St Petersburg: the first step

A mad panic with the night before packing/printing info/sorting music meant that I got less than two hours sleep. I'm sure I'll discover things that I've forgotten in due course, and feel rather silly.

The result of this was me sleeping through my alarm, and almost missing my coach. I spent this ride half-comatose, which did nothing but make me feel more tired. Of course the end result of this was arrival at the airport with plenty of time to spare but an urge to curl up on the nearest baggage trolley. Having met my dad and boarded without major incident, I got a decent amount of sleep and was also presented with what was meant to be a roast dinner. Edible and questionable are two words which probably sum it up the best - but I suppose plane food has never really been haute-cuisine...

Our flight arrived and the first thing I noted was that it appeared we were an hour and a half early- this was to be the first of many Russian mysteries, of which I'm sure there are more to come. Secondly, and almost a bit disappointingly, the city was subject to a heavy drizzle and was only a little bit nippy. Not living up to expectations so far!

One aspect of Russia did not fail to deliver. Having made the decision to attempt to get to our accommodation by public transport, we boarded a mysterious bus. On the surprisingly swift journey, the driver (we assumed from the tone) swore, overtook, undertook, swerved and screeched around like a mad man. This was much more like the Russia I'd heard about!

On the metro, having deciphered Cyrillic alphabet to plan our route (this is going to be a struggle), another thing stood out rather emphatically... everyone here wears shellsuit-style puffer jackets. Yes, it's Russia and winter but it's almost like a uniform! Arsene Wenger would have a field day with his knee-length seasonal attire.

Our accommodation for the next few days is phenomenal, right next to the church of spilled blood. Incredibly central and very spacious, we decided to make use of the fridge space and hunt for a supermarket. In hindsight, we should have used the internet in advance. Hours later, we only had 2 bottles of water and a hunger we decided to sate at 'Meathead', a nearby restaurant. On hearing that name, what would your first thought be? If you thought bizarre, congratulations. The most surreal meal I've ever experienced IN MY LIFE.

Sitting in what appeared to be a converted wine cellar next to a bust of a ram's head surrounded by green baubles, we listened to live and utterly eclectic music selections performed by a russian supermodel-type and a bloke in a suit. Given there were roughly 6 people in the place, this level of effort seemed rather intense. Add to this the ancient black and white slapstick comedy playing on tvs around the restaurant and the extravagant (I had elk ravioli) menu, and you begin to get the picture. Oh, and Norwegian water which cost 7 pounds. Ergh.

So yes, one word sums up my Russian experience thus far: insanity.

P.S. Apologies for the picture shortage. I'll only be able to upload them once in a while due to an sd card compatibility thing. It's not very exciting.