St. Petersburg Winter

One of the great things about going to Russia twice was that I got to see it in the best and worst weather.  And also to hit just a few more things you didn't have time for the first time.

The transport to St. Petersburg was an event in itself.  First off, the best way to get there from Moscow is to take the Sapsan--the high speed train.  Except this time, there was a bomb threat in the Moscow station.  What does a bomb threat look like in Russia?

Yes, everyone just goes outside the station and stands around.  Of course, it was a little scary, when you don't speak the local language, and a bunch of uniformed guys with guns start herding you out of a train station.  But clearly no one was worried about it, as we were all just standing outside, right in front of the place.

What's really amazing is THE TRAINS DON'T STOP RUNNING.  Nope--the station is closed, but you could just go around the back and hop on your train.  Not understanding Russian, I of course did not catch on to this fact until my train was leaving.  Then begins the fun.  Being as I could not speak the language, every cab driver that I could find was charging an insane amount to take me to the hotel.  I refused to accept that, so I called the hotel, and they sent a cab.  When I got back to the hotel, they were very nice, and sent one of the bellmen with me back to the train station to help me try to book alternate transportation.  Of course, the high speed trains were done running for the day, so I was stuck on one of the overnight trains.  On the plus side, it was cheap.  On the minus side, it was hotter than a crotch.

See, in winter, Russia keeps indoor temperatures near 80 degrees.  So, the indoors of this train was nearly 80 degrees.  We asked someone once why they kept it so warm.  They responded with if you don't keep it that warm you will get sick and die.  Not just catch a cold, but GET SICK AND DIE.

I have no idea where I'm supposed to be, so I get on the train, a babushka ushers me to my compartment, and two other Russians are already there.  The train gets going, and I try to get some sleep.  But I don't sleep well when I'm sweating, so it was a long night to St. Petersburg.  When I hopped off the train, I was a tired, stinky mess.

I took a little nap, then went to the Mariinsky Theater, for a performance of the Nutcracker ballet.  Everyone was dressed in their furs and finest; I was in my Cuddle Duds and Sorells.  Also, I managed to sneak pics and a video of the performance.  It was all very cultured, and some nice neighbors in the theater practiced their English with me.

 

Since the theater was so close to the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, I stopped to see it again.  It truly is one of the most beautiful buildings I've seen, and with all the snow, it was picture perfect.

The following day, I was on a mission--to find the candy cane church in my guidebook.  And let me tell you, it was cold.  How cold was it you ask?  It was so cold, the pigeons were huddling on the steam tunnel covers.

But the cold would not stop me!  I navigated the metro, and found Chesme Church.  It's so different to see this architecture against the rest of the city.  I thought I was going to lose my legs to frost bite, but I trudged on.  Across the street was a former gulag.

I had a little time left before catching the train back to Moscow, so I visited the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, and even went inside (hey--it was COLD).  The inside is filled with intricate religious mosaics and heat.

After a bit of drama, it ended up being a successful return to St. Petersburg.  And I survived sightseeing in freezing temperatures.  Again.  I definitely enjoy that city, with all the beautiful to see!

Amsterdam Redux

I've already been to Amsterdam once, and it proved to be quite the fun place to be!  I decided to spend my last weekend as a vagabond there not because I was hunting down the ShowBoys, but because the TassenMuseum, aka the Museum of Bags and Purses was there.  Holy cow--HEAVEN.  Special thanks to the Varnadoes for bringing it to my attention and warning me not to run over people on my sprint to see it.

The museum itself is housed in a canalhouse.  Walking in felt like I was walking into my Dutch Auntie's house, to look at all her treasures.  And they were treasures.  There were 3 floors of bags of all ages--small chain link bags, acrylic bags, leather bags, modern bags, historic bags, velvet bags......well, I could go on.  And I did--I went through the place 3 times, spent a morning there, and pretty much left euphoric.  Yea, I like handbags.  A little.  Unfortunately, no pics in the place, but there have pics on the website, and I left with a coffee table book.

After I left there, I went to my favorite Dutch handbag designer Hester Van Eeghen.  I left with a few more bags than I came with, which was exactly the plan.  Her designs are bright and fun, with great shapes.  It made quite an afternoon.

All that walking around Amsterdam, and I was bound to catch a few pics.

A great place to be.  I'll be back sometime, for more bags and culture.

Winter in Siberia

Since its so hot outside, let's talk winter.  In Siberia.  In February.  Pretty much as cold as it can get, it got.  I was only there a week in the major city of Novosibirsk, and most of the week was spent working.  So, there's not a whole lot of sightseeing to do, nor was much done.

However, we did get out for dinner most nights.  Where do you dine in Novosibirsk?  IN A MEXICAN RESTAURANT!  Of course!  As any Mexican food loving traveler will tell you, nobody does Mexican like America.  Or maybe Mexico, but I digress.  So, anytime you venture into a Mexican restaurant, you never know what to expect.  In this case, the surprise was good Mexican food!

Yea, really.  We went more than once.  Tasty.

As luck would have it, the week in Siberia was broken up quite nicely by Defender of the Fatherland Day, a holiday know locally as Man Day.  The holiday itself was originally a day to celebrate the armed forces and all that they had given up to protect Mother Russia.  But nowadays, it celebrates men in general, as a counter-holiday to International Women's Day.  As you might expect, the men on my team were demanding proper respect on a day dedicated to men, and we ladies were happy to oblige.  But, how do men in Russia celebrate Man Day?

Duh.  Grilling animal flesh outside.  In FEET of snow.  We however, found the expat bar, an Irish pub, and managed to stick around long enough that we earned a prized reserved booth.  Upon being seated in the booth, we made a key decision--ordering a jug of Carlsberg beer.

This decision was the best made all week, as it allowed us to drink more without having to depend on wait staff that we could barely communicate with, due to the language barrier.  Of course, when we ordered it, we thought that maybe the English menu had mistranslated pitcher as jug.  But no, I'd say it qualifies as a jug.

The night continued on, and there was a paper kissing contest that I helped a guy win.  He then wanted to dance and gave me a Jamieson polo shirt.  I'm not exactly sure what it was all about, but he spoke a bit of English, and he wanted to practice his skills.  Since it was Man Day, I must oblige.

There was also a club on the top floor, where there were more men dressed up in military costumes.  From here, the night devolved into an all-night affair.  Details best left to memory.

The next day, a few of my colleagues got out and managed to find an ice playground.

Our hotel happened to be in the middle of the woods, so we had some long running jokes about being eaten and/or watched by white Siberian tigers with blue eyes.  But what we didn't know is that we should have been fearing the Chupacabra! 

All in all, it was quite a journey into the wilderness.  One of the most memorable and best times I had on the road.  Also, I managed to survive a personal best coldest temperature of -36 F.  Yes, that's cold.  But it was a good time.

Photo Credit:  KS

Meanwhile, In Russia

The World is Round and the Place Which May Seem Like the End May Also be the Beginning

Yes, folks.  I'm rejoining the real world.  Its been 4 years that I've been traveling the world, and it was amazing, and wonderful, and exhausting, and terrifying, and most of all, enlightening.  I can't count the number of places where I stood, looking at some ancient landscape, thinking, I could have never dreamt that I'd be here in my lifetime.  I couldn't have made up some of the crazy things I've witnessed.  Its been a blessing.

But its also tough to come back to the US.  Things have changed so much.  We elected a black man President, we collapsed our economy, we rebuilt our economy, and 16 and Pregnant is on TV.  My best friends have gotten married, had their first babies, and even had their second babies.  Mostly, its overwhelming--to have to start all over with all the relationships and things that make a life.  Making lots of big life decisions all at once.  So I've been easing into it, taking it slowly.  And looking forward to starting from scratch.

Luckily, though, just because I'm off the road doesn't mean I don't have stories to share.  Or pictures.  Because I got behind towards the end, I've got a very nice backlog to get through.  So, the trip may be over, but the blog isn't.  And, I guarantee that 4 years on the road did not cure me of the travel bug, so I'd imagine there will be new trips to share.  Most definitely there will be beginning again mishaps to amuse you with.

All that traveling taught me a lot.  Most importantly, though, that my country, the USA, is the place on the planet I most want to be.  I'll enjoy trips outside her, but I'll always come home.

Someone bust out some patriotic Bruce Springsteen, will ya?