The Russian Orthodox Thigh Master

Be prepared for many pictures...

             The third day of Russia was one of the longest, as it consisted of a tour of four of St. Petersburg’s churches: the Holy Trinity Cathedral (along with the Alexander Nevsky Abbey and a Cemetery), Our Savior of the Spilled Blood Church, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and St. Vladamir’s Cathedral. If you have the chance to visit the Spilled Blood Church, I would advise you to take it! The inside is the most amazing thing. There are floor to ceiling mosaics that show important Biblical figures and famous parables and I wish I could have spent more time inside since I wanted to see each and every gold, mosaic-surrounded image. My other favorite of the day was St. Isaac’s Cathedral. For this church we had the option to either go inside the church or to go up to the colonnade—ascending 262 steps to get there! My friend Sidney and I chose this option, and you may think that 262 steps is no big deal. Let me tell you, it is a very big deal. The first 50 steps are great, you’re not even breaking a sweat, and everything is fine and dandy. The next 50 are a bit of a struggle but you push on because there is no “down” option once you’ve started. After that first 100 though, your thighs are burning and you want to take a break but you can’t because there are people behind you and once you finally get past that 262nd step it’s like angels are singing even though you’re winded and your thigh muscles have actually turned into jelly (it’s a proven, scientific fact). So it is completely worth it, exhaustion and all, because the view from the colonnade is crazy. While I do hope you'll take my word for it, hopefully if the situation between our country and Russia improves, you will all go visit their unique and beautiful churches yourself! 
Spilled Blood Church Exterior
Spilled Blood Church Interior
Doors to St. Isaac's

View from the colonnade! Looks like someone's getting married!

Some of the 262 steps. I'm getting tired just looking at them.

Bonus: This is a view of the escalator down to St. Petersburg metro--the deepest metro station in the world! This is how we traveled part of the way during the day.
                                         

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