Best Eastern Dona Kaliningrad

... t had the chance to go, so we finally decided to do it before we left.  I have to admit that I am a bit of a hockey fan.  Ever since the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup a few years back, I watch a few games on occasion. My favorite sound in the world is the sound of skating blades on ice.  Anyway, the arena was a ways from us.  It is over on the other side of town and across the bridge so we had to take a bus.  We get there and place is packed and I'm ...

... right?  WRONG.  FedEx refuses to send it.  No debit cards or credit cards.  So here I am again with no money and no way of getting any.  I'm a little bit apprehensive to say the least, considering that I have less than $80 US dollars to my name.  Thank God for friends, but they are broke too.  It's funny though because all I can hear right now is the song Stranded by Heart.  "dooon't  leave me stranded ...

... how does an American "look" anyway?)             --Finally, watching the women and seeing that underneath their sexy clothes and make-up, their lives will never be fair or right because this is a society of men and they can do whatever they want to the women....ochen ploha koshmar (very bad nightmare). All I'm saying is Thank God that I am a foreigner, oh the stories I could tell....               But, of course, the good ...

... we get everything that we think that we need, we head over to the poultry section to pick out a chicken.  It is NOT a good selection.  The package dates range from 2006 to 2007 and frankly they were very suspect.  The wording on the outside was in German (we are in Russia, right?) but the sign above it said chicken so we picked the one that looked less suspect then the others and the date that was the most recent (2007).  Laden with bags and bags of ...

... and those frozen fry things. 4. Start the stove and oven. 5. Don't die. 6. Stick fries on pan that you forgot to take out of the oven before you started with oil. Don't touch! Handy Note: If you touch the three hundred (fahrenheit? celsius?) pan...employ a ritualistic Russian dance where you grab the offending finger, hop on one foot (don't forget to hold the other out at a thirty degree angle to the ground) and say ...

... they have here but we soon decided to listen to them and we distinctly heard English. Well, it was not only the English but some were wearing Nike's, North Face jackets and Stanford sweaters.  Now I know how locals pick us out, it really is very obvious. We should really just have signs that read: Caution Foreigners Ahead, it is that obvious.  It is cool that we can see through "eastern eyes" now, though.  That's something to brag about at least ...

... t think anything could.... until I got here.  The women here are all stunning.  No wonder American men spend thousands upon thousands of worthless US dollars to marry a Russian girl. I mean, literally close your eyes and grab the first woman you come across and you will drool at her beauty.  Not only is she amazingly beautiful, she is always the spitting image of a Chanel, Prada, or Tom Ford ad.  (I may be anti-fashion but I know what is out there. Close your mouth and quit ...

... deal, because in kupe we left the door open half the time anyway.  So you make up your mind which is better for you, but for me, it is PlusKart all the way!  Also, here is one random fact, when the train is stopped you cannot go to the bathroom.  I don't know why, but it is forbidden.  You can go when it starts moving but 1.) be sure you are wearing shoes. 2.) be prepared for a nasty bathroom. 3.) be sure to have your own toilet paper or Kleenex.  Remember ...

... very swollen upper lip and a real shiner. It was something to see. "oh" he says," thank you so much for being here!" (we were in, yet again, that's right McD's) and I said, "How'd you know we were here?" He said," I didn't know YOU were going to be here, but I knew SOMEONE would have been here. It would have been unbelievable if someone was wasn't here. There is always someone here." (by the way.. imagine all that it a very heavy british accent) He ...

... backwards ended up landing on my back on my rucksack, nearly ended up in moat - very muddy coat and rucksack. Went up a less steep part, but as was so overgrown and wet I got absolutely soaked, so went and caught bus looking a right state. Pointed to a map for the place I wanted to go and conductor very helpful and showed me a passenger getting off at same stop. Great but obviously couldn't read map as I was about 2k from South station. Decided to walk, brought my ticket for Gdansk ...