The Best Thing That There Ever Was Ever

For those of you who might not know, I went on a cruise around the Mediterranean when I was 15 years old. That cruise stopped in Nice, a city on the coast of France, and as soon as I saw the unbelievable gorgeousness of Nice, I knew that it would be a long time before I was equally awestruck by something else. I admit, I'm not easy to impress. I have been lucky enough to see so many beautiful places that I can barely name them all, so Nice was really something special. Well, when we arrived in the Russian countryside, I finally felt that feeling I knew I wouldn't feel for a long time after Nice. The beauty of Pushkinskiye Gory had me speechless.

I'm gonna skip talking about Pskov, Izborsk, and Pechory - these were three small cities/towns we had excursions in. Don't get me wrong, they're fine towns with enjoyable churches and monasteries, but like I said, I'm not easily impressed. Here are some pictures from those cute towns:

Church in Pskov

Pskov Kremlin

Fortress in Izborsk 

What I really want to talk about is our amazing lodge. It was in the middle of nowhere, right by a beautiful lake and forest. A 20 minute walk down the road brought you to the housing complex where Alexander Pushkin, the most famous Russian writer, was sent into exile. Please, someone send me into exile here. We had a crazy amount of fun as everyone on the program sat out on their porches listening to music, drinking beer, and enjoying the fresh air. I can't even describe how amazing it was listening to country music and laughing with friends while imagining that we could stay there forever. 

By Pushkin's house the area opened up and exposed a big, gorgeous river. We had a tour of where Pushkin lived and wrote some of his famous works, but my favorite part was going back the next morning to watch the sun rise over the river. It was early, but so worth it and absolutely breathtaking. 

As you can probably tell, I enjoyed this past weekend immensely, and I certainly am getting melancholy about saying goodbye to Russia in a couple weeks.