Three Days in Riga

After a relaxing week in Tallinn, we bid Estonia farewell.  Riga was the next stop on our year of travel, and who knew the bus journey would be a preview of things to come- pleasant, comfortable and surprisingly entertaining!

Rail travel between Tallinn and Riga is, unfortunately, not easy.  To do it, you need to transfer a couple of times making it an all day affair, while the bus is direct and takes just four hours.  No brainer.  For more information on travel by train anywhere in the world, please visit one of the best travel websites out there:  The Man in Seat Sixty-One.  It doesn't look all high-tech, but what he has compiled is so comprehensive and unbelievably helpful, I owe him a debt of gratitude.

There are two main bus services, Lux Express and Ecolines.  We paid 18 euros each, although they advertise tickets as cheap as 5 euros which I believe involves some serious advance booking and off peak (i.e. middle of the night) timing.  We went with Lux Express and while you can book online, I bought our tickets in person at the main bus terminal (Autobussjaam) about a mile east of the Old Town.  The seats were relaxing with individual entertainment screens and a movie selection far better than any airline I've flown lately!  

Like Tallinn, I knew very little about Riga before I read up on it during the four hour journey.  I discovered that it's the largest city in the Baltics, and known for its architecture and museums, making it a great city for tourists.  While it shares a similar history to Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia still holds strong ties with Russia, while Estonia asserts its Nordic heritage, and Lithuania leans towards its continental European roots.  I heard a lot of Russian being spoken on the streets of Riga, but without the angry St. Petersburg vibe.

With great history, culture and food, Riga is the perfect long weekend destination.  Unlike other places, where I've been looking to get under the surface, I decided to change it up and approach Riga with a carefree 'long weekend' mentality.

Day One

After checking into our lovely AirBnB apartment, we were starving and headed for a restaurant that I had heard was an atmospheric cellar (Perry's favorite!) serving hearty portions of Latvian food and beer at ridiculously low prices.  Upon arriving at Folkklubs ala Pagrabs, we descended into the cool and candlelit cavern of a restaurant.

It was 5 pm so no reservation was necessary, however, if you want to have dinner and stay for the music entertainment, pre-booking is recommended.  The cheap and hearty reputation lived up to its billing.  The food and drinks were delicious (beer for 1.40 euro) and our total bill with drinks, starter and two mains amounted to only 14 euro.  

Photo Credit:  TripAdvisor

Afterwards, we walked our full bellies around the Old Town where I was impressed by its liveliness with music playing everywhere.  Riga's Old Town is noticeably more substantial than Tallinn's, and has a bit more commercial appeal.  

We came across the famous 'Cat House'.  Legend has it the owner of the cat house (pictured above) was angry at being rejected membership at the Guild across the street and asked that the two cat sculptures have raised tails turned towards the Guild house as an insulting gesture, but the city insisted they be turned the other way.  We continued to meander, admiring the narrow alleys and pretty streets.

Later, we happened upon a free multimedia exhibit at Art Museum Riga Bourse called Gondola:  Doors to Venice.  Set to Vivaldi's Nisi Dominis (made famous in Guy Ritchie's film Revolver) the performance was held in the courtyard of the art museum under its famous installation called Gondola, a three dimensional air borne 'explosion' of a real gondola.  A local favorite, citizens of Riga frequently make plans to meet friends under the gondola.  

Afterwards, we walked around a bit more, but being a Saturday night, there were many stag and hen-do's crowding the streets.  So we climbed the 97 steps to our apartment and collapsed for the night.

Day Two

Raise your pinky if you want chocolate for breakfast

In the morning, we had a nutritious breakfast of coffee and truffles at the chocolate shop next door, Vilhelms Kuze.  Such indulgence was the perfect start for our walk down Alberta Iela, the most famous of Riga's jaw dropping Art Nouveau streets.  I'm sure the residents are sick of tourists walking by their homes, but hey, if you are going to live on a street that is pure eye candy, be prepared to share it with the rest of us!

Photo credit, Perry Argiropoulos (perryja.com)

We continued towards the Latvian National Museum of Art, which just re-opened after a three year renovation.  Entirely impressive, the space successfully integrates an intricately decorated Art Nouveau main area with modern, spare upper and lower levels.  Many of the floors have see-through spaces which gives it a strangely comforting communal feeling.  

Our high brow tanks filled, we decided to lunch at the common man's gathering spot, Lido.  A local favorite, you slide your tray along the counter as you choose from a variety of Latvian specialties, before checking out with an efficient cashier that reminds you of grandma and makes you feel guilty for not having vegetables on your plate.  It's a cafeteria, Latvian style.

Stuffed once again, we decided to take a very long walk.  First, we strolled through Vermanes Darz, a beautiful park filled with music and picnicking Rigans who were out enjoying the fine sunny day.  We crossed the Daugava River to get a closer look at the National Library, an impressive building that commands the landscape of the riverfront across from the Old Town.

We decided to walk along the river to the next bridge, the Vansu, a cable structure built during the Soviet era.  It turned out to be a very long walk as our phones clocked in at 15 miles total that day!  It made me feel less guilty as we strolled casually by the cross-fitters working out under the bridge.

Daugava River and Old Town 

Crossfit enthusiasts heart Riga

On the way back, we walked by the monument dedicated to the Latvian Red Riflemen, who served as Lenin's personal bodyguards.  It's a controversial statue that many want torn down, but it's certainly impressive to see.

The Red Rifleman and the Church of the Chicken, er St. Peter's Church

Day Three

Central Market photo by Perry Argiropoulos (perryja.com)

Despite it being a Monday morning and likely to be slow, we purposefully hit up Central Market to avoid the crowds and leisurely look around.  A Riga landmark, the market consists of five former German Zeppelin hangars and is a popular tourist attraction.  We had a quick breakfast of baked goods and then bought fresh fruit for a mini picnic in the park. 

Perry is a hot chocolate aficionado and we had consumed it in every city thus far on the trip, so after the park we headed to Black Magic Cafe where their specialty is hot chocolate served with Black Balsam, the famous Latvian herbal liquor.  

Unfortunately, long term travel means there are days one must take care of personal business and on this day, we were both in desperate need of hair cuts, so that is how we spent the afternoon.  We capped off our day with one more stroll around the Old Town Square and a stop at the Galleria, as we find malls to be a great place to get a feel for local tastes.

For your third day, you might visit a church (St. Peter's has tower you can climb), visit the House of Blackheads, another architectural wonder or take in a performance at the Opera House or National Theater, both rated as exceptional.

We flew out of Riga International Airport (a 15 minute, 10 euro cab ride from Old Town) early the next morning (via Berlin to Salzburg) on the efficient low cost airline Air Baltic.   We left Riga with good memories but wanting more and eager to return.  We find it best to leave a few activities for another visit, which is our way of saying 'see you next time' instead of goodbye.

Philosophical Musings & Progressive Estonia

So, I'm on this trip.  Oh, you know?  Anyway, one of the biggest reasons for embarking on this adventure is to gain some form of wisdom through new experiences and introspection.  So far,  I'm getting the latter two in spades- each new place brings a goulash bowl full of happenings and if you have read any of my previous stories, you know introspection is my constant companion (also known affectionately as 'all up in my head').

But wisdom has been a bit more elusive.  Knowledge?  Sure.  I've compiled the following pearls for your future European travels.

• Weigh your produce and print out the little sticker thing-y.  They don't look it up at check out.
• Ask for the price of street food before you take out your money.
• Knock on a closed bathroom door in the event a French tourist inside has failed to lock it.  Sacre bleu!
• Always have a printed ticket on the train from Slovakia to Hungary or risk being thrown off in the middle of nowhere.
• Be sure and smell 'chocolate milk' before consuming in case it's actually drinkable chocolate yogurt.  (Perry's top tip)

You're welcome.

I've discovered it's difficult to identify wisdom on the spot as lessons are typically learned after the fact.  Plus, I have no time to get all existential when I need to focus my mental energy processing what I'm seeing and just generally navigating daily life in a foreign city.   But in between mundane tasks like food shopping and buying train tickets, the quest for wisdom remains in the back of my head, pressing me with well intentioned, but often conflicting advice.  FIND MEANING.  BE IN THE MOMENT.  DON'T TAKE YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY.  SLOW DOWN.  HAVE FUN. 

I'm not ruthlessly hard on myself.  I know that it's just a trip and the future of humanity does not rest on what I 'get' out of this.  Some days might bestow meaningful enlightenment and others superficial entertainment.  That's ok.  It's the balance that is a bit trickier.  I didn't join a monastery (this ain't no Eat Pray Love baby) so I don't need to be in a perpetual state of philosophical contemplation, but it isn't one big vacation either, so an endless diet of tourist attractions and good times seems a bit shallow.  Aha, but what defines a good time?  That's a future blog post.

Anyway, poor Estonia is where I was decided to dig a little deeper into my experiences, which is a lot of pressure for a small country still shaking off nearly 50 years of Soviet rule.  However, I was determined that it wasn't going to be just a country I collected, like a souvenir spoon.  In Estonia, I was going to get beyond surface impressions and tourist attractions. 

Most tourists spend a day in Tallinn, which is a shame as it justifies at minimum, a long weekend.  We stayed a week which allowed me a few days to just hang out like a regular person. Hoo, there's some wisdom right there!

As I started this write up, my notes looked a bit like this.

• Enormous section in the supermarket devoted to prepackaged snack cheesecakes/curd snacks (already mentioned this in previous blog)
• Burgeoning foodie scene (already mentioned this in previous blog)
• Attended an Estonian premier league football match with 200 people in a 10,000 seat stadium (apparently basketball is their thing, who knew?)
• Visited our first cat cafe

GAH!  Uncovering deep and meaningful was going to be harder than I thought.  Let's start with why we went there in the first place.

I knew very little about Estonia before we visited Tallinn, its capital and largest city.  While we were in St. Louis, It caught Perry's eye as it ranked highly on such progressive lists such as The Freedom Index and Human Development Index.  He was the one to suggest it might be a cool place to check out and something off the beaten path.  So, as I do, I read up on it.  Estonia has long struggled to establish its identity, with Denmark, Sweden and Germany all having a period of rule and influence before being occupied by the Russians over 300 years, finally gaining independence in 1991.

There are hints of a communist hangover in the form of Soviet era buildings that need rehabbing and an economy that, while growing quickly, still lags behind their wealthier Nordic neighbors, with many young Estonians putting in long hours to make ends meet.  However, this enterprising country has shed its Russian shadow by building a modern, forward-thinking society with focus on technology, education and personal freedom.  Highly tech savvy, Skype is one of several e-companies founded in Estonia (often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe), where most of the development team and half of the employees are still based today.  In addition to teaching programming to first graders, the country strives for ubiquitous internet access, providing free WiFi in many public spaces.  Furthermore, education is free and public transportation (at least in Tallinn) is complimentary for city residents.  

They are also musical people with the Estonian Song Festival, one of the largest choral events in the world with 100,000 participants, held every five years and native Arvo Part is one of the most performed living composers in the world.  Here is a sample of the music from the Festival.

Tallinn Song Grounds, home to the Estonian Song Festival and 100,000 singers

Just me and Gustav Ernesaks (Singing Revolution influencer), hangin'

So, what did we actually do during our time in Tallinn?  Here are the key areas.

Old Town

We spent most of our time here.  One of the best preserved and intact medieval cities in Europe, this substantial area is full of historical sites, museums, shops and restaurants.  You can easily spend a couple of days meandering around on foot.  A gourmet food culture is emerging with many great, yet inexpensive restaurants on offer, including can't-miss Rataskaevu 16.  If you don't get in, never fear, Pegasus is just up the road and owned by the same management team.

Old Town Square

Old Town walls and souvenir shops

City Hall

Orthodox Church

Museums at Kadriorg Park

Just up the road about 2 miles from Old Town is this significantly large and well-kept park filled with museums and relaxing green spaces.  KUMU is an outstanding art museum, while Kadriorg Palace-- admittedly small and underwhelming compared to other European palaces-- is a pleasant diversion.  

J Poska is a street leading up to the park that contains many historic wooden houses, if you are into that kind of thing.  Don't forget to check out the seafront and Estonia Song Festival grounds.  We didn't get to the TV tower, also nearby, but heard several reviews that the price wasn't worth the experience.  I recommend climbing the tower called 'Kiek in de Kok' (try not to laugh when you say it out loud) for outstanding views at a fraction of the cost.  

KUMU museum

KUMU museum

Interesting art in Kadriorg Park

Kadriorg Palace, built by Peter the Great

Telliskivi

Telliskivi is a former dilapidated Soviet era warehouse district that has been converted into a hip and vibrant area of restaurants, cafes and galleries.  Go for a wander and then stop for lunch at F Hoone.  Your tastebuds (and pocketbook) will thank me later.

Lunch heaven at F Hoone

Downtown

There is plenty of shopping to be had in Tallinn and part of its economic development plan is to transform the downtown in a shopping mecca.  With three malls, including a brand new high-end Stockmann, they are on their way.  While we did a bit of nosing around, these crazy cat people found that we could not resist spending gobs of time at Nurri Cat Cafe.  Yes.  We.  Did.

I can't say I got beyond tourist attractions, but the decision to stay a week helped me truly appreciate and enjoy my time in Estonia.  I also can't say if I'm any wiser, but we are definitely planning to return.   Wisdom tells me that any place with great food and kitties is worth my time.

Thanks for reading!  Next time on Gobsmacked:

Lively Latvia (pardon my terribly tacky alliterations)

Last Night A Big Mac Saved My Life: St. Petersburg

Here's a tip if you find yourself preparing for a trip to a part of the world you know little about.  Read enough to be smartly informed, but not so much as to scare yourself into paranoia.

Such was my mistake in Russia.

I was so excited for this visit and considered it as an early contender for 'high point' in our year of travel.  With two bucket list items on the agenda, it was a dream destination.  I had spent many hours researching the city and I knew to be cautious, but I definitely wasn't afraid going in.

So you can understand my disappointment and frustration that St. Petersburg would be the site of my first on-the-road meltdown.  Yep, a full blown freak out.  I didn't lose it immediately, however, and it was a combination of things that pecked away until the blow out. 

My excitement and confidence were at their peaks as I stood waiting to depart the ship.  Behind me, a Canadian family with two kids around 7 and 10 were chatting about what they were going to see, and I asked if they were taking the shuttle into the city to which the mother responded they had a personal tour guide picking them up at the terminal.  'You're touring the city on your own?' she questioned, in an incredulous tone.  'Wow, you're braver than I am.'

Brave?  Lady, please!  I've navigated the globe with grit and savvy.  I've dealt with plenty of on-the-road shenanigans- strikes, demonstrations, riot police, food poisoning and countless weirdos, to name a few.  I'm a travel ninja.  Besides, I thought, this is a well-traveled western tourist destination, not Kabul.  But as the door opened into the port, I knew the seed of fear had been planted. 

The seed germinated as I passed through customs.  Now, I certainly did not expect a parade and balloons as I entered the country, but didn't think it would be overly onerous either.  HA, silly American fool!  The officer looked down at my passport photo, then up at me, what seemed to be a dozen times before she proceeded to slowly pore through every page in my passport.  She then repeated this again.  And again.  Then, she began to deliberately photocopy each page of my passport.  After about 20 minutes, which is an eternity in a long line with people glaring at you, she disdainfully slid my passport back at me with one finger.

Wait, I need to photocopy your entire passport

Welcome to Russia!  

Finally outside the terminal, the sky was dark with rain.   A man wearing what can only be described as a 'Russian Gangster Starter Kit' (tight capri jogging pants, leather jacket, newsboy cap) was smoking as he leaned against the front of a run-down van with a cracked windshield.  The side of the van read 'City Shuttle' in English.  I approached him for the following riveting conversation.

• 'Excuse me,' I said, smiling.  'Is this the St. Peter Line shuttle?'
• 'Where you go,' he questioned as he looked at us with suspicion.  
• 'Um, St. Isaac's Square,' I said as I held out my tour ticket.  

He didn't look at my ticket.  He looked at me, stone-faced and paused.  'Get in,' he finally said with a hint of menace while motioning to the van with his thumb.  

Perry and I boarded the empty van and sat with our heavy packs on our laps.   We are getting pretty good at speaking without words and looked at each other silently while communicating 'Is this guy for real or is this the van headed for Siberia?'  

The remaining passengers somberly entered the van, reinforcing the 'trip to the Gulag' atmosphere.  No one was speaking.  Half the curtains on the van were pulled, which obstructed my view, but I could see we were driving through some very rough and deserted neighborhoods.  Traffic began to thicken as we crossed the River Neva into the main city, and while I could see some of the famous sites poking up in the skyline, I was struck by how grimy everything is, like the city is covered in a film.  There is definitely a push for renovations, with plenty of scaffolding up, but a severe recession has slowed improvements needed to many of the city's buildings.  Yes, you could say the city is full of character, but overall, 'spiffy' will not be in the descriptive vernacular of St. Petersburg anytime soon.

My enthusiasm was still in good supply when the van stopped in front of St. Isaac's Square.  St. Isaac's Cathedral is an imposing Orthodox church with a dome that reminded me of the US Capitol and it turns out that indeed, St. Isaac's design not only influenced the US Capitol, but also the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison and Helsinki Cathedral.  However, there was no time to ponder or take a picture as it was starting to rain.  We knew that our hotel was a bit of a haul and our plan was to walk until we found an ATM, so we could confidently sit in a cafe (where cash is always accepted) and wait out the rain.  

That first walk down Nevsky Prospect was something I will not forget-- but not in a good way.  There was something about the combination of dour faces, harsh tones of the language and faded buildings that chipped off a large chunk of my initial excitement.  In eloquent terms, it was a major bummer.

Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy.  Speaking of language, how is it that some of the most inspiring literature and beautiful prose ever written has come from a land where the words sound so unbelievably angry?

Leo Tolstoy

We finally stopped at a crowded bank lobby to use the ATM (complete with gestapo-style security) and withdrew the largest amount we could, 3000 rubles, hoping I wouldn't have to go through this exercise again.  It was only when we walked out did my mental currency conversion reveal the amount to be a highly inadequate $45.

Nothing in Russia was going to be easy.

After we dropped our bags at the hotel, I had one destination in mind- Winter Palace / the Hermitage Museum.  It's been a dream to visit the home of the Tsars as I'm a bit of a Russian monarchy buff.  

The original St. Petersburg badass, Catherine the Great

I had read that the lines to get into the Hermitage were long and the museum itself very crowded, so I was pleasantly surprised when we got behind one other person at the ticket office and breezed right in.  I was convinced the short wait meant the museum wasn't busy, but that was wishful thinking.  It was an absolute crush of people, mostly with iPads and GoPros held above their heads recording every bloody inch of the place instead of actually looking at it with their own eyes.  Instantly irritated, it became a game for us to weave in and out of galleries, backtracking when necessary, just to avoid a crowded room.  We were lucky enough to find peace and quiet in a few unpopular rooms where I sat down and savored the visual delights as best I could.  It took every ounce of mental energy to focus on what I was seeing and block out the noise, but eventually, I was worn out from being pushed around by tour groups and we left after two measly hours.  

Not exactly the dream I imagined [sigh].

Outside, we breathed easy, thinking the pushy madness was behind us, but soon a new obstacle emerged- aggressive canal boat ticket sellers.  Usually a polite smile and shake of the head works, but not for these guys.  They follow you until you give them a firm and loud, nyet!  Initially, I thought we would take a canal boat tour, but the pushiness of the ticket sellers turned me off so badly, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of believing that such tactics work.  Immature, I know.

That night, I mused on my first day observations.  After a couple of weeks in Scandinavia, Russia definitely looked and felt unbelievably foreign by comparison, with a harsh edge that didn't allow me to relax outside our hotel room.  Mostly, I noticed that when Perry and I spoke to each other on the street, we would catch looks that in most foreign cities would be characterized as curious, but in St. Petersburg appeared stern and/or pissy.

But was it real or just in my head?  In the US, the Cold War taught us that Russia is a dangerous place.  Russians seem to be the stereotypical villains in so many movies- Rocky IV, Air Force One and Goldeneye to name a few.  Yet, long after the fall of communism, Russia vs USA is still a popular theme, such as the recent WWE story line of Rusev, a Russophillc, anti-American character.  As a result, just being in Russia feels forbidden or at the very least, a bit naughty.

[He is actually Bulgarian, but most wrestling fans wouldn't know the difference]

After a good night's sleep, I regained my enthusiasm and enjoyed a morning of sightseeing, taking in such marvels as the Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Gardens and the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood, where the ticket seller actually smiled at me!

Afterwards, we stopped for tea and cake at Yeliseev's Food Hall, an impossibly pretty department store and cafe with red velvet couches, elaborately gilded walls and a grand piano playing classical music.  It felt like being inside a music box.  

Heavenly Yeliseev's Food Hall

As we walked back to our hotel, the disappointment of Day One evaporated.  Maybe Russia wasn't so bad after all?!   And things were about to get better as we still had tickets to the ballet that night.

But just as I was beginning to get all warm and fuzzy, I noticed two soldiers in blue camouflage pull a man to the side for a 'random' passport check.  When I first noticed the heavy presence of police stationed along Nevsky Prospect, I was oddly relieved, which then turned to puzzlement as to why they wore so many different outfits.  Some were dressed in military uniforms of solid green or blue and others donned the not-very-camouflaging blue camo, but all wore thick boots and carried big guns.

The men in blue

Back at the hotel, I had time to spare before our evening out, so I went online to investigate.  What started as a search on Russian police uniforms, turned into articles about random passport checks (actually not so random, with racial profiling and bribes the main motivation) and then further articles about St. Petersburg's history as crime capital of Russia.  

What was it that I said in my opening statement?  Oh yes, digging up the dark side during a visit to a new city is a bad idea.  As we headed out for our night on the town, I had these gems swirling in my head, courtesy of the US State Department.

• Surveillance and data monitoring

As a result, travelers should assume communications are monitored and should have no expectation of privacy.  Visitors should assume that host government personnel could monitor their movements and conversations. Discretion should be exercised at all times and in all places.

• Police detention

Police do not need to show probable cause in order to stop, question, or detain individuals. Persons stopped by police for routine identification checks should remain courteous in dealing with officers and be respectful.

• Anti-American/Western sentiment

Visitors should be aware that speaking English or wearing clothing or items that clearly identify them as U.S. citizens may subject them to additional attention from local residents.

To recap, no Putin jokes on Facebook, if stopped by the police, don't ask if this is retaliation over Drago getting beat in Rocky IV, and try to leave your 'these colors don't run' shirt at home. 

Red, white and blue doesn't run? Good news for Russia, Serbia, France, Slovakia, Netherlands, Laos, Costa Rica, Thailand, Slovenia, Paraguay, Luxembourg, etc...

I didn't have much time to think about it as I had to go to the ballet, dahling.  Due to the distance to Mariinsky, we had decided to take a taxi there and a combination of walking and metro to get back afterwards.

Spartacus & Phrygia

The Mariinsky Ballet, still better known by its former Soviet name the Kirov Ballet, lived up to its reputation as being one of the best in the world.  I was in awe of the physicality of the performers, the world class orchestra and the stunning environs of the Mariinsky Theater.  We saw Spartacus and I've attached a couple of clips (from YouTube) here and here.  I was still in a swoon when we left the theater and wasn't paying close attention to the route we were taking to the metro.  We were chatting away when suddenly, it was dark and the crowds had disappeared.  After a frosty glance from a passerby, I remembered the comment online about speaking English and drawing 'additional attention'.

Perry had been asking me questions about the various acts in the performance and became perplexed when I stopped responding.  He started to ask what was wrong, but I cut him off.  'Let's not talk,' I said as I began to speed walk. 

He tried to reassure me.  'Are you scared?  Because there are people all around, and even plenty of women walking by themselves!'

You know when you are angry, and you know you are being ridiculous, which then makes you even angrier?  Well, that was me.  By the time we exited the metro station, I had allowed my fears to snowball until I made myself so upset, I couldn't think.  Then, I saw those golden arches.

I know everyone says this, but I don't visit McDonald's very often.  Which is strange because that place is still raking it in, so if no one is going, I can't figure out how they stay in business.   Anyway, when I do, it's a cheeseburger for me.  I can say with certainty, that I had not ordered a Big Mac in over 20 years.  

Nothing transcends the language barrier like the Value Menu

But at that moment, it was exactly what I wanted.  I suddenly realized I wasn't scared, I was hungry and tired of feeling like I had to remain silent.  I walked right up to that counter and loudly requested 'Big Mac, please!'  Oh, what the hell, I thought.  'And fries and a Coke.'  No pissy look, no confusion, no judgment.  I took my tray of American goodness to a corner and as I devoured it, I felt myself return to normal.  A classy end to our night at the ballet.

We left the following day, which is too bad, because after that Big Mac, I felt strangely at home.  I didn't care how anyone looked at me when I spoke.  The Russians did get the last laugh, however.  I had the same officer stamp me out at the customs exit, which turned out to be a repeat of my entry, except it took longer.  I mean, I'm leaving, what exactly is the point of this except to let me know not to let the door hit me in the rear on the way out?

I took it in stride though, I still had special sauce coursing through my veins.  

Photo essay via my Facebook page

Thanks for reading!  Next time on Gobsmacked:

Estonia, Land of 10,000 Cheesecakes