Day 4- St. Petersburg.

For whatever reason I couldn't fall asleep the entire night. At all. Wasn't anxiety or stress after an easy day, it's just how it was. I got back to the hotel at midnight and had to leave at 4:30 to get to the airport for the early flight out so it probably wouldn't have been much sleep anyway. Eh, sleep is overrated. The flight is uneventful. On approach to the St. Petersburg airport what struck me is the absense of roads and development. It is very rural, with not a single multilane highway in sight (a ring road is under construction and operational in parts but its full completion seems uncertain in timing). The airport itself is quite small and a bit worn - the main terminal is only three jetway gates. Pretty odd for a city of over 6 million people.

The ride from the airport into the city is long due to horrendous traffic. It's hot and air quality is pretty bad although not as terrible as I expected. In stark contrast to the rural views out of the airplane window, the city itself is vast, dense and crowded. The biggest difference from when I visited 16 years ago is the advertising and signage on the buildings. There was none then, now it's everywhere. Some of it in Russian, some in English, some in an odd mix of the two. There are lots more cars on the roads. Ancient Ladas (Zhiguli) mixing with a wide range of modern Western machinery up to and including H2 Hummers and Bentleys.

My hosts' apartment is in a great central location and although the building is quite run down (some of the buildings are downright scary), apparently real estate values here rival New York. The apartment itself is quite pleasant and the tall ceilings give it the feeling of more space than it really has. Perfect accommodation for my needs.

After settling in a bit, a quick trip to the corner store. On the way is an amusing display in the windows of a restaurant. The writing on the fence in the one with the cats says 'spring... love' :)

Much conversation and catching up, then a long stroll through the streets towards the Neva river. For a short time at night all the drawbridges are open and a continous parade of ships pours through on their way between the Ladoga lake and the gulf of Finland. It is the time of 'white nights' and the sun doesn't set until around midnight. It gets somewhat dark around 1am and is light again by 4. Of course the last time I visited it was January and it was exactly the opposite. I definitely like this better!

At 3:30 am we're back at the apartment and it's time to finally catch up on some sleep. Not that I seem to have missed it much.

Day 5.

One of the main purposes for being here is to visit my Grandmother. She lives in the 'novostroika' projects, much like the ones that I grew up in. It's about an hour trip from city center on subway and by tram. On the walk to the subway the juxtaposition of all the new advertising and historic buildings and decorations is amusing. The scale of the city easily rivals Paris and in many ways appeals to me more. But it doesn't feel anything like 'home'. I'm definitely a visitor here.

The subway is exactly like I remember it. Lengthy escalators that go hundreds of feet down, with thick steel doors at the bottom which you have to know to look for, as they are recessed into the walls. The subway system was built as a nuclear-proof underground city and the doors were intended to be closed in case of an American attack. I still recall the civil defense drills that we had in school. It was never mentioned that obviously there wouldn't be room for but a small portion of the population down there.

The trains appear to be the same ones that were running 27 years ago - I suppose a testament to their durability. They seem to be reasonably maintained and are about on par with Paris Metro and are cleaner than the equivalents in some American cities that I have seen . One thing that stands out about the crowds is the number of attractive women. They seem to be everywhere. I even thought of taking a picture of one on the subway train, the way she was leaning against the door could have been a high-end fashion magazine ad. But I thought better of it - would have been pretty odd I guess.

Grandmother's apartment building is actually a bit nicer than the one I grew up in but that's not saying much. The building is worn down, dirty, smelly. The apartment is as much of a refuge from the surroundings as can be managed under the circumstances. Elevator is barely big enough to turn around in and and dimly lit. There are two levels of locked iron doors - one get into the lobby, one just as you get out of the elevator. There is a lot of new construction all around though and the newer buildings are really quite nice. Apparently with all the new money in Russia they've finally figured out how to build things well. About time. There are also rows of car dealers, supermarkets, furniture stores and the like. A couple decades ago there was only poverty and everything was hard or impossible to get, even the basics. These days the poverty is still there but there is also great wealth and everything is available. And it costs as much as it does in the West or more which puts it way out of reach for the majority of people.

After spending several hours with Grandmother, a subway ride back to the center and a long walk around. I'll do more of it tomorrow as well. It's a beautiful city, if one stays in the historic center.

The pictures above were taken between 9 and 10 pm. The light is a bit disorienting and it's easy to lose track of time. I decided to walk across the beach in front of the Petropavlovskaya fortress only to find it closed off for some kind of sand sculpture exhibition. Weighing the long walk back vs paying $2 to cross 100 feet of sand I decided on the latter and took a look at the sculptures since I was there already. Some are quite elaborate. I'm told this is a nude beach, too, right in the middle of the city. But not this time of day.

Day 6.

The plan was to take a boat tour of the canals but overnight a major storm rolled in. The winds push the Neva back upstream and the water level rose over three feet. Because of this the boats can't get under the smaller bridges and the tours weren't running. Instead I walked over to where the cruiser Aurora is moored. The ship's claim to fame is that a blank shot fired from its nose cannon signaled the start of the Revolution. My Grandmother used to live right next to it and I wanted to see her old apartment, at least from the outside.

Walking back the water level was still high but started dropping. The boats could now at least get under the bigger bridges so I took a tour out on the Neva. It's a good view of the city.

Day 7.

Mostly spent the day visiting with extended family. We took a bus out to the 'summer house' that belongs to Gradnmother and her sisters. I spent many summers here as a kid. I didn't expect much in the way of emotion and so wasn't surprised at my non-existent reaction to seeing the place again. Of course I remember many things but quite matter-of-factly. The house is maintained just enough to keep it from falling down and is essentially the same as I remember it nearly 30 years ago.

There is now city water so the old well is disused. There is still no sewer. The water from the well was never really safe to drink and I remember as a kid I had to walk with buckets to the street corner where a hand pump stood to exract potable water from the underground pipes. Now one just has to turn on the tap. That's progress. Boiling the water is still a necessity though.

Next I took a stroll towards the beach. Turns out I don't remember the village at all and had to ask for directions. There are some changes. The main road on which it sits runs between St. Petersburg and the Finnish border and it's quite busy. A road bridge was built to allow trains for the construction of a dam nearby to pass underneath without affecting traffic. Dam construction has rendered the water unswimmable, what of it there is (it's knee deep for hundreds of yards out) but people still go to sunbathe. In a small creek at the edge of the beach I saw a few of the tiny fish we used to catch as kids, just for fun. They are about the size of a finger and are called Kolyushka.

The most surprising change though is the significant number of huge mansions being constructed in place of and right next to old decrepid houses. It is a stark contrast - old, worn-out shacks juxtaposed with elaborate homes with tall fences and security cameras. There was even a Cayenne Turbo sitting in front of one, the car being even sillier here than it is on American roads.

All this is quite symbolic of present-day Russia somehow.

Day 8.

An easy day without much on the agenda. Did finally do a canal tour but the pictures are not all that different from those I took earlier so not much point in posting them. Tomorrow is my last full day here.

Day 9.

Started the morning with a hydrofoil trip to Peterhof - a palace complex on the gulf shore that is famous for its fountains. I've seen it before of course, this was just a quick refresher trip of sorts. Yep, it's still there and pretty much as I remember it.

I'm not a big fan of gold but I must admit that overall the fountains have a certain overwrought beauty to them and I can see where they would impress. Which is pretty much what they were built to do. No false modesty about this palace, that's for sure. It is apparently a popular destination for people to just go and stroll around the parks.

The hydrofoil ships are another reason I took the trip. I was always fascinated by them as a kid and save for phone company advertising on their sides they are unchanged since then. Fast and efficient they leave very little wake once fully up on the foils. Interestingly, when my mother was visiting a couple decades ago she hired one of these for a family outing. The whole day, fully catered, for $100. Now a single roundtrip ticket for a half-hour journey is $25. Times change.

Afterwards, a long ride on the metro and tram to visit Grandmother once again, bringing this portion of my trip to a conclusion. I leave tomorrow morning. Glad I came, no regrets about leaving. And no immediate plans to return.