A trip to New Jerusalem and Alexandrov

 Two weekends ago we took the local electrichka (electric train) about an hour to a nearby town where there is a monastery modeled after the main cathedral in Jerusalem. It was also where a famous Orthodox saint, Nikon, was buried. The next weekend, we took an electrichka again, this time two hours in the opposite direction, to Alexandrov. Here, there is another monastery where Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia, spent 17 years of his life. We saw what was left of his living quarters and some more churches. The town itself, however, was a total dump. Literally. There was garbage EVERYWHERE. On the other hand, we got a taste of Russian town life. Not very glamourous. On the ride home I thought I might pass out, the train was so crammed with people and the hot air was stifling, with the open windows providing little relief. We were sitting three to a bench and there were old people everywhere. It smelled like old people breath, greasy hair and unwashed clothes.  For two hours.

On that note, we have decided to purchase a car! We really want to have the freedom to see towns more than 100km outside of Moscow and not have to deal with 3+ hours in hot buses and trains to get there. We found a 2001 Seat (Spanish car made by VW) owned by a Spanish diplomat for 2200 euro and we're already in the process of getting it. We were thinking about our options and a new car just sounded ludicrous, considering the terrible road conditions (and terrible drivers) here. We figured this lightly used car (it's got like 50000 miles on it) will serve us well for four years. Being that it's used, if there are fender-benders, it's not something to bawl your eyes out over. In fact, we'll probably only use it ourselves to get to the big superstore and for weekend trips. It's Petr's first car, so it was kind of a big decision for him. I hope we'll be happy with it. We should have the car in our possession on Tuesday, and hopefully we'll get our diplomatic plates by the weekend, so we can take it out for a drive (and Petr will be driving, since it's a manual). I'd like to see some of the famous cities on Russia's "Golden Ring", like Vladimir or Suzdal. We've got a few more weekends left before I head to the States, so we've got to make the most of them!

Pics of the car to come.

Alexandrov:

What are all these people looking at?

....the local cheerleaders doing a promotion for some store to the tune of REALLY LOUD and crappy pop music

Ah Lenin, we can never seem to escape you.

This is the lovely spot where we had lunch. We chose this "park" for lack of a better place. I am sitting where there are the least broken beer bottles.

Ad she leads them all to a victory of the proletariat. And the proletariate have, in turn, filched the granite siding from lady Revolution's plinth.

This is the main square. But as you can see, they have  3D cineplex, so that's progress.

The monastery

Multi-colored dachas

The gate

Those be nuns.

This is where Ivan the Terrible married two wives and killed his son!

Cool old fresco in the dome.

The bell tower, where Ivan liked to ring the bells daily

Solid craftsmanship.

New Jerusalem:

The dome of the cathedral. It's actually is serious disrepair, so you can't even enter that part of the church.

Near the cells. It isn't a functioning monastery anymore, but this is where the monk would have lived.

The domes

Gorgeous mosaic

A smaller chapel outside the walls

Old lady swimming in her nightgown. I think the water is considered holy.

Pilgrims or tourists? Same thing.

There was also a sort of museum to wooden architecture. This is what an old mill would have looked like.

Waiting in line to pee. The chick in front of me obviously mistook this for a club. Btw, I could totally see her underwear her dress was so sheer. And watching her walk over the rough ground and rocks in those shoes was priceless.

This is what an old wooden church would have looked like