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Privyet from Russia!!
Entry 5 of 6 | show all | print this entry |
Well, after five exhausting and amazing days, it is time for me to say goodbye to Russia. All I can really say is that you can't understand Russia until you've been here...and I still can't say I understand it completely. Some of us hated it, others (like me) loved it beyond compare. I do not see how another port could even begin to top this amazing experience. For those of you who I'm not torturing nightly with a 3 page synopsis of my day, I'll sum up the experience.
I got off the boat with a fear instilled in me due to frequent warnings of theft/crime...I walked out there feeling like I was in the most dangerous situation possible and I came off feeling like I'd found a hidden pearl. Russia is a complicated place---the culture and society is nothing like America. The people can off come off as brash, uninterested, or downright rude. The fashions are strange to those of us who are used to a different way of doing things. The language barrier is overwhelming and this is not a culture that will go out of it's way to help a confused and naïve American. But when you talk to people, really talk, they slowly let down their guard and though most of them will probably never be sugary sweet, they are intelligent and interesting individuals. You have to see that when you look at someone through America's eyes, they will never be anything but foreign. But if you look at them with human's eyes, you see that deep-down, past our clothes and our languages and our customs, we are all the same in a lot of ways.
I did so much in the last 5 days that I cannot begin to explain it or do it justice so here's a list to make it uncomplicated:
DAY 1
--walked around St. Petersburg (it was about a half hour walk from the ship to city center...let's just say I did a lot of walking this trip...probably 5 miles roundtrip/day at the VERY least)
--went on a home visit...had tea with a lovely Russian couple.
--went out to the bars with some friends (Russian vodka is cheap and delicious. Also strong. Use caution)
DAY 2
--went on a tour of the Peterhof (Peter the Great's palace and gardens). Was overwhelmed by extravagance.
--went out into St. Petersburg and walked Nevsky Prospect. Saw The Church of the Savior on the Spilt Blood...most amazing thing EVER.
--went to a Russian folklore show
DAY 3
--went out into the city again...checked out little shops, ate lunch at a small "kafe", saw a man walking a bear on a leash
DAY 4
--went to the Hermitage...viewed some Da Vinci originals, as well as Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Rembrandt.
--had lunch at a Russian McDonald's...surprisingly complicated
--laid out in the BEAUTIFUL Russian sun!
--went out to several bars to check out the nightlife
DAY 5
--woke up at 6:30am (this was hard, see above) and took a tour of Catherine the Great's summer palace.
--had a BBQ...it was nice. Except we were flying all these American flags and listening to American music and we're still docked in Russia...all these people were looking at our ship like we were nuts.
Random observations about Russia:
--the weather is very nice is summer...it was 80s/90s all week until today and has cooled off a bit.
--the sun doesn't set fully until about 2am...it's awesome. It's eight pm now and I JUST got done sunbathing J
--the Euro Mullet is BIG...every hip male had one.
--Russian women dress in cocktail dresses and heels 24/7.
--They also like to take random photos of each other in the streets while posing like playboy bunnies.
--No one uses deodorant in Europe. I'm becoming quite used to the sent of BO wafting through the air on a sticky summer day.
All in all, Russia rocked! We set sail tonight for Denmark, woo!
Latest Comments (1)
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Hey babe (reply)
Jul 6, 2008 00:27 EST by lovedave
hallo , Behage bede om tilgivelse mig Dansk , JEG kende lutter , indeværende er jeres boyfriend og JEG netop savnet hen til ønske jer en artig rejse hen til Danmark. Håb du har pensel oppe oven på noget bit i deres sprog. JEG kan ikke vent hen til høre om jeres næste oplevelser. Sig lyde lige jer fik en stor gang i Rusland og Im glad du er er sikker og sammenkomst artig folk. JEG elske jer og vil ... show all
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