Why Russia? Well, the music, the ballet, the books, the arts in general!
What could be better than going to see Tchaikovski's Swan Lake in Russia at an opera house named after Tchaikovski? (Rhetorical question - I'm sure many people can think of great things to do but it was wonderful!!)
I was given the tickets for my birthday and, after a month, the wait was over. Rafa and I both enjoy classical music and studied at school. (He played the clarinet and piano; I played flute and piano. I actually did music A-level many years ago.) Even though we are not big ballet fans we both thoroughly enjoyed Swan Lake last night. The dancing was amazing and it was great to recognise the music too. I actually had ballet classes for a couple of years as a child and have seen the Nutcracker a couple of times. I've also seen a couple of other ballets. However, I'd never seen Swan Lake. This is, hopefully, the first of several visits to the ballet. It's cheap, close to our house and fabulous! What more could you ask for?
You're not actually supposed to take photos and I actually hadn't intended to any way as I'm a different person with a camera in my hand - I'm looking for photos rather than enjoying the music or dance. However, at the end when the dancers were bowing and taking their well-earned applause, lots of people were taking photos to I took this one. It's not a great photo but you get the idea. We had great seats - in row 8. It's actually quite a small theatre. The acoustics were great, as was the view, and the atmosphere wonderful. There were many families there and children as small as about 4 or 5. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I know we did.
BTW the ballet in Perm is famous here in Russia, second only to the Kirov from St. Petersburg. It turns out that during World War II the Kirov relocated to Perm away from the fighting.
Monday 29 October 2007
Monday 22 October 2007
Hohlovka 116 transfiguration church
And, of course, the buildings were amazing - this chruch was my favourite.
Hohlovka fishing
Though this fabulous view is not the main reason for visitin Hohlovka, it was certainly beautiful.
Hohlovka 065 little man
Yesterday we went to an open-air museum called Hohlovka. As you can see it’s made up of traditional wooden buildings which have been taken from various parts of the Perm Region and reconstructed on site. It’s set in beautiful forest next to the Kama River. was absolutely beautiful and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, as did Alex. We were also lucky with the weather as it was about 8 degrees and didn’t rain. Hohlovka is about 40km from Perm.
I fell in love with this little guy and wanted to bring him home! There was no gift shop or anything so I couldn't even buy one. Not to worry - he'd be too big to put in my suitcase!
I fell in love with this little guy and wanted to bring him home! There was no gift shop or anything so I couldn't even buy one. Not to worry - he'd be too big to put in my suitcase!
Saturday 20 October 2007
good luck 11th Oct
This little guy lives in our flat and is for good luck (and money - that's a thousand rouble note you can see - about 500 pesos or about 12 pounds.)
blue and white
Another fabulous building - this one is on 25th October Street, near the Opera House.
Saturday walk fancy a drink 035
Yes, it's about time I explained this photo.
So, why have I taken a photo of two strangers walking along the side of the River Kama with bottles of half-drunk beer in their hands? Just because of that! It's so common to see people here in the street drinking beer - just about any time of day and any age, male or female. It came as a bit of a shock, given that it's illegal in Mexico and not that common in the UK. I've seen people here with their bottle of beer at 10am. Cultural differences. :-)
So, why have I taken a photo of two strangers walking along the side of the River Kama with bottles of half-drunk beer in their hands? Just because of that! It's so common to see people here in the street drinking beer - just about any time of day and any age, male or female. It came as a bit of a shock, given that it's illegal in Mexico and not that common in the UK. I've seen people here with their bottle of beer at 10am. Cultural differences. :-)
Friday 12 October 2007
First Russian Lesson
I had my first Russian lesson today with Alex. It was excellent and just what I needed - 45 minutes of speaking Russian. I was exhausted!! I actually thought I was going to have to cancel it as it looked like I was going to have to teach but that course doesn't start until Monday. Phew. Lesson 2 on Monday from 10.30 to 12 (and then I really am going to be tired!! but it's so worth it.) Rafa has his first class this afternoon. Fingers crossed it goes well. (He should have had it on Wed but it was cancelled.)
(Also blogged on my weekly blog.)
(Also blogged on my weekly blog.)
church
I think you might have gathered that I love Russian architecture! Isn't this just fabulous? To me this could be out of a Russian fairy-tale.
Monday 8 October 2007
blue
Yet another beautiful building! The architecture really is one of the things I love about Russia!
opera house
Isn't this a magnificent building? It's the ballet / opera house and I have to walk past it to get to work at both branches. I love it and the little park in front (with the statue of Lenin.)
Gorky and Lenin chat
There are still so many reminders of the Soviet era. No-one really talks about what went on nor all the changes. Modern Russia is looking very prosperous but we're finding it also rather expensive, if you really want to live like the prosperous! In fact, in many ways it's more expensive than Mexico but we're earning a lot less. Not to worry - it's an interesting experience!
Tuesday 2 October 2007
late autumn walk
The last day of the month has been cooler, verging on cold - just about 8°C. The wind was chilly too. Even so, we had a brief walk out this afternoon to get the blood circulating, though we didn't go very far as we were both feeling a little lazy and the wind was chilly! October started even colder than September ended and it's been a little below freezing over night and only about 5°C in the day. It's quite pleasant though. In the flat it's rather hot as the central heating has been turned on (for the whole building.) We've had the windows open to try to keep it cool rather than warm. Rafa and I seem to like the inside of our buildings a few degrees cooler than the Russians.
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