Can you work out who this is?
We took our final train of the Tran Siberian route from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. We were met at the station by a guide and taken to Helene´s apartment where we were to stay for two nights.
Helene is a retired teacher and had been to many parts of Russia as well as other countries. She had a few words in English and several more in German so with a dictionary and my rusty German we were able to communicate and have some laughs.
She and her daughter live on the second floor of the four blocked complex which has a playground and garden area in the centre. The apartment had 3 large rooms which felt like separate lounges where the large couch in each converted into a bed. The room we had was full of treasures that had been collected on Heleneś travels. We were able to do some laundry and dry it on a line in the hallway.
St Petersburg is a lovely lovely city and we enjoyed revisiting the famous Hermitage and walking around the streets. To us, the city feels like a mix of Europe and Scandinavia.
At this time of the year the nights are very light and it barely gets dark. The city takes the opportunity to use the "White nights" to have outdoor concerts in its many squares. We had just missed one of the Pink Floyd singers and saw several areas set up for concerts. the streets are packed even after midnight!
The wind off the Baltic Sea was very cold and it rained on and off but it was still pleasant enough to walk about and find sheltered areas.
It seems to be the season for brides as they were at every monument or park we visited. Winter is probably not the best weather for weddings either.
The second word is Big Mac!
We were fascinated by these two mobile toilet buses.
