White nights and dodgy football teams
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2008
1
35
42
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
Saint petersburg,
Russian Federation
Monday, June 16, 2008
I was only here for a day and a half. The main reason I kept my visit so brief was because of Moscow's new reputation as "The Most Expensive City in the World". It isn't cheap, but I didn't think it was too bad - about the same as London prices. The main problem here is the cost of a hotel room, but I managed to book myself into a reasonably priced hostel. Apart from the guy on reception and the fantastic shower, the best thing about the place was their guide to Moscow - a chap called Arthur Lookyanov. Brilliant.
The hostel is within walking distance of the city centre, so I did all the bog-standard stuff, Red Square, the Kremlin and St Basil's Cathedral. It's probably because it was a Summer Saturday, but you couldn't move down there for weddings. Every bride in Moscow has to be photographed in the same famous places, and stretch limos are de rigeur (in one case a stretch Hummer).
White nights. St Petersburg, 1am
It's quite sweet for a while - and then they start to get under your feet, and you know how pushy wedding photographers can be. Gorky Park, wasn't too far away either, so I went down for a look. It's a mixture of amusement park, ornamental park, family day out and all pretty unsophisticated. I liked it. Everyone photographs each other and when it's the girls' turn to be photographed they strike a pose, which looks as though they've been practicing all Winter. There was just something about the atmosphere there that reminded me of, oh I don't know.....how about Morecambe, circa 1969?
One of the biggest attractions in Moscow is the metro. The original stations were built in the 1930's under Stalin. No room to wax lyrical about them here - you can Google "Moscow Metro" if you're interested. Here's a set of photographs of the type of people you can see down there though:
http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=252
Just round the corner from where I stayed was a bar showing Euro 2008, and it was Russia versus Greece - how could I resist? I've seen Eastern European football fans in action before, and written them off as absolute animals, like England fans in the 1970's. This was totally different though, and I couldn't believe how polite they were. Apart from the jubilation when the goal went in, they spent most of the time politely applauding absolutely anything at all (winning a throw-in for example).
Church of the Saviour of the Spilled Blood
The atmosphere was more like watching a cricket match than football. There was also a Barrow AFC scarf pinned to the wall for some reason..... So although I wasn't here long, I enjoyed Moscow immensely. It was nothing like I expected, and the impression I got was of a quiet, low-rise, and very laid back place. Definitely an entry on the list of cities I'd like to come back to.
White nights, St Petersburg
And as the planet spins towards the solstice, it's time to head for the "white nights" of St. Petersburg. Although South of the Arctic circle, at this time of year it never gets completely dark here and I found it strange to be walking around in bright sunshine at 11:00 at night. There's absolutely no hope for me though. After something like seven days on the train to get up here from Ulan Bataar, the first thing I saw as we pulled into St. Pete's was a train bound for Sebastopol. Naturally, my first reaction was to start working out how I would be able to undertake this journey. Maybe it's just the place names of the old Soviet Union that I find so evocative - Archangel, Astrakhan, Murmansk and Odessa - but I clearly need counselling.
If I felt as though I'd hardly scratched the surface of what Moscow had to offer, in St. Petersburg I felt as though I hadn't even managed to do that - the place is stunning, and buildings that would be star attractions in any other city are two a penny here. But it's very very popular, and I hadn't realised just how many visitors come here.
Grafitti, St. Petersburg
With all the cruise ships and coach trips, you can hardly move in some places, and there are as many tourist boats on the canals as there are in Amsterdam. It's all easy enough to get away from though, and in the end I spent two days just walking round admiring the place - until my feet gave out and I had to sit down for a while. Euro 2008 continues apace, but if Russia aren't playing nobody here seems particularly interested. I found a bar showing the Portugal-Switzerland match, but only two of us watched it - myself and the (tooled up) security guard. I think his English has improved immensely, and tomorrow we may even move on from variations on "you cheating Portuguese tosser"........
I also finished "War and Peace" while I was on the train up here from Moscow. It's a bit of a cliche, but the book has been my constant companion since I left home, and I'll be at a bit of a loss without it. It's set during the Napoleonic Wars, and as well as the battlefields of Austerlitz and Borodino, large parts of the book are set in Moscow and St Petersburg, one of the reasons I brought it along. As well as the literary side, Tolstoy also had a bit of a thing about free will versus predetermination - back in April, and at 38.000 feet over the Mississippi Delta I read the following words that have bugged me a little bit ever since:
"Each man lives for himself, using his freedom to get what he wants, and he feels with every fibre of his being that at any particular time he is free to perform an action or refrain from doing so, but the moment any action is taken it becomes an irrevocable piece of history that has more to do with predetermination than freedom.
Face painting, Gorky Park
There are two sides to life for every individual: a personal life in which his freedom exists in proportion to the abstract nature of his interests, and an elemental life within the swarm of humanity, in which a man inevitably follows laws laid down for him. Although at a conscious level a man lives for himself he is actually being used as an unconscious instrument for the attainment of humanity's historical aims. A deed once done becomes irrevocable, and any action comes together over time with millions of actions performed by other people to create historical significance...." So did I set out on this journey of my own free will, or was it already written in the stars? Answers on a postcard please.
Helsinki
So it's goodbye to Russia. Coming here in the Summer is probably cheating though, as what defines Russia for many people is Winter, the snow and the cold. Valery runs 6 day cross-country skiing trips on and around Lake Baikal staying in traditional wooden houses, which sound brilliant. Knowing him it would be a different pair of skis every day though. Maybe one day.
And after successfully negotiating the Foreigner's ticket desk at St Pete's Finlandski Station, I'm on my way to Helsinki, Finland. While I was in the queue, it occurred to me that an office I used to visit in London was close to Vauxhall station. The Russian word for station is "vaxal", so to a Russian the place would have been called "Vauxhall vaxal"....
The train crosses the border west of a Russian city called Vyburg, which used to be in Finland but was given to Stalin after WW2. This time it's the Russians being turned inside out by Finnish Customs, and it's quite nice to see the boot on the other foot for a change. Although the countryside is very similar to Russia, Finland gives the impression of an economy that actually works, and feels more like home than anywhere I've been for a while. I'm also back on the Roman alphabet for the first time since the Philippines, which is nice. Shame it's all in Finnish.
Helsinki is safe, prosperous, efficient and after the likes of Caracus and Manila, just a little bit dull. It's also bloody expensive. I had my first cup of coffee since San Francisco here, and the first Indian meal since I left home - the Indian cost about £30. The Finns are lovely though. When I arrived I went into a random office to ask for directions to my hotel, which they gave me. A couple of minutes later the guy who, it turned out had sent me in the wrong direction, came belting up on one of those little aluminium scooters, apologised and insisted on walking me there personally.
So, if I walked due West from here (and we'll ignore the fact that I'd drown long before I arrived), I'd end up in the Shetlands.
I'm turning left................
Comments
Don't look back
Was that the name of the film with Donald Sutherland set in Venice where the scary little red riding hood character pops up ?(as in the graffiti)Anyway another excellent blog, not many of them to go now,what will we do when he gets back and there will be no more.He is heading into dangerous territory again so hope everything will go alright in the next couple of weeks.
Re: Don't look back
Was the Donald Sutherland film was 'Don't Look Now' -I've a feeling 'Don't look back' was a Bob Dylan film from the 60's. Need to look it up I think.
Not long to go now.................