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Published: December 9th 2005
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My overnight train to St. Petersburg was quite pleasant. Minus the old creepy woman wearing a wig who insisted on sitting in the chair across from my bed the entire first half of the journey staring at me.
I've been getting used to all the walking involved in travel. My pack seems to be getting heavier and heavier and the hikes between the stations to the hostels longer and longer. St. Petersburg was no exception. By the time I found the building the hostel was in and walked up 4 flights of stairs I was sweaty and exhausted. Once again, the situation repeated itself...not another traveler in sight. I spent the first 3 days with a large, warm room all to myself. And I think I spent more time walking to and from places than I actually did inside buildings. The metro system in St, Petersburg in incredibly efficient. But the stops can sometimes be miles between each other. Incredibly inconvenient!
I was lucky enough to have a few days of brilliant blue skies then heavy heavy snow. The entire city was completely blanketed in beautiful white glittery snow by the time the day came for me to meet Tomoko. In
I love St. P architecture!!
An old Russian man yelled at me for taking this picture. Crazy ol' coot. fact, we could hardly find our way to Peter and Paul Fortress from the metro the snow was so thick. At the church in the fortress, Tomoko's Russian Japanese student, Anastasia, gave us a tour in Japanese. She was practicing her speech for her job as a Japanese tour guide and I was lucky enough to tag along. Despite the fact that I only understood 20% of everything she said (hey, words like "buttresses, " "vaults," and such don't pop up in normal conversation) I had a lovely afternoon listening to her near flawless Japanese. The church in Peter and Paul Fortress houses many of the Russian royal tombs. And we happened to be there on the anniversary of Catherine the Great's death. We asked the kind old lady working at he church if we could stay for the service. And as it turned out, we were three of only a handful of people there in attendance. We held candles and listened to the Russian Orthodox service near Great Catherine's marble tomb. Our yellow candles popped and emitted a sweet-waxy odor as the voices of the priest and the small choir bounced off the walls of the old church. I
was completely moved.
I am certain that when you have friends or know someone in a strange city, it is almost always so much more fun than if you are exploring it on your own. Having Tomoko show me around St. Petersburg was fantastic! We explored the third floor of the Hermitage together one afternoon. She took me to the Russian opera. She helped me order food at restaurants and navigate trains. And she even cooked me a delightful Japanese curry rice meal at her apartment, one night. By the time the expiry date for my Russian visa rolled around, I didn't want to leave!
However...I did want to leave the hostel I was in...During the day I was having a grand time with my new friend. During the night I was being berated by my new roommate.
Before I ever arrived at All Season Hostel, I met a girl in Moscow who warned me about the crazy old woman in Room 11. Old..hmmm...I thought she just must be misunderstood by all of the young people who stayed there. So before I even met her I had decided to "be-friend" this old woman. I hadn't met another American in weeks.
Perhaps we'd have something in common...
Nope.
On my fourth night there, the staff moved me to Room 11 because they were expecting a large group of students. I moved all of my bags and things into my new room only to find I had invaded this woman's mini-apartment. She was spread out all over the room. There were boxes, clothes, computer equipment. I tried at first to make a few words of conversation with her but she was always unresponsive and odd. Things were fine for the first few days until I arrived home one evening. I hung up my coat and piped a chipper "Hello!" to her. She was scrounging around under her bed. She stared at me and replied with a hostile, "What's your name?."
So I said, "Christy, and you?..." She didn't answer and continued with the frantic scrounging until she apparently found what she was looking for. Then, she quickly stood up and pointed a disposable camera in my face. "F$&^#* B*%#@ SPY!!" She growled and
snapped a few photos of me and retreated to her bed.
"EXCuse me?!" I said in shock.
"You heard what I said. You're a f&^*% b^%*& spy!" she
The Hermitage/ winter palace
The greatest museum in Eastern Europe. Take your student card and it's free! Just look out for the police cars speeding across the square. shouted and turned away from me as if hiding something.
With my blood starting to boil I raced to the reception where I immediately changed my room. I spent the whole rest of my stay at the hostel avoiding this old woman. We had another encounter in the bathrooms which included more expletives and accusations. And she always slammed her room door shut whenever she saw me coming.
Oh, the people you meet...
Apparently I was not the first to be accused of spying on her. I have concluded that she must have some mental problems. And I am left pondering how someone with such serious problems is able to live and function in foreign country like RUSSIA for so long on their own.
However, my St, Petersburg experience was not marred by this odd woman. Just made more exciting, I suppose. St. Petersburg is a beautiful beautiful city overflowing with things to do and places to see. I felt invigorated by how much the people of St, Petersburg embrace the arts. There are so many theater productions, museums and bookstores there. People read novels on the subways and visit art galleries and palace parks on the weekends. For
Poisenious cake
The very room where the Russian elite made their first attempt at murdering Rasputin. See- he's clutching his chest in pain. my first taste of Europe, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Just remember...avoid the old lady in room 11.
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Kate Hildebrand
Kate Hildebrand
Ha ha, I love Americans.