Churches, Stroganoff and More Vodka (Part 3: Sept 19, 2015)

Churches, Stroganoff and More Vodka  (Part 3)

Church on Spilled Blood

I had seen this church’s gilded onion domes from afar but was struck anew by its fairy-tale image when we got closer. It received this perplexing name because it is built on the place where a suicide bomber assassinated Czar Alexander II in 1881. When you go inside and look up Christ gazes down at you from the top of the dome and is bathed in light from the  windows. 

Nothing inside is painted ~ the walls are all covered with exquisite mosaics.






And the altar, typically made of wood, was entirely in marble. 

Entirely made of marble 

Interestingly this place is not used for religious purposes. 

St. Isaacs Cathedral and Weddings

This cathedral seems to be the place where newly married couples come to have their pictures taken. I take about 50 pictures but decide you have seen enough wedding pictures in my past blogs.
I am considering changing my career to be a wedding photographer as I find it fun to try to capture the joy and love in these couples celebrations. 

Stroganoff Steak House and Vodka Toasting

To add to John’s off diet streak of stroganoff meals, we go out this night to a restaurant called Stroganoff’s Steak House.  I am not sure why we chose this restaurant from the list the hotel concierge has given us because we never go to steak houses in America, try to keep beef off our diet and realize that good steaks won’t be cheap in Russia.  Perhaps we are taken in by the “stroganoff” brand marketing effort or the 4-½ star reviews by Trip Advisor and high recommendation by the concierge. Nonetheless when we arrive to we find it to be a comfortable and welcoming very male atmosphere with its white walls, black and white photos and dark leather chairs. John orders St. Petersburg steak and is told by the waiter it is really New York steak. I order half a lamb rack. 

I laugh as I tell John we are again seated by a group of  5 young men drinking vodka.  This time I can count the number of toasts more carefully.  They are having pickled herring and vodka chased by a reddish cranberry drink. Before even getting their 3-inch thick steaks I have counted 5 toasts. By the time they get their steaks they are up to 8 toasts. I wonder if this is regular young male Russian manhood behavior or if something special is being celebrated.  As we are close to finishing our meal I lean over to ask them if they speak English and whether they are celebrating a wedding. The man I am speaking to laughs and says yes he is getting married in a week. He shows me a picture of his fiancee.  We then ask about the etiquette for vodka toasting and number of toasts required. I mentioned I had been counting and one of them said he noticed I was watching them and told me my numbers were wrong because they had had 1 ½ liters of vodka before we arrived!  Moreover, this was just the start of the evening to be followed by cocktails at other bars. I asked if we could take a picture of them and they readily agreed and asked if they could take a picture of us sitting with them as well. They were eager to chat, their English was pretty good, and we talked about their views of differences and similarities between Americans and Russians. One of them had worked in Chicago which he loved.  Turns out drinking vodka is not their usual weekend habit and the groom told us he had not had vodka in 9 months. I mentioned they didn’t seem drunk and the groom replied that drinking vodka kept your mind clear and was only a problem if mixed with other alcohol such as wine! By background these men mostly had financial jobs and one had a PhD in statistics. They insisted on us joining them in a vodka toast with them and were surprised when we told them we had never tasted it
 before. Thus we participated in this traditional event although I found it hard to drink down a whole swig in one gulp without tasting it. After being urged to have a few more rounds (1 is never enough), we shared email addresses and left feeling once again we had been welcomed by friendly Russia people. 

Taxi Caution

Our guidebook has warned us to use taxis only with caution and to walk away from taxis that hail you down.  So far we have either taken the bus, or ordered a taxi from our hotel, or chosen a taxi with a taxi brand on the side of the car. We have negotiated the language barrier with John’s I-pad navigation system indicating our chosen location.  Usually the “official” taxis  from our hotel have cost us 450 rubles (about $7 ) versus 50 rubles on the bus. However, bus service takes much longer than the taxi depending on when your bus number arrives. This evening we ask the restaurant to order us an official taxi. However, when we get outside there are many taxis waiting and one driver offers to take us right away. I ask the restaurant manager how we know which taxi is ours? She cautions us not to take any of the taxis outside and to wait for the one she has ordered.  She comes out to the street to show us the taxi we are to take. This drive takes us to the Alexandra House for 350 rubles, the cheapest taxi ride yet! I comment on the way home that we haven’t had any taxi problems so far. The next day we have a different experience.  (see Part 4)