Back to Civilization

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Ahhh.... Finally am enjoying my free time in a comfortable and unusually empty Riga International Airport and am about to head down to Istanbul, Turkey.

But before then, a few comments about my past 2 weeks in the former Soviet Union.

Russian have a US-Complex. They must aim their conversation toward political demise, which takes effort to steer clear off. Bush bashing is to be expected, but they seem to think I'm an official US representative (probably first American they've seen in years) and thus express years of internal frustions to me.

A general advice to anyone planning to use Russian Train Terminals: Give yourself ample time and be prepared to stand in long-lines and then be told you are in a wrong line and repeat the process all over again. (I missed 3 trains because of this).

The air is not as bad as one would think, especially considering the volume of car traffic. But crossing the street required much skill. There are few traffic lights. Mostly just signs for traffic to yield to pedestrians.

Escallators into the subway are really, really long, both in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Latvians and Lithuans (young generation) speak English quite well, so no need to know Russian. (The opposite with the older generaion).

Best city to visit: Vyborg, Russia, 38km from the Russian/Finnish border. A very strange architecture to be found in Russia, but most satisfying is walking through completely abandoned 6/7 story buildings (pics to follow later).

Russians express their financial success quite differently from the West. Women, for one, must drive a better vehicle than their male partner, preferably a 4x4.

Kaliningrad is one ugly city. The Brits did an extensive destruction in 44-45 from which the city never recovered. But the 19th Century German forts are worth a visit. Just bring good sneakers and a powerful flashlight to really enjoy yourself walking though an underground maze.

Travelling alone is excelleng. So much time to meet and converse with random humans. Had dinner in Kaliningrad with 2 males from Kazakhstan looking to move to Kaliningrad, etc.

If you fly budget airlines, you are punishing your knees. Always ask for an emergency-exit row aisle seat if you want your knees spared.

If you are visiting any museums in Russia, as a foreigner you'll pay 2-3x as much. To avoid such, learn how to say ''one ticket'' in Russian without an accent and you might save yourself a buck or two.

k, i'll think of more things to say & hope to have an internet to say them... but must now run to make sure i don't miss my flight.

bb

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