St. Petersburg
It’s Monday morning, and I’m leaving the cold in Finland behind me. After three and a half hour on a train I’m welcomed with beautiful spring weather in St. Petersburg. My cold injuries are now only a memory. My sneakers will take me to many exciting places, including Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Kazan Chatedral, Saints Peter and Paul Chatedral. Wow, those buildings! It feels like a different world! This also depends on Russia’s special alphabet. I don’t understand a single letter! Combined with the Russians poor English skills, it was pretty hard for me to communicate with them. On the local bar O’Hooligans, while watching the Champions League, I still managed to order a beer or five (who’s counting?).
The high speed train will now take me to Moscow. Hang on to see what I will be doing there!
Moscow
The high speed train will take me to Moscow metropolis. To my surprise, snow and ice are not a fact. On the contrary, summer is here! My sunglasses are no longer in my backpack when I visit the Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral and last but not least: Kremlin, also known as Russia’s power center.
After meters of long queues up to the ticket hatches, I get into the area to see the Kremlin Armory, giving me a hearty eye opener. Behind the glass in a cabinet are two figures, representing a child and the child’s parent, both wearing military equipment from head to toe. It reminds me of how lucky I’ve been, who did not have to grow up under such conditions. I then visit a lot of churches and overall, this experiences are the coolest ever.
Moscow is cool, because there are great contrasts between the different parts of the city. Quite different from the Kremlin, Moscow City is adorned with skyscrapers and various modernities. There are clearly more attractions that I unfortunately don´t have time to see during my five days in the city. But I´ve had time to try a lot of new, sometimes not so good food, including the dish Borch. It’s a beetroot soup that’s lovely to look at, but less lovely to put in your mouth. Perhaps my western taste buds are not used to the Russian flavors.
Lastly: a football game. CSKA Moscow lost their game with 1–2 on home turf against their rival Dynamo Moscow.
I will publish my next post from Tallinn, Estonia. Now I will wait for my 16 hour night train to take me there. Do you guys any tips to keep me entertained on the train? Have a good one!
