The weather is beautiful in Russia

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We have made our way across from Helsinki after the wedding and are currently in St. Petersberg, Russia. It is definately not what I was expecting. It is a pretty special place and very pretty. I will write more in my next CF edition. But I just had to write a short blog about a local travel guidebook we are using.

It is called St. Petersberg in your pocket. It is written by a Dutch couple and has the skinny on everything you need to know about the city, from hotels and resturants to nightclubs and tourist attractions. There are other editions for some other European cities as well. What I love about it though is the absolute truth that they use when they write. We haven't come across anything bad they have written about yet but we are definately keeping our eyes open. So to the editors of the St. Petersberg In Your Pocket a CF of 10 for your honesty, humour and scant regard for your own safety. Below are just a couple examples of what I am talking about.

Food poisoning anyone?
Would you like some dog meat with that river of limp lettuce and garlic sauce sir? The SHAVERMA or doner kebab is one of the riskiest things you can eat in Russia. Or now we think about it one of the riskiest things you can eat anywhere in Eastern Europe. And yet, those revolving slabs of mashed up bits of various mysterious animals can be found in dodgy cafes and vans all over the place. When drunk it can seem tempting to dive into a greasy roll of meat, garlic sauce and left over salad, but as anyone who has ever made the mistake knows, you almost always regret it the next day. We'd like to say that we know a good place where you can eat a SHAVERMA, but, we don't - because there aren't any. This is one only for those with stomachs of steel.

The following is just one snippit from the book about some local beers. They review 8 of them but this is the funniest:

BALTIKA 9: The choice of tramps and hooligans all over the land, Baltika 9 can only be recommended for those times when you have been robbed of your senses, money and dignity.... and really couldn't get your hands on any vodka. It is THAT strong. The 'aroma' is somewhere between poo, cat litter and an outside toilet, while the nasty after taste requires many beer snacks to bury.

Now where to I get my hands on some of this stuff. I guess a job in Public Relations is out of the questions for these guys. There will be more in my next blog, probably.

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