Bumming It In Russia and Russian Museum

Back in the states the kids love Top Ramon noodles and we as parents are closet eaters. HaHa.  While in Russia we thought we had hit a gold mine because they had them in styrofoam containers that you just added hot water. 

One day at work I was carrying one to the kitchen to add the hot water and one of the office workers stopped me. He said that was bum food and was concerned that it would make me sick. 

Understanding he was speaking in broken Russian I asked him to repeat again and he said all the homeless eat that food and I laughed. Needless to say we have been buying a lot of candy and used all our money (haha), so we added the hot water, went back to our desk and enjoyed our noodles. :-)

As many of you already saw on Facebook, we had a lot of fun for Kathy's birthday. 

We went shopping in the Galleria, found a TGI Friday's for dinner and got her several shirts and a couple skirts.  We surprised her at work with some balloons, a real birthday cake from the bakery and a bunch of missionaries singing Happy Birthday. In our family you get a birthday week so I have been spoiling her all week.  

We decided that on Saturday we would head out early for an adventure. 

We met another senior couple who are great friends and headed up Nevsky Prospect for a day of fun.  

On the way to the Russian Museum we stopped by an amazing candy store. The building is shown above and to the right and you should zoom in to see the detail. It is amazing with animated figures and amazing treats. We bought Kathy a couple of cookies that are different than anything we get in the states and they were amazing.  

After we indulged ourselves with the delights of Russia we headed off to the museum. On the way we passed a great statue and stopped for a quick picture opportunity. The Russian Museum is in the background and the pigeons are real. 

I included below a picture of the Fontanka river that we crossed over on the way to the museum.

 It is a beautiful river and the tour boats are just getting ready to start up for the season. We are supposed to have some snow on Monday, but is shouldn't freeze the river again.  When we first got to the museum, our landlord was waiting there, as shown in the next picture, making sure we paid our dues before we entered the museum. :-) 

Kathy just gave him a smile and commented on his amazing knife and handsome beard and he quickly let us pass. As we made our way through the museum over the next 3 hours we were continually amazed at the talent in Russia. There were paintings, sculptures, hand woven fabrics, etc., dating back to the early 1000 a.d.  There are nice ladies positioned in each room who take great pride in the art of their country and will tell you all about the art, in Russian of course:) They also make sure you don't touch or sneak a bite of a granola bar out of your bag. Ha ha

We wanted to go into this room with the large painting, but the gaurd didn't think it was a good idea. We thought he drew his knife and then realized it was just a statue and he wanted to do a birthday dance for Kathy.  The quality of the art is amazing and it is so large. 

This next piece has amazing 3D effects that make you feel like you are actually standing there observing the meeting taking place in the palace. All of these museums and buildings are old palaces and are so ornate.  It still amazes us to picture back into the time of the Tsars and see the parties and activities that went on in the palaces. They must have been so grand and yet there were also so many people without anything at that time. 

We finished the day with a real Russian buffet. That was awesome because we could taste all the different Russian food and it was really good. After lunch/dinner we walked to the Gostinyy Dyor mall, as shown below, which is one of many amazing malls. For all you amazing people who love shopping and have money, St. Petersburg could provide you weeks of amazing shopping in the various malls. They are typically located right off the subway stops and are either new or converted buildings. 

After shopping we walked another hour home and then decided to walk another half hour to the store to get some groceries and then walk home.  After 12 hours straight on our feet walking around St. Petersburg on our day off, we collapsed into bed with some candy, a water and a bag of chips to watch the animation of Anastasia.  We love serving the people of Russia on our church mission and having days off like today to explore the amazing city.  We continue to see many miracles in the mission and are able to testify often of the truthfulness of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father.  We hope this blog finds you all well and hope you enjoyed spending the day with Kathy on her birthday week. Love Bob and Kathy.