Finally have a moment to write up a review about Russia.
It was a dream to go there, as we've both for some time been interested in Russian culture, literature, Soviet space exploration, Soviet-made keetars, and assorted silliness like that.
As it turned out, the visit to Russia was more like a sleepless night than a dream. Here's some notes:
ST PETERSBURG:
--arrival was by the speedy and clean high-speed train from Helsinki: on time and no problems, border formalities were done on train and were a breeze;
--we arrived at night, so saved the exploring for the next day...despitre staying at a nice well-regarded hotel, our first impression of Russia, and this held true at the 2 hotelsd we stayed at was that the places reek of cigarettes, cigars, and vodka;
--The Hermitage: large for the sake of being large...grotesquely huge...quantity over quality seems to be the theme here as no wall may be left unadorned even if it's a copy...the place is so overdone, that basement displays on ancient Russia are impossible to view as crates of artworks are piled in front of them with no security, no climate control and people smoking...come to think of it, this is the only museum we've ever been in where people are allowed to smoke...so much for conservation;
--The Russian Museum was also absurdly huge...we were originally denied entry at the main entrance...no problem as we just walked straight over to a side entrance and waltzed right in...saw the entire museum and although it is more refined than The Hermitage, it's still quantity over quality;
--happy we walked past Dostoyevsky's apartment as that perfectly encapsulated this town: on edge, grimy, anything can happen at any time (like busloads of riot police pouring out and people running in all directions, yep, we witnessed that);
--couple bright spots are the restaurant Levin, pro hockey, the circus, the philharmonic...The St Petersburg Opera's performance of Aida though was hilariously inept, we're sure some of the extras were girlfriends of some rich oil baron and we saw plenty of Ed Wood-style mishaps.
MOSCOW
--travel to Moscow was by the high speed train...again, efficient and on-time and clean...the guy sitting next to us though drank vodka non-stop and talked super loud on his cell;
--same deal on the hotel, it reeked!;
--security gates are everywhere, but they never work and never beeped no matter what you carry through...we stopped bothering with putting our stuff through the scanners, no one cared;
--Red Square: except for one day it was under construction;
--Kremlin: fascinating on the inside, but you will be yelled at for stepping off the sidewalk;
--Gorky Park: nice respite;
--other bright spots: Pushkin Museum, The Conservatory Orchestra, Bolshoi Ballet was excellent, Simple Things restaurant;
--weird stuff: pro basketball (10 minute quarters, near empty arena, not even taxi drivers could find it), the GUM mall (you can buy an expensive suit, watch, and a Bentley all in one place!);
--The Gulag Museum was very interesting and worth a trip for sure.
Overall, Russia proved to be an absurdly wild place: confusing at most times and rarely satisfying. A truly Russian experience: the best, mediocre, and worst days of he trip.
TRANS-SIBERIAN TRAIN
--6 days on the Mongolian route of the train, one of the craziest things we've ever done;
--the station in Moscow is another absurdly huge place with little direction as to where to go and the ever-present worthless security scans;
--coal-fired heaters and coal-fired samovar...the Chinese attendants did all their cooking on the top of the boiler...in fact, that's all they did was cook;
--2-bed room to ourselves...all the English-speaking passengers were kept in one coach segregated from the Russians...we weren't permitted to enter the Russian coaches;
--another absurdity: the train stays on Moscow time all throughout Russia despite the fact that we crossed 5 time zones...the dining car kept on Moscow time so breakfast was served at 1 PM --real time/8 AM train time...we had to pass through 28 doors to get to the dining car;
--toilets empty to the ground;
--scenery was amazing: an amalgamation of cold frozen forests, heavy industrial wastelands, small beat up towns...Lake Baikal was cool....Mongolia landscapes were snowy and dusty...saw camels, wild horses and basketball courts;
--Mongolian immigration agents were dressed to the nines in fur coats and brought their kids along;
--at the Chinese border, the train wheels (bogies) have to be changed as the track size in China is different than Mongolia and Russia...so, the coaches are rolled into a giant garage, hoisted off the wheels, and lowered onto a different set of wheels, all while you site in your room and get jostled around;
--a Mongolian passenger somehow was allowed to stay in our coach a few rooms down...heard him talk loudly on his cell in Mongoilian, punctuated with in English: 'what am I made of mutton!!';
--Chinese part of the trip was uneventful, quick, just a couple stops before Beijing: mountains, corn fields, parts of The Great Wall, skyscrapers under construction, lots of coal mining.
And, that's about it....more to come. FLICKR update soon.
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