Russia. A travel log.


The Serbian airport had an enigmatic stillness to it, like that of a rural Eastern European village forgotten by time. Old world simplicity resonated here. It was quiet. Peaceful. But I still felt a little unsettled. I flicked pages from my passport and turned to my Russian Tourist Visa. The toil I had to go through to get this. Travelling back and forth Dallas and Houston was a bumpy trek for sure, and all for that for a shiny piece of paper entitling me entrance to one of the most mysterious countries of the world. I felt elated, yet nauseous. The final call to board from Belgrade to Moscow was announced. I shuffled to get my things together I flip open my passport handed my boarding pass to the attendant. "Enjoy your flight," she said. I hope so. I thought.

Day 1

I arrive at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport with absolutely zero knowledge of the language and no clue how to arrive at my AirBnB. I breathed in a little and focused on the first steps. SIM card. My smartphone was my lifeline for any of my global trots. I'd be dead without it. Information desk pointed me to a black desk with a young blond Russian man who looked busy playing Counter Strike. I caught him off guard, but he was happy to greet me and shuffled through different SIM packages then activated my account. I was set. Russia here I come.

I found my way to the Moscow Aeroport Express and into the city center. After a bit of Googling I found my way to the AirBnB after about a 10 minute walk from the Prospekt Mira metro station. The landlady gave me tour of the apartment (hostel more like) in Russian. I hadn't the slightest clue what she said, but I was too tired to ask anything else. I readied for bed then texted Vanessa and joked about my AirBnB and crazy Russians, then hit the sack. A good start to my adventure.

Airport Express Train

Day 2
I woke up and got ready for the day. Before my trip I decided I needed a local guide of some sort to help me get around the city. I used showaround.com, a website dedicated to meeting locals around the world willing to be free (or paid) tour guides at the personal level. Anastasia Efimova had offered to help me out. Cool. She texted me in the morning, congratulating me for making it, and we set off.

We sat down for breakfast and chatted a bit about culture, history and politics. Anastasia had a good opinion of Russia and it's potential for growth. I was also interested in her opinion of Putin. He's not a bad guy, she explained. I agreed.

Red Square. The epicenter of Moscow's history and culture. Anastasia explained​ the history of the walls, took me to some historical sites like the GUM mall and St Basil's Cathedral. She had to leave for a modeling shoot, but showed me the closest Starbucks before she left. Cool chick. I was on my own the rest of the day and visited inside the walls of the Red Square. I was pooped by 5pm. Went back to the AirBnB exhausted.

St Basil's Cathedral

Red Square (Kremlin)

Day 3
I'm off to St Petersburg. A bit of a kerfuffle had me ending up at the wrong train station headed for the wrong airport. I figured it out on time and made way to the proper station. I arrived at the airport on time. Checked in and I was set.

I arrived at St Petersburg and immediately I felt a difference in the atmosphere. It felt strangely familiar kind of like Paris but sprinkled with some Russian finesse. It was calmer and less intense than Moscow. I made way to my AirBnB by Bus and Metro and checked in. I texted Vanessa some pics of my room and joked about the hippie vibe of the apartment. I wanted to explore the city but first I needed a new toque and gloves. Walked in the blistering cold, bare head and bare hands. I found my winter gear at the mall after 20 minutes of walking around, dashed to the food court and tried some Russian wrap thing made by Tartar ethnic looking people. Tired, I made my way back to my AirBnB, took a hot shower and crashed.

The canals of St Petersburg

Day 4
The tour. I met up with another showaround local to help me navigate the dizzying streets of St Petersburg. She introduced herself as Lola and she had the most magnificent green eyes. She was pretty. We set off to walk around St Petersburg's most touristy attractions. Since my AirBnB was closest to a popular ballet theater, she stopped in front of the venue and talked the history of the Mariinsky Theatre. I admitted I wasn't too cultured in the performing arts, more so in ballet, but I appreciated it's history.

We than made our way to St Issac's Cathedral. We walked around the building a bit as there were police fences shutting out the public due to some possible threat. We managed to work our way in and I snapped some pics of its grandeur Byzantine art. The church was built during the time of Tsar Alexander I and was designed by a French architect to meant push Russian arts passed its eastern roots. And I think that's what's so alluring about St Petersburg's, it's a city with Russian roots but a more western European look and feel to it.

Lola and I explored the Winter Palace, a few more cathedrals, browsed Dostoyevsky's tributary apartment, dined in a cozy hipster cafe, tried Russian donuts, and to wrap up my day I bought an overpriced Matroyoska doll. Nice. I compensated Lola for her time, set off home, took a much needed hot shower and packed my things ready for an early Uber back to the airport the next morning.

St Isaac's Cathedral

Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum)

Dostoyevsky's study desk

Day 5
I found my way to Pulkovo airport and walked around for a bit taking in the interior architecture of the building. I found my airline check-in, got my tickets and set off. I browsed some shops at the airport as I waited for my flight. Then fell asleep. I woke to the horror of missing my flight, so I had to re-book for one leaving two hours later. I managed to stay awake this time, and I was off - back to Moscow.

I landed and texted Anastasia for a quick meetup near Pushkin Square. We had a bite at some cool burger shop and she helped me send out some postcards to Vanessa. We parted ways, promising to keep in touch. Then I had to meet up with my AirBnB host. She was at work but was kind enough to meet me somewhere in Moscow to hand off her keys. So I took the train back and made my to Red Square again to meet her. Her name was Nelly and she spoke fluent English which was a nice refreshing break. We sat down for a bit and chatted about our countries, I told her about Canada and the kind of work ethic we had there, she then explained she couldn't show me the apartment due to overtime work, but her boyfriend, Alex, would be more than happy to accomodate. So I texted him and we met at the Borockaya train station. We took a "vintage" train back to the burbs, chilled at the apartment and ate pizza. Had a lengthy discussion of our jobs and the future of technology (he was a programmer for software company specializing in trains). They had a cat.

Koshka

Day 6
My final day in Russia. Alex had to make an early morning commute back to work in Moscow but said he would be back to drive me to the airport. I was exhausted from my trip, with all the plane travel back and forth, and train riding, I could't think about exploring anymore, so I decided to stay in. My phone signal was weak in the area, so I decided to shut it off and go online when I reached the airport. Feeling I needed a stretch I walked around the neighborhood taking in the many nuances of the community. I had time to reflect on my brief but perspective altering experience.

My thoughts:

Russia is one of the most fascinating yet baffling countries I'll ever come to know. In a country decorated with rich history, grandiose arts, and political turmoil, trying to understand it is like examining a piece of abstract art. It's beautiful but puzzling, and difficult to unravel. There are many contradictions here. From the magnificently built but poorly maintained metro stations, to the fortified but openly public presence of Red Square, and charming yet haunted past of the Winter Palace, Russia never fails to mesmerize. The people here are great, and contrary to most western opinions, Russians aren't cold. They're some of the most friendly and warm people you'll ever meet. It's a country speckled with so many varying cultural influences its hard to define it's exact identity. As it sheds it communistic past and embraces the ideals of global capitalism, it's trying to usher its way a new modern hip Russia ready to play with the rest of the western world, yet maintain its authentically eastern roots. This can be polarizing. Whatever the result comes of the transformation, the world would be better balanced with Russia on-board the global stage.

A typical Moscow metro station

Alex, drove me back to the airport, I handed him some Euros for compensation, which he happily accepted. And that was it of my Russian trip.

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