Petersburg Guide
GET RUSSIA-NIZED
Dusha, the Russian term for "soul", lies at the heart of Russian behavior and is part of everyday life. Ultimately, successful relations with Russian people will be based on liking and emotion. Dusha is reflected in the love for nature, the importance of a family, and a sense of duty and compassion. You can see dusha in the Russian's respect for parents, old age, learning, and the primacy of emotions and personal feelings.
We invite you to lift the veil covering this mysterious Russian soul, meet Russian people, experience traditions of this Land of the Firebird.
Meeting people and making friends is not difficult in Russia. The Russians value and enjoy being sociable and will chat easily and openly to a sympathetic stranger. Hospitality is the cornerstone of the Russian way of life. The first and overriding instinct of a Russian housewife is to feed her guests, even if they have dropped in unexpectedly. For the Russian in general, any informal contact will lead to eating and drinking sitting round the table.
Dusha, the Russian term for "soul", lies at the heart of Russian behavior and is part of everyday life. Ultimately, successful relations with Russian people will be based on liking and emotion. Dusha is reflected in the love for nature, the importance of a family, and a sense of duty and compassion. You can see dusha in the Russian's respect for parents, old age, learning, and the primacy of emotions and personal feelings.
We invite you to lift the veil covering this mysterious Russian soul, meet Russian people, experience traditions of this Land of the Firebird.
Meeting people and making friends is not difficult in Russia. The Russians value and enjoy being sociable and will chat easily and openly to a sympathetic stranger. Hospitality is the cornerstone of the Russian way of life. The first and overriding instinct of a Russian housewife is to feed her guests, even if they have dropped in unexpectedly. For the Russian in general, any informal contact will lead to eating and drinking sitting round the table.
We offer you to have Dinner in a Russian home - meet an average Russian family, see how they live, check out what an average apartment looks like from the inside, talk to the family and ask them what interests you - they will be happy to tell you about their family, life, education, carrier, aspirations and hope. Share an authentic Russian home-made meal.
Tea-party with a Russian family. If you are short of time, you can consider joining a Russian family for afternoon tea. The Russians are tea drinkers just like the British. Coffee tends to be drunk mainly in the mornings. Desserts - cakes, pies, sweets, preserves, honey, and so on - are always served together with tea. Touch base everyday life questions.
Tea-party with a Russian family. If you are short of time, you can consider joining a Russian family for afternoon tea. The Russians are tea drinkers just like the British. Coffee tends to be drunk mainly in the mornings. Desserts - cakes, pies, sweets, preserves, honey, and so on - are always served together with tea. Touch base everyday life questions.
If you read Russian folk tales or look at folk paintings, you'll notice that, the image of a troika often appears in folk art. The Russian troika is a sledge drawn by three horses harnessed abreast. The troika was a traditional style of cold weather transportation. Passengers would bundle up in furs in the back of the sledge to ward off often dangerously low temperatures. Since the beginning, painters and poets alike have been fascinated with the concept of freedom and unrestrained exhilaration embodied by a troika ride.
" Oh, You Troika, you bird of a troika, who invented you? You could only have been born among a high-spirited people ... The road is like a cloud of smoke under you, the bridges thunder, and everything falls back and is left far behind. The spectator stops dead, struck dumb by the divine miracle: is it not a flash of lighting thrown down by heaven? ... And what mysterious force is hidden in these horses the like of which the world has never seen? " - From Nikolai Gogol's 'Dead Souls'
We offer You to experience a troika ride or one horse carriage ride in one of the suburban parks. This service is available not only in winter, but in summer too, although winter scenery is more commonly connected with troika rides.
To make your impressions more alive and your ride more fun, we offer you to combine troika or one-horse carriage ride through the park with a picnic - you'll be treated with traditional Russian pies and tea, or blinis (Russian pancakes) with caviar, or even Russian shashlyks (special grilled meat, variety of shish kebab) with wine or Russian vodka.
To make your impressions more alive and your ride more fun, we offer you to combine troika or one-horse carriage ride through the park with a picnic - you'll be treated with traditional Russian pies and tea, or blinis (Russian pancakes) with caviar, or even Russian shashlyks (special grilled meat, variety of shish kebab) with wine or Russian vodka.
Do you know the Russian folklore about the Symbolism of the Troika?
- The black horse is said to represent Sorrow; No matter how happy one's life, there will always be some measure of sorrow. The chestnut horse symbolizes Love; Love is the power that can overcome sorrow. The white horse represents Peace; It is the symbol of conflict resolution. All three horses and, in the extended sense, all three elements they represent need to be in balance in order to propel life forward.
- The black horse is said to represent Sorrow; No matter how happy one's life, there will always be some measure of sorrow. The chestnut horse symbolizes Love; Love is the power that can overcome sorrow. The white horse represents Peace; It is the symbol of conflict resolution. All three horses and, in the extended sense, all three elements they represent need to be in balance in order to propel life forward.
Russian banya or bathhouse, occupies a prominent place in Russian life. In the provinces and villages it is still the main means of keeping clean, while in the major cities it is regarded as a pastime that is both enjoyable and good for your health. For many Russians it is a pleasure they would not dream of giving up. The banya is the equivalent of the Finnish sauna (which is becoming popular in Russia), but differs from it in that it has a stone stove.
A visit to one of the public bathhouses or a country side bathhouse can be an interesting experience.
A visit to one of the public bathhouses or a country side bathhouse can be an interesting experience.
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