Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg has been called the "Venice of the North" (due to the core dominated by the river Neva and threaded with canals dotted with baroque bridges) or the "Paris of the East". The large historic center has preserved many buildings that survived both the War and the Soviet era. Restoration work has been ongoing there ever since.

Bev's Hotel is centrally located just down from the Alexander Gardens and the Admiralty building which is right across from the Winter Palace along the Neva.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Garden_(Saint_Petersburg)

Arrived

I have arrived safely, checked into my hostel, had dinner and scrounged around the neighbourhood a bit. 

The airport was really odd. Most airports are full of bustling people. You step off the plane to a variety of shops, bathrooms and happy faces.

Here the passport control is immediately after you walk off the ramp. There's no where to sit and No bathrooms. There's about 20 booths with red and green lights. No one talks. Not the passengers, not the customs agents. It's like being at a funeral.

This is a sharp contrast from being on the plane where everyone was gregarious like teenagers, turning around to talk to the person two rows behind them. The Russian guy beside me on the plane had his head phones super loud; he was listening to Bryan Adams. 

I'm sitting on my bed watching Big Bang Theory dubbed in Russian (I can still hear the English underneath). All the voices are the same male voice, even the girls. I can tell when Raj is speaking without looking at the screen from the whine in his voice. 

Bev Arrives in St. Petersburg

Bev has arrived safely at her hotel in St. Petersburg, despite international tensions and the threat of ash spewing volcanoes.