NEVSKY PROSPECTING

The original intent of the late-afternoon expedition was to find a device to make the kind of strong coffee Andrea makes at home. We have finished the Folgers coffee bags (similar to tea bags, but coffee!) that we brought from home, and the chicory bags (yuck) we purchased the other day just won’t cut it.

However, while the weather was cool (55-60 degrees Fahrenheit), rain was not in the offing, and we headed down Nevsky Prospekt to see the renowned Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Near the monastery is a new-ish Alexander Nevsky shopping center that houses the Moscow Hotel. We checked out several levels of shopping and the movie multiplex (nothing we wanted to see.)

It is a wonder that so many businesses can stay open, because while there were people milling about, the stores were virtually empty, and we saw no one hauling shopping bags. I say the same thing in America: how can so many stores be? How much can people buy? What do we really need?

In the basement of this shopping center is a Prisma Supermarket. We went in to check out prices, which were definitely lower than any previous store we had visited. Prisma seems to be akin to a Wal-Mart or Meijer, by the looks of their shopping flyer, with multiple locations.

The Alexander Nevsky Commercial Center (from the Tekhvin Cemetery) that houses the Moscow Hotel and which sits across from the Nevsky Monastery on Nevsky Square.

However, this particular store in the pricey city center had limited goods; all types of groceries, beer/wine, toiletries and some kitchen supplies. We purchased the long-awaited vegetable peeler (39 rubles at Prisma vs. the cheapest 175 rubles at Stockmann’s), some pepper and tissues. And I am glad to say I was wrong yesterday when I wrote I didn’t see any pet supplies. Prisma had at least 40 feet of shelves with dog and cat food and other items.

We then crossed Alexander Nevsky Plaza and headed to the monastery.

Alexander Nevsky Plaza. Nevsky is often heralded as uniting the Russian people when he pushed the Swedes back to the Baltic Sea in 1240. 

But before you actually get to the walled monastery, on the grounds are two famous cemeteries: Tikhvin and Lazarev. We paid the 200 ruble per person entrance fee. On one side are laid to rest famous Russian artists, actors, singers, poets, sculptors, and writers. This is called the Necropolis of the Masters of Art.

The grave of Fyodor Dostoyevsky - author of "Crime and Punishment."

The grave of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - composer of the "Nutcracker," "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty."

Mussorgsky's Grave – opera composer.

Vladimir Stasov's grave - cultural critic of the late 19th century.

Rimsky-Korsakov's grave - composer of "Flight of the Bumblebee."

 In the other, much older and much more crowded necropolis are famous Russian families, aristocrats, scientists (like Lomonosov who, among many accomplishments in the sciences and arts, co-founded Moscow State University) and dignitaries. While the grave markers here may be older and less inventive, there were some interesting characteristics.

Entrance to the Lazarev Cemetery.

People place coins inside these skulls.

Interesting grave marker in front of what I believe may be a Sheremetev mausoleum, one of the famous families from early Petersburg.

Stroganoff graves side by side. You can see how crowded it is in this cemetery.

The cold and dampness began to rattle our bones, so we crossed over the little canal and entered one of Russian Orthodoxy’s most important monasteries.

Entrance to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Cupola of Church of Annunciation (now known as the State Museum of Urban Sculpture) as seen from the Necropolis.  Peter the Great put Alexander Nevsky's relics here after Peter also defeated his own contemporary Swedes, but Nevsky’s remains are now in the Hermitage.

Trinity Cathedral at the monastery.

Entrance to Trinity Cathedral. Almost as grand as the Roman Catholic churches we saw in Italy and France, but not quite. And no photography is allowed inside.

Soviet war hero grave site. There are many grave sites on the monastery grounds from men who died during the Great Patriotic War (WW II.)

Dogs living on the monastery grounds. These dogs were eating a dead pigeon, almost visible between them.

After attending part of the enchanting evening service at Trinity Cathedral, at which the women must cover their heads and men cannot wear hats, we took the metro back to our part of Nevsky Prospekt and entered the sparkling new Galeria shopping center that sits astride the Moscow Train Station.

In my opinion, this certainly rivals any urban, high-rise shopping mall with which I am acquainted from either Chicago or Washington, D.C. And the stores here make evident my claim of the Russian love affair with, in order: 1) Shoe stores; 2) Coffee houses; 3) Sushi bars; 4) Lingerie shops; 5) Blue jean stores.

On the four vast levels there is also a multitude of other stores, such as department stores (H&M, Marks & Spencer and some well-known Russian clothing stores), sporting apparel stores (Nike, Champion, Adidas, Puma, Reebok…), electronics, and even a LensMaster’s and a grocery store.

Costa Coffee, Chocolate coffee house, and our favorite Kofye Chauz stacked on top of each other inside the Galeria entrance. There are others here, too!

Multiple levels of shopping at Galeria.

Countless shoe stores! Here are four right next to one another and there were at least three more on this same corridor alone!

For Greg - keep your pants on! Russians no longer want to buy blue jeans right off of us! Again, too many stores selling jeans to count in this one shopping mall.

At the Galeria food court. Incredibly (and proudly?) there were huge, long lines to the KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King (located just to the right). All the other restaurants (from Russian to Chinese to Italian, to Polish, to Japanese, to Middle Eastern…) had no lines at all!

…And we never did find a Melita coffee funnel or filters!