To Piter with John

To Piter again @ Brisbane, Australia

2008-12-23T01:14:40.000Z

John and I are off to St P to see old friends and get a dose of Russian culture!

The journal is nearly finished! @ Brisbane, Australia

2008-12-23T11:17:02.000Z

Well folks, I've done it again. I have packed the pressure on at the last minute. The journal, Christmas and packing for our trip is just the craziest combination of circumstances. Still, once I get on that plane I shall become a total lazybones and will do as little as possible (apart from keeping John out of trouble, that is). I am having fun again with this software but I will come to terms with it. By the time I leave St P I should be absolutely excellent at it. Will send my next entry from Nevsky 78 which is where we have taken a little unit. To all of you who are going to be able to get to the tennis this summer, think of me as I try to catch glimpses of it on Russian TV in Russian. Happy silly season to all. Linda Nilovna

Arrival and new year @ Saint Petersburg, Russia

2009-01-05T15:15:33.000Z

John and I have been having such a wonderful time that I have not had time to write, but now here goes. We flew in from London on Sunday evening and were met by Natasha and a taxi, which we so appreciated. Russian taxi-drivers smell a foreigner at ten paces and up the price accordingly. We met the representative from STN at Nevsky 78 (same young man Sasha who had handed over the keys to me in the summer) and to John's horror we learned that our little flat was on the fifth floor. The young man Sasha who did the paper-work took both our suitcases and carried them up the stairs as though they were a couple of bags of groceries. The flat is not bad except that the second bedroom just has room for the double bed in it and not a single other thing. We just use it for storage, just as well as it is not heated.

When we arrived it was not particularly cold, around zero, but at new year it started to get noticeably colder by the day, in five-degree increments!! But actually after all my protesting that I wouldn't be going outside if it went down below -10, I am finding that even -13 (today) is not too bad!! I have lashed out on a shaggy fur hat and that has made a big difference. I have wanted one for years and I was right, they are wonderfully warm. I also wanted to buy myself a warmer coat with a hood but there are no decent ones left in the shops!

John and I saw in New Year in the company of an American professor (female, a friend of Natasha) who was living in this wonderful apartment on Nevsky and a friend of hers who is a Mingrelian Georgian (same nationality as Beria, but much nicer) who emgrated here almost twenty years ago. First of all we went to a concert of Russian romances sung by Oleg Pogudin, a tenor, who isvery popular here. Natasha sent me one of his cds some time ago so I vaguely knew what to expect. However he had a couple of surprises in his repertoire when in the second half of the programme he sang in English, French, German and (we think) Greek. He then gave one of the best renderings of Ave Maria I have heard in a long time. Natasha noticed that he crossed himself before he started the song when he was facing away from the audience. She could see because we had seats on the very right hand side of the auditorium. The Russians have this tradition of presenting the artist with bouquets during the performance. The poor man had enough flowers for a small hospital by the end of the evening!

We did all the traditional things such as drink champagne, watch the New Year concert (and be told who all the celebrities were) and Medvedev's address to the Russian people just before midnight. I thought he did a good job, kept it simple and positive. We walked home along Nevsky at one through the crowds of young people who were out and about letting off fire-crackers and rockets and generally having a good time.

That's it for this entry. They take longer to write than I remembered, so will write another one in the next day or so now that we have got ourselves into a bit of a rhythm. We seem to be sleeping a lot and I can't work out whether it is because we are coping with so many new and different living conditions or whether it is our coming down after the challenge of the journal.

Best to all, Linda Nilovna

Weather fun @ Saint Petersburg, Russia

2009-01-08T14:26:26.000Z

HI again,

There is so much happening here that I don't know where to start, so I'll do a very English thing and write about the weather. Today it is a very acceptable minus 10 and although I know that I said that I would not go outside if the temperature fell to this level, I am finding it most invigorating and even prefer it to the warmer temperatures. I must admit that I have about four layers on top and bottom but if it works then don't knock it. The other day I lashed out on a wonderful fur hat and have been wearing it everywhere. It is virtually impossible now for me to go back to my woollen caps. My only complaint about the weather is that the temperature keeps going up and down like a pogo stick. Still one can't have everything!

We have now caught up with all our friends, having visited the Massovs on Russian Christmas Eve (6 Jan). As usual the conversation was pretty wide-ranging as Aleksandr and I agree on quite a lot and far from everything. John often maintains a diplomatic silence when we start debating certain issues. Aleksandr was concerned with the actions of the Ukrainian leadership in the ongoing gas transit supply crisis. The television news is full of it. John and I are finding the ritualized stories on VVP and DAM quite fascinating and they appear to us to be so staged and unbelievable. I'm sure that there is a paper in there waiting to be written, just not by us. We are avid television watchers and have come across a couple of gems in among the countless reruns of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie films and Murder She Wrote. Last night we watched a film called Khottabych which was about a Russian computer hacker who got himself into trouble by causing headaches for Microsoft and out of trouble with the aid of a genie. Sounds a bit far out but it used a number of interesting filmic techniques and didn't take itself too seriously. Amazingly John really liked it and we all know how he feels about computers.

When I was here in the summer I saw lots of eateries I wanted to try but was too shy to do by myself, but with John by my side I have been able to let my hair down. Last night we ended up at a little cafe called Idiot after the novel by Dostoevsky. It was nicely furnished with an eclectic selection of books and photographs and the service and food were excellent. We went earlier (around five) so as to escape the smokers who are a hazard in every restaurant since there do not seem to be any laws against them and they puff away unconcerned while some other patrons (like me and John) just grin and bear it.

Yesterday John and I took our walk up at the top end of Nevsky Prospekt and visited St. Isaacs. Some of my students might remember it from the film The Stroll. We didn't go up the tower but just took in the inside of the cathedral. Neither of us had been in it for a couple of decades and we were pleased that they had removed the huge Foucault pendulum which had graced the central section and had introduced some exhibits relating to the history of the building. Apparently it has been given back to the Russian Orthodox Church but only part of it is used for worship, the rest is open to visitors to marvel at. It must be a real earner! I was horrified to see an ATM next to one of the counters selling souvenirs!

This morning, after withdrawing another tranche of roubles, John and I went and registered at the Russian National Library as today is the first day that it has been operational since we arrived. We were issued with reading cards most expeditiously and I was touched when the photographer asked me if I would like my photo (from their files) updated as I looked a little overwhelmed in it. The new one doesn't look much better but I was touched that anyone could be bothered with a photo which I am only going to flash for the next nine or so days.

Well that had better be that, folks. I'm off to hit my favourite bookshop and spend, spend, spend. There are lots of cds, dvds and books to be purchased and I have learned from experience that it is not a good idea to leave all my purchases to the very end.

Hope all are well and enjoying life as much as John and I are. Lyndall/Linda Nilovna

count down @ Saint Petersburg, Russia

2009-01-13T11:43:01.000Z

Greetings comrades,

One of the things I tell all my students when they come to Russia is that they should check everything (all documents, arrangements etc) and on the whole that is a very good rule, but it backfired for me quite spectacularly on Sunday and gave me some grief. Let me tell you of the most nerve-racking time I had on Sunday. John and I had arranged to meet Amber and Serena at the hostel on Kapitanskaya street at 11am. John and I had even made a reconnoitring trip out there a week or so before so we knew where to go. On Sunday morning I decided to ring and check that our students were in situ and was told by the woman at reception that Amber and Serena had been taken to the Russian Language Centre to do their placement test. I rang their room to check and received no reply. So John and I decided to travel to the Centre and catch them there. When we arrived and made enquiries it turned out that the woman had got it wrong as Amber had arranged to do the placement test on the Monday. So there John and I were at the other end of St. P from Kapitanskaya and it took us over an hour to get back to the hostel. Just as we were walking along towards the hostel, who did we see but Amber and Serena, warmly rugged up, coming towards us. I was so delighted to see them as I had been reproaching myself for being such a smart-arse and messing things up comprehensively.

We spent the rest of the day together and were able to show them some useful places. Serena with the help of a Russian friend got a Russian sim-card so now she and I can text each other, that is, when Natasha shows me how to text on this new mobile she has lent me. We showed them our little flat at the top of Nevsky 78 after taking them to lunch at Laima cafe. In the late afternoon we caught the Metro out to a huge O'Kei shopping centre where they were able to buy towels (none provided in the hostel) and extra cooking utensils (so as not to be caught short). Our next task is to buy travel tickets later this week, so that they can get around easily.

Last night John and I went to the pictures to see Stilyagi (The Style Rebels) which we enjoyed a lot. If I can get a dvd at any stage with English subtitles I will get it for a film evening. Afterwards we went to a little cafe for dinner where the food was sold by weight. John and I were intrigued to see that the young woman serving us first weighed the plate then weighed it again with the food on it to get the exact weight in order to charge us. By the time she had done my salad, then my garnir (mashed potatoes) and finally my meat and then done the same for John some five minutes had passed. Even John thought that there had to be an easier way! Still the service here is everywhere so much better that it has even been and occasionally we have to pinch ourselves to convince ourselves that we are in Russia.

Tonight is Old New Year and we are going to see it in at Natasha's. She has been an absolute gem as always and has smoothed our path on so many occasions that she deserves a cupboardful of medals. I had hoped that she would be able to come out to Australia this year but it will now have to be 2010 as she has some health problems which need to be dealt with first.

We've rung up Australia several times but tend to get James only some of the time so we still have over an hour left on our second better phone card. I'll be passing it on to Serena and Amber so that it can be used up.

Meg, so lovely to read your comment. Can't wait to catch up with you and Zoe. I think that Amber and Serena's friendship might undergo the same transformation as yours did here.

Must go, only five minutes left of my hour here at Cafe Max on Nevsky. Love and best wishes to all,

Linda Nilovna/Lyndall

that's it for now folks @ Saint Petersburg, Russia

2009-01-16T12:13:12.000Z

Hi all,

I will miss CafeMax on Nevsky Prospekt when we leave tomorrow. It has become a little refuge where I can access Australian websites and my emails (not that James has written often or voluminously). I have also been able to pick up an occasional Australian headline as I log off the Bigpond website.

Today is my last shopping day and music is my mission. I think that I probably have enough books, newspapers, journals, magnets and even dvds, but today it is cds and more cds. After I finish here I shall walk up Nevsky and make my final withdrawal in roubles at the Grande Hotel Europe before hitting the shops. John is having a last day in the public library and we have arranged to meet at Dom knigi (The House of the Book) at 5 for ameal before going to a concert (Carmina Burana) at the Capella. I finished my research yesterday at the library out at Victory Square which was a bit of a relief as the library is a fine building from the ourside but is not particularly well planned inside and after a while I used to feel quite cold. At least this time I didn't have any trouble with young men trying to push in the queue in front of me when I was picking up my books!

John and I caught up with Amber and Serena yesterday afternoon in Laima cafe. They are having a great time, are enjoying the classes, but not surprisingly, seeing it is on the edge of the Gulf of Finland, are finding the hostel not particularly warm. (Serena was here three years ago and still has some Russian contacts and that makes a big difference.) The phone connection also leaves a lot to be desired, still Serena and I have managed to keep in touch via SMS, I write in Russian and she answers either in English or in Russian in transliteration.

Last night we had dinner with our good friends the Vishnevskys who gave us an inspiredl present for James, a stripy sailor top. We think it is just wonderful and hope that he thinks so too. I have bought a couple of t-shirts for students and I can't wait to turn up to class in my fur hat!!

Sergey has kindly offered to drive us out to the airport tomorrow afternoon. John and I will have mixed feelings about leaving. On the one hand we have had a marvellous time, have done all the things we wanted to, seen friends, immersed ourselves in the language, watched lots of news on television, but the weather at times has been a trial. Yesterday it was +4 whereas today is it -4 and it is expected to get significantly colder tomorrow. The locals complain about these erratic jumps in temperature and I must say that John and I too find dressing for the weather a bit of a chore. The other thing is that for all its beauty poor old St. P has some very rackety parts and it is distressing to see dirty footpaths and peeling facades. Our stairwell is symptomatic of the general picture. Every morning when we leave we find loads of cigarette butts on all five flights of stairs and quite a few beer, wine and vodka bottles on the window-sills. It is usually men who want to have a drink and a smoke and don't want to go to a cafe and sometimes there is an extra smell (which I won't go into). One night when John and I came home late we found a person (couldn't determine gender) who was sleeping on the floor on the first level. He/she was gone the next morning!!
The shops are calling! I can hear them saying Pogudin, Okudzhava, Mumii Troll, Vystoskii. Must go. I look forward to catching up with you all and bending your ear with further details of our trip.

Best wishes and love, Linda Nilovna/Lyndall