el Hermitage, con pausa para almorzar. La coleccion, originalmente la coleccion privada de Catalina II (la Grande) se encuentra en su mayoria en el Palacio de Invierno de esta, en un ambiente magnifico - si no han visto la pelicula "El Arco Ruso", veanlo! Se extiende tambien a los edificios vecinos. Aumentada por los tsares del siglo 19, la coleccion ya imponente fue supuestamente triplicada despues de la Revolucion con los objetos confiscados de la aristocracia y otros coleccionistas adinerados (entre elloslos Yusupov). Miramos principalmente obras Rusas e Italianas, mas los Impresionistas y Pos-Impresionistas franceses (mas de 20 Picasso, si es de tu gusto...) Afuera, una banda estaba probando sonido para un concierto de los Rolling Stones en la noche, lo que producia una mezcla unica de "experiencias culturales". Sin embargo, quizas lo que vamos a recordar mas que cualquier obra en especial son las salas formales del mismo palacio, por supuesto en perfecto estado. La sala de trono deslumbrante de Catalina; el trono mas sencillo de Pedro, instalado aqui aunque el palacio fue construido despues de su muerte; la gran escalera; y la "Sala de 1812" que contiene retratos del tsar Alejandro I y de generales y principes representantes tanto de Rusia como de sus aliados en la derrota de Napoleon. El Duque de Wellington merece un retrato, como tamien el rey de Prusia...

El otro museo importante que conocimos era el Museo Ruso - fundado postumamente por Alejandro III y dedicado exclusivamente a las obras de artistas Rusos. El museo esta en el Palacio Mikhailovsky, supuestamente construido para el Gran Principe Mikhail, hermano menor de Alejandro I y Nikolai I, como consuelo por no tener la posibilidad de ser tsar...

Un espectaculo inolvidable era de ir al teatro Mariinsky (1859) para una presentacion de "Carmen" - en frances, con sub-titulos en ruso. El teatro es hermosisimo - teniamos asientos encima del palco imperial, y a nuestro derecho habia una enorme corona imperial de madera dorada! La presentacion era excelente, lo unico que no nos gusto era de tener tres entremedios de media hora cada uno en una opera de 2 horas y media...

Otra visita interesante era al monasterio 'Alexander Nevsky' (al final del Nevsky Prospekt) donde existe un cementerio especial para artistas y otras personas destacadas - se abrio alrededor de 1800 y se mantuvo durante la epoca sovietica, seguramente los criterios para la seleccion habran sido distintas. Aparte Dostoievsky, encontramos a Tchaikovsky, Glinka (al lado de la esposa, quien le sobrevivio por mas de 50 anos), Borodin, Mussorgsky y Rimsky-Korsakov.

Nuestro otro 'momento Dostoievskano' era de comer en un restorante nombrado "El Idiota" - no puede existir un restoran con tal nombre en ninguna otra ciudad del mundo! Esta en un sotano al lado del canal Moika, a menos de 500 metros del Palacio Yusupov. Deberia agregar que la comida (vegetariana) era excelente.

Tambien fuimos a un concierto del coro de hombres de St Petersburg - 'El' coro de la iglesia ortodoja, formado en 1993 para rescatar toda la musica (y tecnica) coral de la iglesia - que tiene historia desde el siglo 14. ESPECTACULAR. 15 voces, 7 tenores (1 y 2); mas 8 bajos, 3 o 4 baritonos y los demas bassi profundi - que bassi!!!!!!!!

El concierto se hizo en la famosa Fuerte de Pedro y Pablo, construida por Pedro el Grande en una isla al lado opuestos del Neva del sitio donde Catalina haria su Palacio de Invierno. Aqui se encarcelarian prisioneros - politicos y otros - durante un periodo de unos 200 anos; muchos moririan adentro, muchos mas destinados a la ejecucion o al exilio en Siberia. Se dice que Pedro superviso la tortura de su hijo Alexei (esta historia patetica es muy larga para que la cuente aqui. Mira en wikipedia - vimos el cuadro original en el Museo Ruso!) y nuestros amigos los Decembristas fueron encarcelados aqui despues de su interrogacion por Nikolai I en el Palacio de Invierno. La fuerte posee una catedral con una de las tres agujas doradas que destacan el perfil de Petersburgo.s still a "forbidding" place!

PETERSBURG (1)

(Saint) Petersburg is beyond description. Built on a swamp from 1703, it was Europe's first planned city. Peter the Great was determined to haul Russia kicking and screaming out of the Asiatic middle ages and into 'modern' Europe. Having reconquered the swamp from the Swedes, he built first a fortress to defend it and then a new capital for his empire, looking symbolically westward over the Gulf of Finland. The capital remained here until the 1920's when the communist government, frightened of a German invasion (their fears proved justified in 1941), moved back to Moscow. So many died in the construction of Petersburg that it is said to be built on dead men's bones...



The city stands in classical magnificence about the river Neva and a number of other waterways and canals. Waterfront boulevards, ornate bridges, churches and cathedrals, parks and palaces, monuments to its intense three hundred year history - a week's visit is nothing...

The atmosphere is different to that of Moscow - more bustling but less stressed; more cultured and fashionable. The streets and public areas are light and spacious. There are no high rise, and hardly any 20th century buildings in the centre. The policy since 1945, when the repair of war damage began, has been consistent: "If it can be restored, restore it". Many new structures stand behind old facades, but the impression from the street is extraordinarily homogeneous.

Although one expects imperial magnificence in the palaces of the tsars, there are a host of palaces and houses of the nobility and wealthy society of the pre-revolutionary city fitted out to a level of luxury which the house-fronts, while often ornate, hardly suggest. We attended a "Divertissement" in the palace of the Yusupovs - admittedly one of the wealthiest families of the country - and found that the sober classical front concealed an interior to equal the Winter palace, albeit on a smaller scale. The concert was in the gilded 200-seat private theatre, complete with box for imperial visits. A mezzo-soprano and a baritone sang operatic arias, and then in the second part three couples danced classical ballet scenes. From the palace we went to the station for our train, the Red Arrow, back to Moscow - it was a suitable farewell to Petersburg.

The Yusupov palace is famous as the site of Rasputin's murder in December 1916, with Yusupov himself among the three noble murderers. It was hoped that imperial rule would be saved by eliminating this baleful influence over tsaritsa Alexandra, but Rasputin's own prophecy that the imperial family would fall if he were killed was swiftly and amply fulfilled. We avoided the 'Rasputin murder tour'...

The tour we did take was a "Peter's Original Walking Tour" - and it must be said that it was original! Our guide appeared a minute or two late, extremely casual, and asked what we wanted to see - which of course is an unanswerable question! We gave him a free hand. The unfavourable initial impression began to be corrected almost immediately by the degree of knowledge and intelligence displayed by Nikolai, who turned out to have a PhD in psychology. Aged 12 at the collapse of the Soviet union, his understanding of his country's recent past - and therefore of its present - was rather different from that of people from earlier generations with whom we have talked, but it was certainly interesting to hear his views, although his cynicism was hardly encouraging. The tour took us through inner courtyards, markets and back streets, with few of the conventional 'sights', but he spoke with the authority of 5 generations living in the city. His great grand-parents and grand-parents lived through the defining events of 20th century Petersburg: the Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad. One sight we did see was the house where Dostoievsky died - suitable for a psychologist... We ended up under the shadow of the "Cathedral on Spilled Blood" (built on the spot where Alexander II was killed by an assassin's bomb in 1881) among what were once the stables of the Winter Palace, drinking beer in the sunshine on an imported sandy beach! It was a fitting end to the tour.

We also took a more conventional boat trip along the Neva which gave an opportunity for some evening light photos of the 'Venice of the North'. Apart from that we walked miles on our own along the streets, down the canals, and round museums!

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(San) Petersburgo sobrepasa la descripcion. Construida en un pantanal a partir de 1703, fue la primera ciudad planificada de Europa. Pedro el Grande tenia la firme intencion de sacar a Rusia - a reganadientes - de la epoca medieval asiatica y hacerla un pais 'moderno' y Europea. Despues de reconquisatr el pantanal, tomado por los Suecos, construyo primero una fuerte para su defensa, y a continuacion un nuevo capital para su imperio, orientado simbolicamente hacia el Oeste y el Golfo Finlandes. El capital se mantuvo aqui hasta los anos 1920, cuando el gobierno comunista, ante el temor de una invasion alemana (lo que efectivamente se produjo en 1941) volvio a Moscu. Morieron tantos hombres en la construccion de Petersburgo que dicen que esta cimentado sobre los huesos...

La ciudad se yergue, en su esplendor clasico, alrededor del rio Neva y varios canales. Una semana no basta para conocer sus bulevares y malecones, sus puentes ornados, sus iglesias y catedrales, parques y palacios, y los monumentos de sus 300 anos de historia intensa...

El atmosfera no es el mismo de Moscu: es mas movido, pero menos estresado; de mas cultura y modernidad. Las calles y los espacios publicos son claros y amplios. Hay pocas construcciones del siglo veinte en el centro, y ninguna torre. La politica desde 1945, cuando empezaron a reparar los danos de la guerra, ha sido constante: "Si se puede restaurar, que se restaure". Muchas fachadas antiguas esconden estructuras nuevas, y la impresion desde la calle es la de una homogeneidad sorprendente.

Aunque se espera una magnificencia imperial en los palacios de los tsares, hay gran cantidad de palacios y casas de la sociedad noble y/o adinerada de la ciudad pre-revolucionaria, terminados a un nivel de lujo que las fachadas de los mismos, si bien ornadas, no sugieren. Fuimos a un "Divertissement" en el palacio de la familia Yusupov - de veras una de las mas ricas del pais - y nos encontramos con que su fachada sobria y clasica esconde un interior que iguala el del Palacio de Invierno, en escala menor, por supuesto. El concierto se realizo en un teatro privado dorado, para 200 personas, con palco para visitas imperiales. Una mezzo-soprano y un baritono cantaron arias de opera, y, en la segunda parte, tres parejas bailaron escenas de ballet clasico. Del palacio fuimos directo a la estacion para tomar el tren - la Flecha Roja - a Moscu. Una despedida perfecta de Petersburgo.

El palacio Yusupov es celebre por ser el sitio del asesinato de Rasputin en diciembre del 1916, el mismo Yusupov siendo uno de los tres asesinos nobles. Se espero salvar el gobierno imperial al eliminar esta influencia nefasta sobre la tsaritsa Alexandra, pero la profecia del mismo Rasputin, que la familia imperial caeria en el caso de su muerte, se cumplio rapida y completamente. Evitamos el 'Tur del asesinato de Rasputin'...

Un tur que hicimos era "Peter's Original Walking Tour" - hay que decir que fue realmente original! Nuestro guia aparecio, con algunos minutos de atraso, muy casual, y nos pregunto sobre lo que queriamos ver - la pregunta sin respuesta! La impresion inicial desfavorable se empezo a corregir luego con el grado de conocimiento e intelligencia de Nikolai, quien resulto ser doctorado en psicologia. Tenia 12 anos cuando cayo el gobierno sovietico, entonces su manera de entender el pasado reciente de su pais - y por lo tanto su presente - era distinta de la de personas mayores con las cuales hemos conversado, pero era muy interesante. El tur paso por patios interiores, mercados y pasajes, con pocos hitos convencionales; pero el hablo con la autoridad de cinco generaciones de residencia en la ciudad. Sus bis-abuelos y abuelos habian vivido los eventos clave de Petersburgo del siglo 20: la Revolucion y el Sitio de Leningrad. Un hito que vimos era la casa donde murio Dostoievsky - muy apropiado para un psicologo... Terminamos bajo la sombra de la "Catedral sobre Sangre Derramada" (construida en el lugar donde Alejandro II fue matado por la bomba de un asesino en 1881) entre edificios que habian sido los establos del Palacio de Invierno, tomando cerveza bajo el sol sobre una playa de arena importada! Una buena manera de terminar el tur.

Tomamos un tur mas convencional en lancha por los canales y el rio Neva, lo que nos dio la oportunidad de sacar unas fotos vespertinas de esta 'Venecia del norte'. Aparte eso, caminamos muchos kilometros solos en las calles, las orillas de los canales y los museos!