Our Russia trip!

Hello!
A couple of people have emailed asking for details on our Russia trip (May 8-13)--so I thought I'd update you here.

Remember that the Estonia group needs to make a trip to visit their peers in Poland at some point during the semester. I know that you are all rather mobile, so I will leave the timing/planning to you---the first days of May are good travel days (May 1 is a holiday) but if the Estonia crowd plans to travel to Poland then, you should check on the Students Days calendar first. Student Days is a festival in Tartu in the beginning of May--it should work out for the Poland group to be in Tartu for Students Days just before board a bus for Russia on May 8. The plan at the moment is for all of us to meet in Estonia, departure for Russia the evening of May 8. Arrive in St. Petersburg May 9 (am) transfer to hotel and begin our adventure! We have a guide for a walking tour/a couple of museum tours/ a minivan trip out to see some incredible palaces just outside of town. We should have time on our own to roam the streets, take a boat tour of the city (this isn't on the schedule, but it is easy to book on our own, it costs about $15 but if we are lucky enough to have a sunny afternoon, it is a beautiful and relaxing ride) and find some interesting food to eat. We'll be staying in a hotel with breakfast included (2 to a room as far as I know, we can work that out on arrival). The tours and transport are paid for so you just need money for food and souvenirs.

I have really been enjoying reading your posts! I was thinking about posting some points to ponder about recording observations on the blog from a conference I just attended. I want to encourage you to get out on your own, make a list of places to go and just observe how they do it there (grocery store, market, religious service, public spaces, cultural event, riding a bus or public transportation). I'd love to hear where you all are shopping in Tartu and Wroclaw--the markets and grocery stores are really different in Poland and Estonia (as I hope you'll have the chance to see!) so some descriptions, please!!

Last note--I have the passport scans from Gabriel and Robert, but still don't see them on the blog. Could you nudge them? Hopefully I will be in touch with some instructions for you guys on the visa front very soon!

Best,
Kathleen