Nostrovia!

Here we are in St. Petersburg! Russia is different from what I expected. Which as a North American, was a mixed picture at best. The Allegro train left from Helsinki at 10 AM & was worth every penny. It left EXACTLY on time (a feature of almost everything Finnish) and was clean, nicely appointed, and FAST: >200 km/hr. That's >130 miles/hr.

At the Station in Helsinki

Play room on the Allegro Train to SPg

 We got to St. Petersburg EXACTLY at 2:36 PM and met our pre-arranged taxi guy who took us to the Nevsky Aster Hotel at (including tip) LESS than the pre- arranged fare. He was even cute in a youthful Russian way.

Since we've been here we've trolled Nevsky Prospect a bit, toured the Memorial to Alexander II (fatally wounded at that site in 1881) at the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, walked past the Kazan Cathedral, and had dinner at a "English" pub near our hotel.

Ceiling of The Church of the Saviour ...on the Spilled Blood

Anne & I are at our hotel now, drinking cheap, but decent sparkling wine, happily mapping out our next 3 days. We've booked a walking "Food Tour" for tomorrow morning and plan to see as much of the Russian Museum at the Hermitage as possible tomorrow afternoon. I hope to add photos soon.

Yes, that's Anne eating "Fish & Chips" in SPg!