Russia, Day 21



Day Twenty-One 

We had about seven hours to get to St. Pete.  It was a terrible night’s sleep.  The bunk was not that comfortable.  Around 6 AM, music started playing over the intercom, announcing that our arrival was fairly imminent.   St. Petersburg was a mere 45 minutes away!  We brushed our teeth, changed our clothes, readied our things and stared out the window. 

The train arrived in St. Petersburg.  The station was bustling, especially for 7 AM in the morning!  We exited the train and looked carefully for our taxi driver.  No sign of him.  I eventually got a lady at an information desk to call Nord Hostel for me.  With the address of the hostel in hand, it was time to meet up with Kade, who had been sitting with our bags in the open air in the very front of the terminal.  I started trying to find a taxi.  The taxi drivers wouldn’t budge off of their ruble demands.  The drivers had very stern faces and didn’t seem to care whether we were their customers or not.  Eventually we found a guy who could take us in his taxi; I was able to get a bargain.  We rode down Nevsky Prospect towards Nord Hostel. 

We were dumped right in front of the hostel, which was smack in the middle of the city’s main attractions.  Still, it was early in the morning; it seemed pretty quiet.  After hitting the buzzer on the Intercom, Kade stayed in the foyer as I walked up to check things out.  Marsha, the lady in charge, was not in the building.  We had the receptionist call her to find out when we’d go to the apartment.  It was going to be another few hours, so we stored our baggage and then walked outdoors.  Once outside, we walked through an archway and took in the majestic Winter Palace and Square.  It was stunning and surreal to be there.  We then got us a coffee at Coffee House, the chain we frequented in Moscow.  After enjoying a cup of brew, we carried our tired bodies towards the Neva River.  We crossed the bridge near the Winter Palace and walked to one of the islands, where we stood at the spit.  At the spit, you could see the palaces, ornate mansions and buildings that lined the Neva.  You could also see The Peter and Paul Fortress.  Everything was beautiful.  For that time of the day, however, it was way too much to take in.  We were just happy to know we had ten days.

The lack of sleep from the night before made me really grouchy and I created some needless tension.  Poor Kade!  She dealt with it the way she always does.  She knew it would wear off…eventually.   We looked at some souvenir kiosks and then opted to walk back to Nord Hostel.  Once we got there, we had to wait some more for Marsha.  During the wait, we sat out on a balcony and struck up a conversation with an interesting, eccentric fella from Holland.  We also met a guy from Italy.  Marsha eventually came downstairs.  What’s funny is that she heard every bit of our conversation with those guys.  Luckily, we had said some good things about her.  Marsha, on the other hand, did carry some bad news: it would a few more hours before the apartment was ready.  I requested a temporary room for us to get some sleep.  She obliged.  Great service!  We went into a private hostel room and crashed for three whole hours!  

We were awakened and told that Marsha would be picking us up downstairs in a few minutes.  After grabbing our heavy luggage from storage we waited outside for Marsha.  She picked us up and drove us south on Nevsky Prospect.  The streets were now bustling and I was wide awake.  She turned onto one street and took a few shortcuts, eventually bringing us to the apartment at 75 Marata Street.  Before entering the building, she pointed out a restaurant nearby and a mall with a McDonalds and ultra-modern supermarket.   Then, she showed us the security code for the building gate and we walked inside.  The courtyard and apartment walls that were not visible from the street really didn’t leave a good impression.  The building was in need of paint!  Flowers and good landscaping could have made everything look nicer.  Also, since it had been raining, there were giant puddles everywhere.  I had a weird feeling about the place.

Once inside the apartment, however, my feelings changed.  The apartment was newly remodeled, very clean and was spacious.  The good thing was is that we would have the place to ourselves for all but three nights!  That evening a couple from Australia was going to stay in the adjacent room.  We picked out the larger bedroom and started feeling at home.  A very comforting feeling came over me.  Marsha gave us a map and showed us some essential things in the apartment before departing.  One marvelous aspect of the apartment was that it came fully stocked with groceries.  We actually had paid for it in the $90 per night fee.  Also, an added plus was a computer with the Internet.  We were thrilled.

After Marsha left, we strolled to the supermarket and mall.  The mall had everything we really needed.  We were most pleased with selection of goods.  Kade was now intent on cooking a few dishes at the apartment, which was more than okay with me.   

Later on, we walked back to the apartment.  Much to our dismay, the electricity was not working.  We rested a while and waited for it to come back on.  At least three hours passed without any progress.  We decided to go back to Nord Hostel to inform Marsha.  We walked through the park, past kids playing and young sailors carousing.  We eventually made it to the subway, which is supposed to be the deepest in the world.  We got our tokens and went down the escalator.  First impression was the subway was not as clean and nice as Moscow’s.  Also, the people in St. Petersburg looked a little less fashionable than the Muscovites.  Somehow we got to Nevksy Prospect and walked the remaining distance to Nord Hostel.  What a difference between street life in the morning and then!  The sidewalks were packed!

We arrived at Nord Hostel.  At the reception desk, we spoke with Marsha about the electrical problems.  She then introduced us to our Aussie suite mates.  We also saw Francesco, the Italian guy who stayed at Godzilla’s in Moscow.  The Aussie couple got their bags and we all went outside to get into Marsha’s car.  Marsha went a slightly different way this time.  She turned at the Achikov Bridge, right beside the canal and then weaved her way through side streets.  Soon, we were at the apartment.  A fuse switch later, combined with some Marsha ingenuity, led to the lights coming back on.  In the evening, we talked some with our new Australian friends.  It was then nighty night.

For more aerial views of St. Petersburg, click here.