April 13, 2009
Our flight from New York to Helsinki was an eight hour flight. It was okay, the normal plane experience, the baby crying in the front, the people who have their seat back the entire time, the “crazy” people, and of course, the plane food. The food was actually pretty good. It was beef in barbecue sauce and mashed potatoes. Personally, I liked the potatoes. Anyways we arrived in Helsinki.
April 14, 2009
We arrived in Helsinki and took a puddle jumper to St. Petersburg. The flight was only 40 minutes long. After getting our bags and going through customs, we were finally able to start our adventure in St. Petersburg. We arrived at the hostel and settled into our rooms. After we unpacked, we went and exchanged our money into roubles. The bank was difficult and would not except rubbed, ripped, or written on bills. In addition, we had to go into a secured room with a teller behind a glass window. It was kind of frustrating as Americans knowing that the money is real and we are not trying to scam the Russians.
When we finally were able to exchange our money. We went to a little store near our hostel to get some water and other supplies. Some men from the store were trying to talk to us in Russian and some broken English. After returning, we were asked to go shopping for the dinner. We walked a couple of blocks to a small grocery store. It was an experience because it was so small and you could only go through the store one way. The isles were so tiny only one person could get by and you had to lock up your bags before you entered the store. When we got back from the store, we prepared the food. We purchased pelmenis and salad for dinner. Pelminis are similar to perogies just smaller. After dinner, we went to bed because we were all exhausted.
April 15, 2009
Today we had breakfast downstairs in the breakfast room. There were hard boiled eggs, bread, cheese, cereal, and Camelot. After breakfast, we started a long walking tour of the city to get an overview of the city center. We walked across Trinity Bridge to old St. Petersburg. Then we briefly saw the Church on Spilled Blood. We stopped at the Eternal Flame on the Mars Fields, which is a memorial for the people killed during the Revolution. Then we walked partly around the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was the first complex, built in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. After we walked through the ship port, past the summer gardens, saw a statue of Peter on a horse, and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We ate lunch at the pancake house. I tried a plane and apple pancake and it was more like a crepe in size. We finished the tour walking down Nevskiy Prospekt where there is a shopping complex that is the oldest in the city. It is from the time of Peter the Great. We walked back from Nevskiy Prospect. We got back to the hostel and had dinner. For dinner, we had sandwiches and salad.
On a more educational note, I have already learned a lot about communicating with the Russian people. We had to find a cake shop for Diane’s birthday today and it was an experience. We were wandering the city by ourselves trying to find a bakery. We found one after looking for fifteen minutes. It was hard to find a cake that didn’t have chocolate, but we eventually were able to successfully communicate. I have definitely learned how to talk with my hands and try new things. Thanks for listening,
Shannon
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