28. Nov – Vladimir
Said goodbye to Nizhny and my favourite host family yet which was a bit sad! Grandma gave me a big old kiss and Irena walked me down (actually made the sign of the cross as I got in the car which was a bit over the top but touching nonetheless). Definitely one of my best stops so far. Kind of place I’d actively make an effort to go back and visit again.
On the train heading to Vladimir now – not too far I think (about 3 hours which is a stone’s throw in this country). Everyone in the carriage is either asleep or listening to loud, bad music on their head-phones.
Made it to Vladimir – my last stop before I rendezvous with Sam in Moscow for a more traditional holiday. I’ve got a very nice cozy little room to stay in with more books in it than all my other apartments combined. If I had a little more than 3 days here this could be a good way to improve my reading. My hosts seem nice – Ivan is about 30 and his parents Elizaveta and Evgenii are in their 50s I guess. I have a lot of churches and museums to get through so better head off now.
I went to the Golden Gate museum which was a small but interesting museum of the city’s history. It’s getting pretty dark and cold here. I might have to buy some more clothes as people are constantly telling me. I bought some gloves. Black. Leather. Then went to the Assumption Cathedral (Успенский Собор) where I saw the frescoes done by Andrei Rublev in 1408. That was awesome! The cathedral has a great setting detached from the main road in a little square. Bright neon street lamps lead to the entrance and the back of the city sprawls out behind it. On the way back I called into an unassuming café on Moskovskaya for a coffee. Things seem to be a lot cheaper in Vladimir than in some of the other places – like Irkutsk and Novosibirsk for example.
Back at the flat now. (I missed my stop by some distance on the bus ride back and ended up walking for about 30mins – probably not a good idea in this cold). Had some food and a chat with Ivan. He’s a very smart guy I think – but glum as they come. Seems to act as though the whole weight of the world was on his shoulders. We spoke a bit about Russian poets and writers and he made the usual pretentious claim that it’s all untranslatable. He could receipt passages of Mayakovsky by heart which was quite impressive. Elizaveta is an editor of books – reviews the spelling and grammar content for articles being published through the university press. Apparently just completed 150 pages in 2 days – makes me feel quite embarrassed seeing as it takes me about 150 days to finish 2 books these days.
(c) Richard Breeson
No comments:
Post a Comment