Today is the start of our 5 day weekend. We never have classes on Fridays and Monday is Defender of the Fatherland Day. It is very similar to veterans day and commemorates the first mass draft into the Red Army in 1918. So school is canceled both Monday and Tuesday, for recovery purposes.
So far into my semester my most amazing sight was without a doubt Catherine's Palace in Pushkin. The palace is a masterpiece itself but is also home to the Amber Room. This room is completely decorated in Amber, everything from the walls to the pieces of furniture. The room now is a recreation of the original. The first Amber Room is actually quite a mystery. It was taken down after the German invasion and supposedly stored away. However, the pieces of the room were never seen again. For years people have searched for the original Amber Room but they are still missing after being taken by the Germans. Typical.
We toured as much of the palace as we could, only to realize that about 5/6 of the palace was not open to us. Most of it is under reconstruction from being destroyed years ago.
This past weekend was Масленица, or butter week. It celebrates the end of the cold winter. Well, I think they jumped the gun a bit because right now it is -10 F. The Масленица festival was held on the Gulf of Finland. And when I say on the Gulf of Finland, its frozen, so it was literally on the Gulf of Finland. It was an absolutely beautiful sight. Nearly every part of my body was solid ice after standing outside for more than 5 hours but the scenery was well worth it.
As always, the city looks like a snowy fantasy land. It snowed quite a bit earlier in the week and yesterday we could actually see the sun. Not that I need it after all the vitamin D pills I have been throwing back.
All in all, I couldn't imagine studying abroad anywhere else, this place is perfect.