Travelog
This diary tracks our progress along the Silk Roads, with episodes appearing in date order, most recent first. You can get to earlier entries by turning pages at the bottom of the screen.
- Details
- Written by Ellen Winter
- Category: Travelog
- Details
- Written by Andy Stone
- Category: Travelog
I'm happy to say that my earlier misgivings about Saint Petersburg were entirely due to lack of sleep plus rush-hour madness: this place is very groovy indeed! It continues to be big, and the general architeture is exuberently baroque and, well, Russian, but the folk here are more laid back than I initially thought. We have seen sights and on Friday night ate at a bliny restaurant. I was amused, having ordered 'Tartarian fritters with chicken, meat, potato and cheese' to be presented with 3 findus crispy pancakes (very tasty I may add) - one chicken, one meat, and one cheese and potato. I never really pictures Mr. Findus galloping across the Russian steppe trying to get home in time for pancakes - ah well.
Today we were in luck, because it was the 303rd City Day, consisting of a large procession through the middle of the town. The steets were heaving, loud disco was the order of the day along with many weird and wonderful floats. I hope after a bit of practice the organisers will cotton on to the idea of tall, raised floats so that people other than the front row can see them. In the evening we met a friend of Ellen's dad called Elena, who is really nice and had a lot of helpful things to say. She is clearly a good judge fo character, having taken one look at us before deciding that our first destination should be a cake shop. We hope to meet up with her later and share good times.
Our HC hosts continue to be wonderful, with Vladi being the latest incarnation. An imensely groovy chap he is a busker (playing a self-modified balalaika, story teller and puppeteer and some time journalist. He has made us feel extremely at home and has the added good trait of not being A Morning Person! He is however an evening person and we were delighted to walk home at midnight last night (which was still broad daylight by the way - weird) to a small party in the flat; a most convivial way to round off the day. And indeed this article.
- Details
- Written by Andy Stone
- Category: Travelog
We have arrived via overnight bus in Saint Petersburg having not slept at all on the journey (well Ellen did a bit), and its all really weird! For a start SP is big, really big. And this is the first place where, because of the cyrilic I really haven't got a clue where I am or what anything says. Ellen is getting a grip but I am completely clueless and terrified! Still it does look wonderful here and I'm sure once we've ditched the backpacks, eaten, slept and drank all will be well with the world again.
At the border we had to leave the bus, collect our packs and go through customs of foot. I managed to make the customs scanning machine go 'beep'! No one else could do it, they were all rubbish, but I managed it All On My Own! A soldier chap (who personally I thought could have conducted himself with a touch more decorum) moved me to one side and asked me to open the pack. He seemed extemely perplexed by Munchkin which was wrapped in a freezer bag - I think it distracted him sufficiently as he then strode off in silence, glancing over his shoulder with an attempted glower. Well the coach engine started up and everyone began filing out, so I figured the best thing to do was to hitch up the pack and stroll quietly out to the bus. I've no idea whether I am still supposed to be stood at the border but it is much nicer here.
- Details
- Written by Andy Stone
- Category: Travelog
Well this is our last day in this fabulous town, and I am sad to leave - it would be amazing to come back to Estonia for a cycling holiday (flat countries are great like that!). The town is a really fairy-tale mix of cobbled-street fishing town and fairy tale - Russian churches mixing with early gothic and baroque buildings, wonderful Scandinavian courtyards, kooky, friendly people and even a Depeche Mode theme bar! And the national dish seems to be black pudding - what more could you ask for?!
Yesterday the weather was fantastic so we took a bus along the coast and wlked near the shore, ending up in the Tallinn Open Air Museum - well worth a visit. Set in some gorgeous woodland that goes up to a short cliff I thought at first that I was walking around some reconstructions of iron age dwellings, as they were thatched log cabin style long houses and things like that ocvering farmsteads, mills and other such structures. But amazingly they were actual buildings moved to the museam from all over Estonia, most of which dated from 19th century - its odd to think that so much has changed in just 100 years.
We are going by bus to St Petersburg tonight, something that I'm both wildly excited and very scared about! We have just spent 3 days - longest stretch so far - in a hostel which has been bliss. The Hospitality Club is amazing and its wonderful to meet so many generous, open and interesting people on the way, but I find it tiring without a break to just slum out for a while. Batteries now fully charged and ready to meet the Russian onslaught head-on!