On Saint Petersburg

J and I have returned from Russia after a grueling flight home that left oxygen masks deployed.

Neither of us was sure what to expect upon arrival, but we found the city to be hospitable and fascinating in spite of being plagued by jetlag.

Observations:
- Saint Petersburg is grey. Throughout the week, a cloud blanket covered the city and sunlight was scarce.

- Because of its latitudinal position, there were only about six hours of 'daylight' per day. I use the term daylight loosely.

- Riding boots appear to be the rage among women.

- J and I didn't observe much color in terms of clothing other than black, grey and brown. Occasionally, there was a splash of red.

- It seems everyone smokes; maybe Peter, as the city is affectionately called by locals, is in need of Guiliani.

- The architecture in general looks very much like that in Paris or other European cities (pointedly so, I know), but many of the buildings are brightly painted in blues, greens, yellows and reds. In that respect, Saint Petersburg very much reminded me of Austria. Perhaps, the empresses exerted their Germanic influence in this way, though I can offer no citation for my claim.

- Traffic lights are virtually absent on the prospekts, and seat belts are generally not worn.

- Russian food is delicious! We did not patronize touristy draws but instead went to local dives. Risky, yes, but it paid gastronomic dividends.

- Many citizens, mostly the elderly, are staunch in their referral to their city as Leningrad.

- One is hard pressed to find greenery in the form of parks, save for the square in front of Saint Isaac's.

- It is cold in October in Saint Petersburg!

- The Russian emperors (after Peter the Great, the tsars took on the title emperor) are entombed in an ornate yet modest cathedral.

- Bearing witness to such a complex and rich history was fantastic. I'll soon post our albums on Flicker and provide the link.

- The people were gracious in accommodating two English speaking tourists! We had no negative experiences in this respect.

- One can purchase 25 roubles for one dollar, and prices seemed comparable to those here.

I can't possibly describe the experience without rambling on for pages, so I'll spare your having to plow through 10,000 words on a blog. Other aspects of our visit went remarkably well ;)