Eurasia: St. Petersburg, Russia (World Cup 2018!)

St. Petersburg Notes:
· St. Petersburg is more European. Similar to Amsterdam with canals throughout the city.
· Sunrise = 3:30am, Sunset = 10:30pm. Almost the phenomenon White Nights
· Lucked out with St. Petersburg weather. It was supposed to rain half of Thursday and all of Friday. It ended up just raining for 3 hours on Thursday. None on Friday!
· Uber rides to city center (15-20min) were only 200 rubles ($4) 0_o We loved Uber! Most everything was dirt cheap in comparison to the the States

June 20, 2018: St. Petersburg Spirit Contest: Colombia wins
We arrived in St. Petersburg right on time. Unfortunately, I had a horrible night’s rest. The compartment next to us had a very excited child in it and I could hear her through the wall. And then, when she finally settled down, someone in their room was snoring. Also, some British people were loud in the corridor around 7:30am. Also, I couldn’t figure out how to get the window blind to shut until about 4am in the morning. Also, the train wasn’t as smooth as the one we took to Kazan and it was very loud. Also, I started forming a cough and sore throat throughout the night. Ugh. Ok, now that I have all my complaining out of my system, let’s continue on with today.

We walked off the platform, mentioned the word “taxi” in conversation, and immediately a man swooped in and said “taxi?” Eerie. We decided to go for it because we were too exhausted to think through other options. We walked to his car and it seemed a little sketch because there was nothing in it or on it saying it was a taxi. Oh man, so this is how our will trip end… I noticed something hanging on his mirror that may have been a symbol for a taxi driver because I noticed it in another car nearby as well. We can only hope. He charged us 2000 rubles which seemed pretty high for Russia (about $32). He swerved in and out of streets so fast and would yell at people sometimes. That was kind of fun I must admit. But I still thought all of this was

kinda sketchy and was waiting for him to turn the vehicle into a bad part of town. During our cab ride I called the Free Tour people to tell them we weren’t going to make the walking tour due to a late train arrival. They were very thankful that I called to inform them. We arrived at the Airbnb apartment around 11am and started unpacking. The stair climb was very tiring. Thankfully we won’t have luggage the next time we take them on. A housekeeper who spoke little English met us at the door and showed us around. She said almost everything in Russian but we could figure out what she meant by the way her tone was and with her pointing at things. And if we couldn’t figure it out, we would alternate speaking into Google Translate. She was very sweet. I crashed on the bed for about 45 minutes and then wrote in this journal. I also saw that JT posted an article “Moscow Bars and Restaurants Already Running Low on Beer During 2018 World Cup” Hahahah. That actually isn’t surprising because we noticed they were running out of certain beers about two days ago. Come on, Russia. Didn’t you do your research? Football fans live on beer! We booked a ballet showing at Mariinsky Theater tonight at 7pm but have no plans other than that. Let’s see what the day brings!

We started researching things to do around 2pm and didn't get rolling until 3pm. Unfortunately, due to high water and wind, the canal boat tours were not happening today. We decided to go to the Neva Boat office (about a 15 minute Uber ride from our place) to ask about deals and

options. It was a struggle to find the desk and it was megaaa windy. So windy that most people were almost falling over while walking. We bought high speed boat tickets for Peterhof which is about 40 minutes from St. P. It is a gorgeous palace well-known for its fountains and gold. After we bought tickets we started walking to Mariinsky Theater for the Don Quixote ballet show at 7pm. This was highly suggested by both Brett and Menno and was also highlighted in National Geographic magazine. We stopped in a hidden gem restaurant called Teplo along the way. We walked under the arch and through the alley and saw a cute courtyard setup with small tables. It was a nice surprise! We were seated inside quickly which was a plus for me because I was getting cold in the ferocious wind. The meal was wonderful. I ordered oliver salad with chicken bits and herring with potatoes. Both were local dishes. Great atmosphere and great food. We then headed to Mariinsky Theater! 

It took about 15 minutes for us to walk to the theater and the wind was still in full force. I was getting cold so Dad let me borrow his jacket. I looked pretty boxy in it haha. Inside the theater, before even entering the main seating, was unbelievable. There were many little side rooms with chandeliers and immaculate floorboard. They could host many galas I'm sure. They even

had a small café that smelled amazing. We walked up the marble staircase and into our seats. When purchasing the tickets a week ago, they were some of the last seats available - read: nosebleeds section - but it was incredible! There was a huge chandelier above the center and the curtain looked very heavy and legit. Dad said it reminded him of the Kapital Club in Spain. Bahaha. Kind of the opposite atmosphere Mariinsky is going for but I could see the similarity. It all seemed very fancy and old. There were paintings on the ceiling as well. I was impressed. The Don Quixote ballet began and the place was sold out. The performance was awesome! I was surprised I enjoyed it. I had never seen a ballet before but I assumed I would find it dull. Dad was nodding off during the first Act which he tried to play off by bobbing his head to the music. Speaking of music, the orchestra was fantastic. Very well balanced and there were harps! After the first Act we had an

“interval" so we bought some coffee and a pastry. Dad claimed the food from dinner was making him sleepy and he would be ok for the rest of the performance. I must say that the men in tights in this ballet are very well endowed! And the main guy had butt muscles like whoa. His bottom half looked like a chiseled statue. During the performance there was a lot of activity going on outside of the main spotlight. I think this helped me like it because there was always something to fixate my eyes on. After every scene the girls and guys would bow, and the girls would all receive flowers. Main reason I'd join a ballet right there! After the incredible 3 hour performance (doubt many people can say their first ballet was in Mariinsky Theater!), we walked to the pub across the street to watch Spain vs Iran. The place was starting to get packed from all the theater goers. The match was much closer than I thought it would be, but thankfully Spain pulled it out in the end. 

We then went to a bar close to our apartment called Beer House Staff.  Can you guess who chose this place? If you said Dad, you are correct. He was thrilled that on Google Maps it said that it stays open until 6am. We walked in and it was clear we were foreigners and this was a locals pub. There were only a handful of people and simultaneously all their heads turned quickly toward us as we walked in. It was such an eerie feeling. Then they all stared at us as we walked in. The waiter/bartender greeted us and a guy on a stool nearby slowly waved his arm high in the air and said, “HELLOO.” It was funny. We sat down and immediately three locals (including the stool guy) asked where we were from. We said America and they were impressed. The stool guy's name was Daniel and I don’t remember the other two people's names. The girl's name was very Russian and hard to pronounce. We started looking at the menu and Daniel told us that he would answer any questions we may have. His English was very good and he said “good luck” to us as he walked out for his smoking break. Dad and I looked at each other puzzled and said, “Good luck?” and the girl laughed. Obviously the translation wasn’t exactly right. When he came back I took the opportunity to ask him lots of questions, the first being why he wished us good luck. Did we need to worry about our safety? He laughed and said, “No, no, no! I meant welcome!” Ah that made me feel better. I asked him what the best type of vodka was and he pointed to one and then he decided to buy me a specialty shot instead. Oh boy! Things are getting interesting! I asked if he was going to take one with me and he said “No, I need to work tomorrow." Well it's already 11:30pm, Bucko! Once the bartender delivered the shot, Daniel said I needed to say “kanalya" before I took it. Then the girl said “No, no, no, AFTER! After the drink is when you'll be wanting to say it.” Haha. To me that meant it was a tough drink to swallow. The girl was very fun and had an awesome laugh. Her English wasn’t as good as Daniel’s, so frequently they would whisper to each other how to translate things and then report to us their conclusion. It was comical. I took the shot in one fell swoop and man was it delicious! I just held the empty glass there and said, “Wow that was really good! What was in that?” They laughed (I guess because I liked it so much) and the bartender said, “Husky vodka, grenadine, and Tabasco.” I didn’t even taste the Tabasco part! It was so delicious. I think because of the grenadine after taste. I felt honored that Daniel bought me a shot. We were making Russian friends so easily. I asked a few questions about what their perception of America was and Daniel said, “Ah we don’t listen to the news, the news is shit. Americans are great.” Dad and I also ordered a pizza. We exchanged stories and had some good laughs. It was such a blast! It reminded me why I liked traveling so much – bonding and swapping stories with locals. Then Daniel said, “Hey you’re not drinking anything!” noticing Dad's beer was empty. He said, “Some shots for my new friends!” and I convinced him take one with us. I tried to convince the girl as well but she refused. We took the shots together and I downed mine first. WINNER! Then Daniel about a second after me, and Dad only sipped his. Daniel gave him crap for it, it was funny. The girl needed to leave, but before she left we found out she was an engineer! Cool! And Daniel was too! No wonder we all got along so well. Daniel seemed to be the highlight of the group and then he needed to leave too. Nooo. Once he left, Dad and I were the only ones left in the bar. We finished our meal and headed home. For those two shots I wasn't really feeling drunk. It was weird. But I made sure to drink lots of water when I returned anyway. We got back around 1:30am and I'm so glad we met our new friends! It was a great end to the day. Thankfully, our free walking tour tomorrow doesn't start until 10:45am so we can sleep in.

June 21, 2018: St. Petersburg Spirit Contest: Mexico wins

We just finished a 3 hour free walking tour around St. Petersburg and are on a high speed hydrofoil boat to Peterhof! Peterhof is the summer palace of St. P. The ride is supposed to take only 45 minutes.

The tour we did earlier was fantastic! Our guide, Anastasia, was really informative and kept us intrigued with her speech patterns and excitement. She also had fun commentary. I really enjoyed listening to her and her English was really good. Sometimes it sounded like she had an

Irish accent. I recommended to Dad that we do this free walking tour because Anish and I did one in Cusco, Peru and it was awesome. This one also did not disappoint. Overall, we walked a few miles and Anastasia stopped at perfect intervals to give us rest. I felt like I learned a lot. She had a lot to say about Kazan and how beautiful it was and recommended we go there. CHECK. She also mentioned that people go salsa/bachata dancing in the streets on Basil's Island during summer weekends with good weather! I found it very interesting that she mentioned it during the tour and that the dance of choice for that community was salsa. Looks like I won't be able to participate though since we fly out Saturday morning :( I asked her afterward if she knew of any salsa venues/clubs and she said she did not. She was so nice I wanted to be her best friend. The tour group was rather large so I was surprised we were able to all stay together especially considering at the end we crossed streets a lot. At the end of the tour, we stumbled upon the bustling part of the city that’s for sure. It seems our apartment is in a quiet zoned neighborhood because the area at the end of the tour was a night and day difference. Well, I guess here in Russia with the White Nights I can’t make that colloquialism since night and day are basically the same haha.

Walking Tour Notes:

·First named New Town then Sankt-Petersburg (German sounding words) by Peter the Great because he traveled to Europe to learn trade secrets (including shipbuilding) and wanted to be more European. He took back territory from the Swedish. Then during WWI the name changed to Petrograd because they were fighting the Germans. Then it changed to Leningrad during Lenin’s reign then back to St. Petersburg.
· Winter Palace is the entrance to the Hermitage. The Hermitage is the 2nd largest art collection in the world (behind the Louvre). Named for the hermits that would want to hide and get away from society and be with art.
· Alexander Monument has no foundation at all which is astonishing. It was erected 20 years ago in just an hour and a half.
· 50 cats live in the bottom level of the Hermitage and are called the Hermitage cats. There are cat caution signs so drivers are aware and don’t run over them. Each of them even has its own photo ID in a special system.
· St. Petersburg was built on a swamp.
· Basil's Island has two red towers that used to be lighthouses. During summer weekends when the weather is nice, there are community salsa/bachata gatherings. Most of Basil's Island's streets were first canals that were then transformed into streets because canals were deemed useless during the winter when they froze over. Very straight streets called lines.
· Peter wanted the city to look like Amsterdam.
· The gold domes on St. Issac's Cathedral are original gold. During WWI, the government added a layer of mercury amalgam to them (to preserve the gold) and then painted over them with grey (to camouflage it). The people who applied the mercury died from poisoning.
· Has 3rd deepest underground metro system in the world.
· Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is built on top of the area where Alexander II was assassinated. One of the few churches that is the typical Russian style. Most others are neoclassical.

We are now on the boat back to St. Petersburg. I forgot to mention earlier that Dad and I basically ran to catch the boat to Peterhof. Our walking tour ended at 1:55pm, we were a 20 minute walk from the boat deck, and the boat departed at 2:25pm. We became professional speed walkers! I still find it baffling that Dad can boogie so fast for such a small guy. It was hard for me to keep up! Anyway, Peterhof was absolutely gorgeous. It was a little confusing at first

because we thought we could walk around the palace for free, but it actually required tickets. It seemed we had two options: 600 ruble tickets and 900 ruble tickets. Dad was torn on which ones we should buy and I mentioned that it was only a $5 difference so we should just get the more expensive one. He praised me for this realization: “Thank you. Thanks for bringing the voice of reason.” That was nice :) We walked up the concrete path to the beautiful fountains in front of us. It was a long walk and the entire time the palace was in view. Stunning. We came to a mini bridge and took some selfies. Then we walked closer to the palace and took more photos. The statues and décor were all made of gold. It was very impressive. I kept taking 100 photos of the same things. I couldn’t get enough. We then walked through the hedges, trees, and other fountains. I would

highly recommend this visit to anyone. It was more rewarding than many other palace gardens I have been to. Including Vienna Schonbrunn. It went on for a least a mile on each side. I was envisioning living in the palace as a royal member and being completely enthralled with my everyday life. Gorgeous. We saw on the map that there was a front part of the palace with gardens. We were about to exit to them but then I stopped us and said, “What if it's only one entry per ticket and we can’t come back?” Our guide had mentioned that about the Hermitage after all. My assumption turned out to be true and we found out by asking a local ticket checker. Dang that sucks. So in order to see the front (which is free by the way) you need to arrive by car/bus. Or if you come by boat you need to pay for two tickets. That's super lame. They should let tourists know about that before they book the boat trip. So after being rejected we decided to try and enter the palace.

Well the line to get in was extremely long and it was raining at this point. We noticed some people were surpassing the line with their tickets. Oh so maybe our extra 300 rubles gets us into the palace. NOPE. When trying to ask the lady checking tickets, she simply whacked Dad's ticket out of his hand. Harsh. I don’t think she meant to do that but it was still harsh (and a little comical). We asked a tour guide from Britain if she could help us with information and apparently the 900 euro is a general fee and 600 was a reduced fee for seniors. Ohhh. So we really never had a choice. Silly us! After being rejected twice in a matter of 1 hour we decided to drink our sorrows away – me with berry tea and Dad with beer. We also ordered dinner. I got a Pozharsky Cutlet which was a Russian breaded chicken dish, it was incredible! The chicken inside was perfectly buttered and juicy. Probably one of the better meals I've had. After that we relaxed and hid from the rain a bit and then walked to the boat around 6:15pm. We departed the dock at 6:40pm.

Once we arrived back in St. Petersburg we took an Uber back to the apartment to change. It was getting a bit chilly outside. We then called an Uber (only $4 for a 20 minute ride!) to take us to a place we had seen earlier during our 3 hour walking tour. It was called Craft Brews. I decided to wear my Atletico Madrid jersey since I hadn’t worn it yet and figured I’d fit in with all the soccer fans wearing jerseys. Someone came up to me and cheered “Atletico!” Goal achieved. We met up with Nano and his crew at the bar and they got a table outside while we stayed inside with all the crazy soccer fans for the first half of the Argentina vs Croatia match. I ordered a vodka shot (Tsarskaia Gold), sipped a bit, and then poured the rest in my 7Up – my typical bar routine in Russia. The score was 0-0 at halftime and Dad and I walked outside to

hang out with Nano and crew. We had to stand up because the table was on the edge of the patio with no room for more chairs. They told us about their day and we told them about ours. The table they had was situated where we could see the TV through the window. It was a pretty sweet setup! Near the end of the game, Croatia stepped it up and scored 3 goals. The place was going nuts! There were a lot of anti-Argentina fans. I ordered a different shot of vodka (Tsarskaia Original) but the waitress forgot to bring a 7Up. Oh well. Bottoms up! It actually was very tasty. I didn’t need the 7Up after all. After the match ended around 11pm, Nano and crew decided to go home. Dad and I wandered the streets for a couple hours. The lights on all the buildings were really pretty. Our goal was to find a nice café outside with decent food, but it was a difficult task because either the place wasn’t to our liking or it was overcrowded. I think we ended up going in and out of 10 different places. Two of which we wanted to stay and eat but the wait staff never came by to take our order. We stumbled upon a neat balcony on a long building along Nevsky Prospect with lots of soccer fans. This seemed to be a good place for party central, but actually it wasn’t too packed. People were chanting and waving flags, of course. The bar was no longer serving food though so we left. Dad and I finally landed at a place called Rock Star. It was interesting. They were blasting rock music and playing rock music videos. I wasn't really a fan, but I was getting tired of striking out at all the other bars. I ordered Borscht and water. My throat had been bothering me a bit and my voice had dropped an octave. Never a good sign. We left around 1:30am and called an Uber.

June 22, 2018: St. Petersburg Spirit Contest: Brazil wins

I slept in until 10am which felt wonderful! Today was Brazil vs Costa Rica so I got to wear my Brazil jersey from World Cup 2014. We started planning what we were going to do for the day.

This was different from most of my trips because it included a lot of last minute planning. Usually I book things ahead of time. Most things were working out ok, but there were others I wish had gone better. Overall, we did fine. We decided to go to the vodka museum first to do a vodka tasting. Then we would go to Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood since it was close to FanFest and we wanted to go there at 3pm for the Brazil match. I had tried earlier this morning to find tickets to the match on Facebook, but everyone was selling them for at least $400! Too expensive. Dad and I took an Uber at 11:45am to the vodka museum and man, was this a highlight of the trip! We bought audio guides which were just ok, but the best part was the vodka tasting. They set out 3 vodka shot glasses for us along with little snacks (salted pickle, herring on bread, lard on bread). I liked the first one best. The second one tasted like gin and the third was a little spicy. They said we could order more tastings at an additional cost. Well ok then! I only ordered one

more because I was already feeling the 3 and didn’t want to overdo it. I asked the workers which they liked best and they mentioned Northern Amurs. They said it was a special one because it was rare and had hints of honey. I'll take It! I threw it back and goodness it was smooth!! And it only cost 350 ruble (like $4)! That's insanely cheap for a vodka of that caliber. In the States they charge $5 for bottom shelf vodka. Tisk tisk. We started chatting with an Australian who was also doing the tasting with his

Brazilian girlfriend. He was very nice and we swapped stories for a bit which was fun. Then he and his girlfriend left and I asked the bartenders some more questions. They said since Smirnoff and Grey Goose vodka are not Russian they were crap. Hahaha. After this, Dad and I walked to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It took longer than anticipated because FanFest was situated literally right next to the church so certain paths were cut off. We walked up to the entrance and purchasing tickets was easy peasy! We simply walked straight through. The interior was magnificent. Everywhere we looked we saw very vibrant, colorful images. From floor to ceiling. It was jaw dropping. Each image was comprised of thousands of mini tiles to create over 7,500 square meters of mosaics. Much different than any other church I’ve ever seen! We even saw the location of where Alexander II was assassinated (hence why it’s called Church of the Savior ‘on Spilled Blood’).

After this, we stood in line for FanFest, which was literally right at the entrance of the church. A

Brazilian guy I met a couple days ago, Carlos, was texting me asking where I was and was sending me photos of him and his group. It made me laugh. We determined that we were pretty close to one another but couldn’t find each other. Once I passed through security, I saw a guy who looked like him. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Heyy! Julie!” He was very excited to see me, gave me a big hug, and kissed me on the check. We chatted for a bit and I told him my dad was still going through security. We waited until Dad came through and Carlos then asked if I wanted something to drink. I said yes. He also offered to hold my big coat for me. What a gentleman! We searched around for his friends and eventually found them. One of them seemed in bad shape from the night before haha. As we watched the match on the big screens, with Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in the background, I couldn’t believe how blessed my life was. It was too good to be true. And then Brazil ended up winning the

match (woohoo!) At this point I wanted to leave because the combo of ample alcohol and sun was giving me a migraine so I took a 2 hour nap and then Dad and I went to St. Issac’s Cathedral to do a tour. We arrived at St. Isaac’s and then went up to the booth to buy tickets. Unfortunately, we were given incorrect information and the building was going to close in an hour. We had to choose between going inside or going up to the dome view. We decided to do the dome. We walked up to the entrance and it had a sign saying we had to climb stairs. What! I thought it was going to be an elevator. There was no way I could climb all those stairs without any windows and survive my fear of heights. I let Dad go without me and I walked around the park nearby. I FaceTimed Dad when he reached the top and the view was great. Unfortunately, I have an early flight tomorrow so around 11pm Dad and I returned to the apartment and I fell asleep quickly while Dad went back out for a walk.

June 23, 2018

Back to the States day :( Kind of bittersweet. I liked the spontaneity of this trip and all the new, exciting people I was meeting. I am currently on the plane from Riga, Latvia to Iceland with an extremely stuffy nose. Thankfully, I packed a lot of toilet paper to blow my nose. The first leg from St. Petersburg to Riga was less than an hour and uneventful. Dad doesn’t fly out of St. Petersburg until 5pm. I think we could have stayed an extra few days in St. Pete. There was just too much to do! We didn’t even touch half the churches/historic buildings and didn’t have time to do the Hermitage. It would have been nice to salsa dance with the locals at the Red towers on the weekend on Basil's Island or do canal tours or explore the other islands. St. Pete, you are just too overwhelming. Maybe someday I came return to do more. Unless something exciting happens between now and landing in the States, I think I'll just stop this journal here. It was a wonderful trip and I will miss the soccer mayhem so much! I think I'm addicted to attending World Cups now….I may need to go to Qatar in 2022.