A map of feelings
St. Petersburg is often called the ‘cultural’ capital of Russia. The nickname was originally given by Boris Yeltsin, and some Russian people I met found the idea puzzling or controversial. In any case, I know that the world-famous Hermitage Museum is on the ‘must-visit’ list for tourists visiting the city. But during my 3-week-long stay there, I ended up not visiting the museum, and I still don’t regret it too much.
During the past two years, I’ve visited 55 countries and many more cities. In many places, either Google Maps or some people (locals or travelers) taught me that ‘this and that places’ were unmissable there. Sometimes I made extra efforts to visit some sites, but overall I missed a good part of them. I think it was because I was slowly realizing that ‘how I feel’ mattered more, rather than ‘what I do’. When I visit a new place, after learning about the history, maybe taking some pictures, and getting to know some people there, what I carry with me at the end of the day is how the experience made me feel. The factual details will be forgotten one day, but how I felt there will be long-remembered and it will give me pleasant nostalgia when I’m old. So, through my long journey, I think I am essentially creating my ‘map of feelings’ through different places, people, and experiences, within which my feelings are alive.
So naturally, when I visit a place, my primary interest has become taking a peek at how the local people feel about their lives. So during my 2nd visit to St. Petersburg, I decided to visit the Russian Museum instead of the Hermitage; the former displays art pieces by Russian artists, whereas the latter is an art museum mainly by European artists.
It is smaller than the Hermitage, but it was still too much to appreciate just in one day. I couldn’t even set foot in some sections by the time it closed, but I was happy to explore at my own pace, and learn about some sources of inspiration in Russian lives, such as religion, surviving harsh weather, and family values.
@ The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, September 28, 2019
