Places of Inspiration and Beauty

 

Flower gardens St Sergiyev, Posad

 

 

Trinity Cathedral from wikipedia:

 

 

Assumption Cathedral from wikipedia:

 

The Monastery of St Sergiyev at Posad is of enduring beauty and inspires with the magnificent

architectural styles, the peaceful gardens and the beauty to be found there of the religious

paintings, icons and art in the churches.  A majestic place!

 

There is also a wonderful little gift shop.  I lived visiting this little town not far distant from Moscow.

 

The Baltic Sea: views across the Gulf of Finland from the coastal regions of St Petersburg:

 

Wild, windswept and beautiful.  I loved looking out over this area from the coast and to imagine Finland over the water.  A magnificent setting in its beauty of water and but so sky.  This was in October

and the weather was getting very cold.  The colours of sea and sky merged as the weather was often

overcast.

 

Peterhof Palace and gardens: St Petersburg: from wikipedia:

 

A wonderful place to visit for the beauty of the interior and the magnificent gardens and fountains.

A fascinating history, built by Peter the Great who had visited and travelled in Western Europe.  He would have been inspired by the beauty of the architectural designs which he had seen while on his travels.  This palace may have been modelled on Louis XIV's Versailles as he would have taken inspiration from his travels in France.

 

River Thames, London

 

A beautiful scene of water, landscapes, architecture and sky seen from the Embankment and Temple stations.  I loved the view.  It was magnificent.  The water and sky again were overcast in grey, white and  silver colours and the landmarks stood out so vibrantly and clearly.  Not far from here was the Palace of the Savoy which was destroyed in the fourteenth century during a rebellion.  There were once landscaped terrace gardens on the banks of the Thames which would have been beautiful.

 

Hyde Park, London:

 

Wonderful in the autumn with the varying shades of trees.  A lively place with people walking their dogs and bicycling. 

 

Oia on Santorini: a Greek Island:

 

Wonderful to view the majestic sunset from high up on the hill which overlooks the beautiful blue

Aegean Sea.

Sunset at Oia from wikipedia:

I remember watching from between two white washed walls high up on a hill.  It was so peacful and beautiful and silent.  This is a beautiful place to visit.  There are also wonderful churches with blue domes on the island.

Limon Tree at Poros: Greek Island: a magnificent walk through countryside to a beautiful place called Limontree where there is a lemon grove.  Wonderful lemon drinks were available in the heat of the day and after the long walk.  There is also a maagnificent monastery on a hilltop where to view the visitors must don a robe to enter.  The architecture is wonderful with old stone columns and the scenry is beautiful.  Spiritual and peaceful.

A Sunset over the River Seine, Paris: so beautiful
a Sunset over vineyards: magnificent, with so many vibrant colours!
Many places of inspiration and beauty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Review of Natasha's Dance

Natasha's Dance by Orlando Figes

A magnificent book of great scope and worth

is Orlando Figes story of the cultural history

of Russia. A wonderful book to read! I am still

in awe of such a wonderful and scholarly work.

This book is full of magnificence, great wealth and

splendour with stories of princes, tsars and paupers.

I found this book fascinating for its insight and

sensitivity in writing

of its people, mountains, scenery and countryside

of Russia. It is a book of great

beauty, in the writing and also in the content of the book.

There are powerful and evocative descriptions

of pieces of poetry or prose which had been

written by some of the great

writers in Russian literature included in the story.

I am reminded that there is a review on the back cover of

the book which states that the reviewer does not like to

say too much about the book so as not to spoil it for the

reader.

This book is enlightening and wonderful.

Also educational. It is majestic in its scope, describing

palaces of princes, lives of great writers,

folk-lore and customs.

I loved the folk-loric nature of the

book with majestic stories and beliefs concerning cities, towns

and cities of

imagination and legend which were believed to have existed at times under a

lake, the healing properties of certain places

or of the gripping detail provided in stories by Gogol or

Dostoevsky. Tales of imagination abound for St Petersburg

with its bronze horseman. Fascinating! Great story-telling. I will

have to read some of Gogol's tales which certainly give an aura of the

fantastic, colour and

atmosphere to the history of the culture of Russia.

The colours and culture of Russia seem so different from

the rest of Europe. This may have been due to the eastern influences.

St Petersburg was built in more traditional Western European concepts

and architecture. This is a beautiful city which I visited in 2009. Moscow

is different again, and yet the architecture from Muscovy is a splendour with the

magnificent gold domes of cathedrals and churches which can often be seen from afar

when travelling about the city or the countryside.

In the earlier days before Russia became a Soviet

state the aristocracy was often encouraged to build palaces.

These palaces often became a place of learning, culture and

civilisation.

Prince Potemkin built

an exotic palace on the Crimea and in a note there is a mention of a book written

about him titled “Prince of Princes” by Simon Sebag Montefiore

which I would like to also read.

Great warmth and humanity, dignity and valour and personal conflict and endurance are revealed in the stories of Count Sheremetev and Prince Volkonsky.

Wonderful descriptions are given of the music, ballet, prose, poetry, gifted artists, musicians and

film makers with stories of their lives which gives an added appeal to the book for the humanity and personalities of the people involved. The book is on a personal level with the characters and it is not difficult

to often sympathise with the characters and their personal situations. Their lives were very real and the times very true. Colour plates of characters and illustrations of the

colour of arts, theatre and design provide interesting detail into aspects of the culture and arts.

The theme of the book is enduring beauty and even in the bleakest moments, sorrows and sadness,

the spirit and strength of some of the great artists who may have been living in difficult times in Russia still shine through.

In his notes the author has admitted that it did take him a long time to write this book but I am

so glad that he wrote it and also glad that I have read it. It is difficult to imagine that so much wonder, splendour and beauty can be written in one book but this certainly is the case with “Natasha's Dance” the title of which comes from Leo Tolstoy's “War and Peace.”

Full accolades for the author. At the introduction a Russian countess who had been brought up

by French governesses knew how to dance a Russian dance and picked up the rhythm. All things

French were wonderful and admired until Napoleon came to Russia. Thereafter, as described in

the chapter of “Children of 1812” some of the nobility turned away from European values and

concepts and returned to the beauty of the land and rural countryside of the Steppe and wished to

revert to more Russian ways of life. Some of the aristocracy had befriended soldiers of the peasantry in the army and had gained a renewed respect for these people who had come from the rural villages and land of Russia.

A wonderful achievement to write a book of such grand scope.

The beauty and descriptions of the times in Russia are portrayed vividly. The colours and scope of the landscape, the Siberian Steppe, the nomads and various clans and khans who conquered the territory in the 12^th century, the folk-lore, songs and dances, traditions and the times of the tsars and a later

more fraught time which is depicted in a chapter of “Russia through a Soviet Lens” is a magnificent and scholarly accomplishment by the author. The book is quite compelling full of lively descriptions and anecdotes which makes “Natasha's Dance” fascinating to read.

Splendours of Russia



flower gardens at St Sergiyev Monastery

 Splendours of Russia

I once visited Russia and Eastern Europe

many years ago. I was excited to visit these

places behind the communist curtain. I was also attracted

to the folk lore and traditions of these Eastern European

countries.

Checkpoint Charlie at the time was quite spooky,

like a no-man's land and also so poignant, I remember,

with memorials for young people who had been shot

attempting to cross the border. I remember also hearing

the dogs barking in the distance as I walked on this no

man's land between the east and the west in Berlin.

I was also impressed by the beauty of cities with their

medieval charm as for example the Old Town of Prague

and also Buda and Pest divided by a silver looking river

which disappeared into the distance.

Wasrsaw was also beautiful and the historic centre of

the town was rebuilt to the same plans and original architecture

of the old Warsaw, which had been completely destroyed in

the second world war. The city seemed vibrant with the

colourful buildings. The rolling countryside of Poland

was beautiful and also very green.

Romania was also fascinating and there I visited a little folk village.

At the time coffee and items which were taken for granted in the west

were very expensive to purchase for the Romanian people.

I also loved the decorative arts and gypsy Hungarian blouses with

their intricate embroidery which

were often on display in Budapest, Hungary.

On a recent visit of Russia I saw

some beautiful and exquisite decorative

renovations which had been completed

in Peterhof Palace. This is a magnificent

palace to visit in St Petersburg. It was

late in the autumn and fortunately there were

not long queues to visit the palace as apparently

there are during the summer months as many of the cruise ships

arrive at St Petersburg and there can be long queues to visit

this spectacular palace.

The palace is quite majestical and very beautiful.

To me, it also seems quite magical, with the wonderful

fountain displays in front of the palace. There was

a chequered black and white design on the paving by

the balustrade outside the palace which was interesting.

The weather was cold but this did not take away

from the magnificence of the palace and fountains.

Peter the Great travelled to western Europe and

St Petersburg is designed along European concepts.

The palace at Peterhof is magnificent, with a walkway

of trees and beautiful fountains with statues. This

is a beautiful setting. The interior décor

of the palace is magnificent, decorated in gold and white.

I loved this palace.

I do have a few pictures taken from my trip to

Russia last year. I was constantly held in awe

by the beauty and majesty of the wonderful gold

domes and spires of churches. These wonders add

enchantment to the splendours of Russia.

I noticed the change and relative freedoms from

my previous visit to Russia.

There are young people in Russia today who would

not have lived during the repressive earlier times.

The Spirit Wrestlers by Philip Marsden was a wonderful

book to read regarding these earlier times. It is actually

a travel book interspersed with stories of people the writer

interviewed and met. It was a different book as he travelled

to distant places and mountain villages, attended a prayer meeting,

met a priest who was building a church, a painter who explained

that the images and beautiful paintings of religious icons, etc

for some people would be the closest they

would have been able to come in understanding God for some of the

people. (I expect in times when people may have been illiterate.)

There were images described of Cossack horsemen riding across the

plains which seemed to be so evocative and real.

The Kremlin in Moscow is also magnificent to visit.

There was a church with medieval paintings and art works, which was

magnificent to view.

Beautiful trees softened the scene and I noticed the wind whistling

through the leaves, shimmering, as a guide was showing the group around.

They may have been maple leaves. It was quite beautiful and I also had a picture

taken beside a cannon at the Kremlin. This cannon is a decorative cannon and was

not ever fired.

Red Square is another magical place with St Basil's Cathedral. A gothic looking and brightly

coloured cathedral. On the day I visited

the many brides dressed in white were quite noticeable as this is a place which is popular for

weddings and brides. This was on a Saturday. There was also a horse parade in the square,

with many tourists and people watching the display.

The cathedral may have been inspired by an earlier church of Kolmenskoye as it has been described

as being a mixture of northern Russian architecture or of a mosque which was destroyed and also

of Byzantine influence. It is also fascinating to contemplate that the colours are taken from the Book

of Revelations with the twenty-five gold domes and the rainbow described for the blue and green

tones.

I was

constantly amazed by the wonderful treasures in Russia. The

underground also has splendid art works and decorations. Also

magnificent chandeliers. People from the villages who came to the city would have admired

the artistic creations, realising that it was not only the Tsars who could

create beauty and splendour.

I loved the visit to St Sergiyev's monastery and the marvellous

architectural splendours

there. The churches are magnificent in a wonderful setting of trees

and a courtyard, flowers and also a few cats. It is a very beautiful

peaceful place. This was built to honour St Sergiyev, who became

a hermit.

The white, blue and gold domes and spires which

soar into the sky and can be seen from a distance give a sense

of wonder and beauty to the scenery. The bell towers also add

a magical touch and give another dimension of the beauty at St

Sergiyev Monastery as also the beauty of the frescoes and paint

works. It is quite magnificent.

On an earlier visit to Russia I had visited a little village of Kishinev,

which I had thought at the time looked very pretty. It did seem

to be different from many of the towns, perhaps because of the little cottages

instead of the high rises. It is now a part of Moldava.

I also once remember visiting a little pavilion or monument to a famous poet

and the guide mentioning the numbers of people who were lost during the second

world war.

In St Petersburg we were also informed of the Siege of Leningrad in 1942,

when the city was cut off from supplies of food. This would have been severe

during the winter months. The railway could not reach St Petersburg with

essential food supplies.

The film “Dr Zhivago” depicted the Russian winters

quite vividly in some of the rural settings.

The guide on the tour often mentioned the famous poets, Russian literature

and the history of the Tsars.

St Michaels Castle in St Petersburg is itself an architectural

splendour. Apparently, as this castle was being built there was a warning or premonition

from a gypsy woman that for as many windows and balconies that the castle would have,

would be the number of days that Tsar Paul would live there. This prophecy was

proved correct. He was a son of Katherine II, Empress of Russia. His castle was built as

a means of protective security with a drawbridge and an older style fortress design.

There is a boat at the docks at St Petersburg, which is also fascinating to look around

and go on board. It was from here that the distant alarm was sounded which started

the revolution and the ministers were arrested and held captive at the palace.

The Winter Palace in St Petersburg is also magnificent. I can well imagine the fairy-tale balls
which would have been held here, with the dresses, costumes and settings, these magical balls would
seem from another world today.

The Winter Palace has a wonderful display of magnificent art works and is set in a majestic courtyard.

I was also fascinated by the magnificence of a square in St Petersburg which was

illuminated by wonderful lanterns in the early hours of the mornning. This looked

very majestic and beautiful. A story book setting. Beautiful! This square

was not far from the train station at St Petersburg. I had arrived in the early hours after

travelling from Moscow. The carriages of the trains were painted brightly. St Petersburg

is a very picturesque city, with fascinating sights and colourful buildings on the banks

of the river.

I also enjoyed

looking out over the Baltic Sea and towards Finland from the hallway windows of the

hotel in St Petersburg. The scenery looked wild and windswept, the coastline looked rugged

and it was cold, but also beautiful. This was in autumn.

Best wishes,

beautiful gold domes of Russia

more beautiful gold domes

St Basil's Cathedral

a picture of St Basil's Cathedral from wikipedia

St Basil's Cathedral

Peterhof Palace and fountains from wikipedia

black and white tiles by Peterhof Palace from wikipedia

fountains of Peterhof Palace from wikipedia

horse parade in Red Square, Moscow

parade in Red Square, Moscow

Throne Room at Peterhof Palace from wikipedia

bridge in St Petersburg

flower garden by monastery of St Sergiyev