Rail Trippin': Pskov/Kostomuksha

It's been a busy eight days.  Last Monday, a friend and I made a spur of the moment decision to visit Pskov, a historic town 15 miles from the Estonian border and one of Russia's oldest cities (the commonly accepted date for its founding is 903).  It was the kind of quintessential Russian travel experience: buy train tickets the day before, buy bus tickets an hour before it leaves, rent a room at the first hotel you see, and buy a map in the gift shop to figure out what to see.  It was also a lot of fun.  The bus from Petersburg was one of the nicest I've been on, and took about 30-45 minutes less than advertised.  I quickly took a liking to Pskov; it reminded me of Petrozavodsk in many ways, but with the added component of having the feel of a very old city.  At one time the kremlin in the middle of the city was surrounded by as many as five walls, some of which still wind their way through the city.  It's not uncommon to walk out of a cafe or movie theater and see a wall running beside you built in the 13th century.

The only downsides: heat and mosquitoes.  The hotel room was so hot we had to open the windows all the way, meaning it was open season for bugs.  I ended up sleeping with my bottle of OFF! next to my bed, so I could periodically spray myself with it throughout the night as I was inevitably awoken by the tiny stings of insect invasion.  But we found ways to combat the heat, mostly through large amounts of ice cream, water, and seeing a movie during the hottest part of the day.  The other main attraction in Pskov besides its kremlin (which I don't have pictures of on my camera and haven't gotten copies of yet, unfortunately) is its great number of churches.  The various quarters of the city are littered with them, to the point that it's a rarity to walk ten minutes without seeing one.  

The one pictured above is the Christ's Transfiguration Cathedral, part of the famous Mirozhsky Monastery.  The church is the only original building that remains of the monastery (the rest has been rebuilt at various points in history), dating to the mid-12th century.  It's well-known for its frescoes, and is listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.  While they are currently in the process of restoring the original frescoes, which feature scenes from the life of Jesus, I was able to capture some they'd already restored:

Having arrived back in Petrozavodsk on Friday, I had one night at home before getting back on a train headed for Kostomuksha, a much newer town (1977) in the northwest of Karelia right on the border with Finland.  I went with Karjala in order perform in the city's Russia Day celebrations.  Everyone in the town made a really big deal over the fact that doesn't look like other Russian cities because half of it was built by Finnish builders.  I didn't really see the difference, but oh well.  Because it's so close to the border, travel to Kostomuksha is restricted, a legacy of the old Soviet border control system that was originally curtailed in the '90s but later expanded by the FSB (new name for the KGB) under Putin.  Basically, when you enter the Border Security Zone, the train is boarded and everyone has to have their passports checked.

As an American, as you might expect, I attracted considerable interest from a very serious man wearing a military uniform that noticeably featured no markings.  I got to sit with him for a good ten or so minutes as he wrote down all of the information from my passport, visa, migration card, registration, and tickets.  Luckily I was in the same cabin-area as Andre, the group leader, so he was able to help with the questions about where exactly we would be in town and what exactly we would be doing.  But ultimately there was no trouble, though you wouldn't have guessed it from the expression on the man's face.

What followed was a busy day full of programming.  We danced in the poorly-organized event near the town's church, and then were invited in for tea and pastries by the town priest.  He was by fair the most gregarious and charismatic holy man I've met in Russia, regaling us with jokes and anecdotes for a good three quarters of an hour before our town coordinator/guide finally insisted that we were way behind schedule.  After that we had a cultural presentation about the town's brief history, then an hour and a half swim at the aquatic center in town, then back on the train home.  

Honestly, the train rides were the best part of the whole trip.  There's nothing quite like the experience of riding third-class with a group of young and rambunctious Russians.  Vodka was drunk, mushrooms were eaten, songs were sung, and we were shushed a good 2-3 times.  It was a great time and a good way to enjoy my last weekend Karelia.  I'm in full departure mode now, with half of my things already packed and all of my plans this week centered on seeing as many people one last time before I leave on Saturday.  I think all the traveling I've done in the last three weeks has helped me start to get my mind around the fact that I'm going "home home" and after so long here.  As much as I'll miss the city and all the people I've met here, I think I'm ready to see Ole' Lady Liberty again.  And by Lady Liberty I mean the inside of JFK airport.