Day 1 in St-Pete's
Peter and Paul Fortress
04.05.2007 -17 °C
I did not sleep very well on the night train... but I did meet a Guy from Mali (spoke French) who has been living in St-Pete's, or Pete, as it is known to the locals, for 10 years. My first impression of St-Pete's is cleaner and quieter than Moscow... or it could that I arrived at 6:40 am instead of the middle of the afternoon.
My first in lesson in Pete was that the floor cleaners in the train station don't slow down just because there is a crowd in the way. My second lesson is St-Pete's is that the street cleaning trucks don't turn off the water jets when they get close to you. THE CITY WILL BE CLEAN!
And now a note on the most miserable people in the world => the older ladies who work in museums. They were the same in Moscow but I have not bothered mentioning it unitl now. 80% of them are ogres, with 10% indifferent and 10% helpfull. I was going around the Commander House at the Peter and Paul Fortress and found out that the Museum ladies play zone defence. Once you are in their zone you can not go backwards to see something you missed. The museum is effectively a one way. I did seek help from a Russian Lady who spoke some English and was told I had to exit the Museum and re-enter again to see the part I had missed. I did so but the troll at the entry did not let me back in because my ticket had already been ripped.
Here is a list of what not to do in the Fortress
These rules don't apply outside the walls
Tradional Russian Stove inside the Commander's House at the Fortress
Inside the Peter and Paul Catherdral
A note on tickets - All pieces of paper you get ina commercial transaction are torn or cut in some way... everything! I wonder if it ever served an actual puprose?
The rest of the day was spent in a Laudramat and shopping for food. I am staying tonight and having a few beers with the boys. One of them is actually a writer for "Lonely Planet".
First Major Change of Plan
I will be in St-Pete's for May 9 instead of Smolensk. My original plan had me travelling on May 7 and 8 but all the tickets are sold.
