The Roaming Nole: Wait, you want me to do what?

So, trying to play catch up again. When I last left you, I had given only a glimpse into the weekend trip to Suzdal. We learned about picking wildflowers, which is still a running joke among the group...

No vehicles are allowed through this field, all visitors must walk 3ish km.

Once we got to Suzdal, we had a great lunch at a cute little restaurant, then started our excursions to the many churches in the region. The first was the Church of Boris and Gleb, which was pretty cool to me because of the Medieval Russian Lit course I took last year. It's also pretty freaking cool to see stuff still standing that was built in the 12th century. (You don't find that much in Russia, since most buildings were made of wood and either burned, rotted, or were destroyed in some other fashion.) The scenery was also amazing. The soil is black and everything is bright green. I cannot express to you how poorly photos capture the beauty of the land and scenery.

Anyway, after that church was a bus tour, and... you guessed it- more churches! I unfortunately didn't write down the names of all the churches and monasteries we went to, but they're all really old and really beautiful. Some even have miracles, and important historical figures associated with them. There was also a little sample of what life was like for Russian families in the 19th century, with authentic wooden churches and houses which had been moved into a specific area to try to recreate and preserve the memories of average life back then. It was pretty cool to see an example of how my ancestors may have lived... but I also can't blame them for leaving, the standards of living were so different from those of the same time period in the US. At least I learned some cool cultural stuff though. Again, I won't bore you with details, you can ask me if you really want to know, though. So, if you ever find yourself in Suzdal, I highly recommend the Suzdal Inn. It was lovely and clean, and man they know how to throw a party! Or maybe my teachers, who organized the trip do, either way, a night of good food, local beer, some homemade strawberry moonshine concoction, and dancing was just what I needed.

Recreation of an old Russian bedroom, and by old, I mean early 1900's

Amidst all of that fun, was another fantastic experience- Banya, a weekly ritual among those who can afford it. Oh man, even though the girls and I didn't do it quite right, it was still a great time, and another chance to push myself out of my comfort zone. I didn't take any photos of the Banya, so sorry, you'll just have to experience it for yourself. The building was located in the yard of the hotel, as is Russian tradition to keep it separate from the main house. There are old beliefs and superstitions as to why, but I won't bore you with that now. Anyhow... the building was wooden, very nice, and clean. There was a bit of an anti-chamber for a toilet, supplies and changing... and by changing I mean stripping. That's right, it's not a Banya if you're not naked. Upstairs there was a bit of a lounge with couches, a table prepared for tea with cookies and marmalade, as well as a small cardio room. On the bottom floor was a room with a giant wooden tub of cold water, a shower station, and a bucket of cold water overhead that would fill with cold water for you to pull a string and be quickly doused with cold water. In that room was also a door to the hot room.

It looked just like your average sauna, all wood, and hot as hell. However, here's the difference- there's a bucket of hot water in there with a ladle and a bundle of birch branches in it. The ladle is for pouring water onto the hot stones to steam the place up and heat it even more. The branches add a lovely scent to the water, which fills the air as it evaporates into steam. More importantly, those birch branches are for beating yourself, or others, to improve circulation. I highly recommend getting someone to beat the crap out of you. It feels and smells so refreshing!

So, after sweating out all sorts of toxins and getting flogged, what do you do next? Step out for a bit and shock your system with a dousing of cold water, of course! Suck it up, do it. It feels fantastic! Then go sit down for a spot of tea, and repeat the process. Apparently the girls didn't quite do the Banya correctly, I guess we were supposed to stay in the heat for shorter spurts with a good dousing in between. Hopefully I'll learn the proper technique before the summer is over.

My matryoshka is lacking...

Moving forward, we went back to the party, everyone stayed safe, everyone had a good time, and again I got to suck up to my professor. The next day was another slew of churches and monasteries, either in Suzdal or Vladimir, with beautiful frescoes and even the hand of Alexander Nevsky- Russian bad ass. The day was capped off with a lovely lunch at a restaurant called Adam and Eve in Vladimir, just by the remains of the old city walls, and a workshop on how to paint traditional Matryoshka dolls. I think I'll stick to music though, I suck way less at that than I do painting.

Once our dolls were almost dry, we set back out for Moscow, and well, you've already read my public restroom survival tips, so you pretty much already know what the rest of the trip was like. Oh, but one more addition to that, in case I forgot- bathrooms are often not separated between men and women, and if there's TP, it may just be communally located, and there may or may not be a toilet seat... so... get used to that.

Moscow was a giant party, yet again, when we got back. I swear there is at least one holiday per week in the month of May. Turns out that Saturday was Museum Day. So not only did everyone celebrate the number of museums in the city by going to them, but also with music, parties, and fireworks. And drag racing/drifting, can't forget about that! Oh wait, that's EVERY FREAKING NIGHT! I'll try to go out there and get photos one day, but if you ever live in the MSU area, get used to the sound of revved up engines lulling you to sleep.

On that note, I'll leave you with my lesson from the trip: embrace traditions of the culture. Take the advice of master painters on how to improve your skills. Go see what the noise is all about down the street. And most importantly, set your pride and insecurities aside. Get naked with people you barely know and flog yourself with birch branches. I tell you, the Russians are on to something with Banya... maybe that's why all the girls here have flawless skin!