The Great St. Pete

So here's me being uber late with all my blog entries... first off, St. Pete.

My expectations of Russia were complied from a conglomeration of sources such AP European History, what little I had learned from Estonians, clips from the news and of course, spy movies. I had expected Russians to be boisterous with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a furry cap upon their heads. Fortunately, or unfortunately (I was really looking forward to the hats), this was not the case.

As for the city itself, I really wanted to dislike it because everyone who had been there told me I was going to love it. In the end, there are some buildings I adore such as Our Lady of Kazan or the Dom Knigi, but the gaudy European Baroque style that adorned most of the buildings just does not appeal to me.

What really interested me, as usual, was the food. Tepemok, the blini place we visited, I would venture to say is average fast food for Russia, and in that case, the Baltics as well (I visited a similar pancake place in Vilnius). Compared to American fast food, I found Tepemok not only more flavorful but also more healthy. An American greasy french fry which occasionaly will bend on its own, falls flat to the light yet filling side order of simple blini and smetana. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

When it came time to leave St. Pete, I have to admit I was overjoyed to be going home to Tartu. Although St. Petersburg is lovely, I wish we had a chance to explore more of the "real" Russia; the Russia that isn't so Europeanized. But as our bus rolled away, the scenery slowly changing from a maze of canals to forests of birch trees, I seceretly couldn't wait to return to St. Petersburg and Russia once again.