Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
08.05 Hyvää huomenta, good morning, from Sleep Well Rooms, Helsinki, Finland. My mobile has just awakened us. Now I'm off to the shower.
08.45 The bodies are now cleaner and ready to go out to the kitchen and prepare our breakfast. In the apartment everything is quiet and still. Outside the gray weather continues. 09.13 We are back in the room after a last Finnish balcony breakfast. When will be the next time we have breakfast on a balcony? When will we make our own breakfast next time? 09.49 It has become time to say goodbye to our room and accommodation. The journey towards Russia has finally begun. The original plan for the summer was to go with the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki, stay at a hostel and from here start the Russian summer adventure. The Russian visa bureaucracy (we only got a 30 days visa) wanted otherwise and now we have had a week in the Baltic states behind us before we move towards Russia. 10.05 Things are running smoothly. We are on the Ruoholahti metro station and arrived just in time for the tube, metro, towards the railway station. We will soon travel by metro in yet another country. We have also had time to withdraw cash, Euros. It is good to have if there should be some ATM problem somewhere. 10.12 To travel two stations went fast. Now, we sit and count our remaining coins. The time has come for some facts in the morning. In the Helsinki metro system is the world's northernmost metro station, Mellunmäki. 10.30 After having done some purchases, we are now on the platform. With the purchased travel snack we are waiting for the train to Russia. We'll go with the fast train Allegro. The train is a joint Finnish-Russian effort to shorten the travel time between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.
It´s quiet in the metro this Sunday morning.
A short metro trip to Helsinki railway station.
The fast train Allegro will take us to Russia.
Our simple room at Hotel Vyborg.
We had lunch at the pub/sportbar Champion.
Here you can watch the sport when going to the toilet too.
10.40 The short wait on the platform is over. Now we are sitting comfortably on the seats 47 and 48 in carriage 2.
11.00 Our Allegro train has begun its journey, starting by going north. Now it is time to use the rail in yet another country. 11.48 The train has stopped in the ski jumping world-famous resort of Lahti. Honestly it is known even more among cross country skiers. 12.20 I am strengthened by the station-bought sandwich and train-bought coffee. We and the others travel through a Finnish forest. The purchases made the remaining amount of coins to zero. At the station in Lahti some Finnish gentlemen stepped on and sat down on the seats opposite us. They eat pizza and are on the way to Saint Petersburg to see some football, the final of the Confederation Cup. 12.49 Now our return to Russian soil is close. Christer and I were in St. Petersburg in October 1994. It was a university trip which we and our mates did during geography studies at Umeå university. A memory from that time, three years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is that the food was far from good.RUSSIA
13.05 It went ever so smooth to leave Finland and slip into Russia. We waited in vain for the Russian passport police officers on the train. The procedure was taken care of here on the platform in Vyborg instead. We were only a few who got off here. Our visas seem to work. We got our papers stamped and were released into the station building.
13.43 We have as I said entered Russia in Vyborg, Viborg in Swedish, and Viipuri in Finnish. This is a town that was founded by Swedes in 1293 and was a Finnish town in Karelia up to the Second World War. Now we are looking for an ATM to get local currency. It is warm and sunny today, such a thing is appreciated. With today's two countries, we have now travelled by train in 36 European countries, and the total in the world, 41 countries. Here in the city a litre of diesel costs 39 rubles, approximately 0,62 dollars. 14.05 We had some problems but finally managed to find a generous ATM. Christer had to go into a store for mobile phones in order to eventually get help to find the way. There were plenty of ATM signs, however, not as many existing ones. We also found Hotel Vyborg (http://www.vyborgvbg.ru) where we will stay one night. The woman in the reception asked us to sit down and wait a few minutes. 14.26 The wait is over and we are checked in. The room has a door that it says 419 on. The passports will remain at the reception until tomorrow. We and our visas need to be registered. We read online that this particular hotel has a predilection to keep the passports, otherwise, it's usually enough that they get copied. 15.45 The first meal on Russian soil will be at the nearby restaurant Champion. In the bronze game in the Confederation Cup, the score is 0-0. Portugal meets Mexico. Champion looks more like a sports bar or pub.
The market hall Rynok, Vyborg.
The round tower, a building from the 16th century.
The atmospheric street Podgornaya.
The square in front of the old town hall.
Here is the founder of this city, the Swedish ruler Tyrgils (Torgils) Knutsson.
Kofeynya Krendel Vyborg.
16.10 Now there was a goal in the match, 1-0 to Mexico!
16.30 Lunch was served and enjoyed. The battle for the bronze continues on the TV. In order that no one should miss anything, there is even a TV inside the restroom. Here it is really suitable for sports interested beer drinkers who need to relieve the pressure. We shall continue shortly. Did the waitress say "cheque" when we asked if we could pay? It is always good to know the local language's words for some concepts. She perhaps took the English word for the sake of safety? 16.50 Pretty soon a familiar view appeared. It was Rynok, the market Hall, that our bus stopped by and we looked into during the journey to St. Petersburg in 1994. We have also seen the Swedish built Round Tower. It nowadays houses a restaurant. 17.20 Out on the square by the old town hall is the city's founder Tyrgils (Torgils) Knutsson statue. He is actually one of Christer's ancestors. It may sound unbelievable but the majority of people who have any noble person in his family tree discover family connections going back to the higher social groups in medieval Sweden. Christer is not a nobleman; he has only a distant connection to a noble military family in Jämtland province in the 1700´s. A short distance away, out in the water, is the city's castle/fortification. Unfortunately, it is covered with construction scaffolding. Some kind of renovation is going on. We are now sitting in the sunlight and wait for service at Café Krendel. 17.38 The service did not materialize. I had to go in to order, pay and bring out the coffee and pastries. It was well worth it. We have enjoyed good coffee and a large, flat cinnamon rolls with Danish pastries filling on top. It was heavy buns to say the least.
Peter is carrying out coffee at Café Krendel Vyborg.
Christer with unexpected company.
The Vyborg castle (http://vyborgmuseum.org).
A nostalgic car (Volga) from Soviet times.
Summer evening in Vyborg.
A peaceful boat trip.
18.37 A quiet walk along the watercourse, Vyborgskiy zaliv gave us beautiful views, a small child who happily greeted me and a long-haired dachshund. Our hunt for a book reading bench came to nothing. All were occupied. At the Neste petrol station near the train station, we bought drinks for the evening. At the counter a few sausages spun behind a glass with the name Sibylla, a Swedish fast food chain. Now we are at home for evaluation and some peace and quiet. In the bronze game Portugal equalized at the end of the second half and then scored again with a penalty in the extra time and won.
20.13 We are planning for tomorrow. What should we see when we eventually are in Saint Petersburg? 20.51 Christer just threw away yet another page in the travel route. Next we go down to level two here at the hotel for evening dinner. 21.09 A variety of music is offered in the restaurant. We wait for the food. The restaurant Karelia offers among others some dishes from the Uzbek cuisine. 22.13 It was a nice environment and good food. The coffee was quite OK. The Russian food is significantly better than in 1994. This is for sure a fact. Germany is leading the final of the Confederation Cup with 1-0. This waitress also said, "cheque". Is it some influence from the English language or did I misheard? 22.53 The match in St. Petersburg is over. Germany won the final against Chile with 1-0. On the positive side, we have learned that bill, cheque in Russian is called счёт, and it is roughly pronounced "schjot".
It´s always close to the water in Vyborg.
Hotel Vyborg.
Christer´s russian visa, an important document.
Dinner at the restaurant Karelia.
The mosquitos are not welcome tonight.
08.22 Good morning! It is time for some numbers here in Vyborg. Russia is the 109th country we´ve slept in during the trips we´ve made. In addition, it is actually the 112th country I am writing a travel journal in.
10.07 After breakfast we made plans for the day's journey and arrival. There are things to do and consider so that everything works. A first uncertainty is the train journey from here. It was not possible to buy tickets online for this local train. With the help of internet we have found a number of possible departures from Vyborg to St. Petersburg. 10.57 After the check-out Christer tried to withdraw money from an ATM that was located next to the reception counter. All it spat out was Christer's VISA card. No new rubles for Christer. At the railway station we bought train tickets from a ticket vending machine that knew both Russian and English. We showed the tickets to an optical reader, which opened a few gates and let us pass through. Now we have placed ourselves on a bench and are trying to figure out which of the trains here that we should go with. 11.04 Christer has gone back to the gates we just passed to once again look at the information board that tells which track our train will go from. We had managed to forget it during the short walk in the stairs up to the platform. Is it the age? The short time memory is failing. 11.13 We got to know which track and in addition a text appeared with a destination of "Saint-Petersburg" on the train to make it even easier. It is stuffy in the lounge, in the train cart. We hope for a fast start and a comfortable trip. 11.52 It is a little less stuffy on board. After we left the station with the unimaginative name of 117 km and rushed for a while through the deciduous forest the tickets have been checked.
The railway station building in Vyborg.
Peter is writing down some notes before the train trip starts.
A regional train to Saint Petesburg will be our first Russian train trip.
Peter is leaving the Russian reality and sinks into his book and Denmark.
12.36 Our train leaves the station 63 km and Christer and I read further in our books by the Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen.
13.23 Behind planks and trees we have some idyllic villas. The train slows down and stops yet again. 13.52 We have reached and are back in Saint Petersburg. It is almost 23 years since the last time. Our train has reached its end station, the Finnish station. We are at the train station Finlyandskiy Vokzal. A city of Saint Petersburg's size has several railway stations. This is the one which among others receives trains from Finland. 14.15 After an easy walk from the station we reached Empire Park Hotel (Гостиница Империя Парк) (https://empirepark.ru) on the street Akademika Lebedeva and here we have been allocated room 203. In this room, we'll spend three nights. The days in between the nights we'll be in the city and experience/see as much as possible. We stay opposite something that looks to be a military academy or similar. There are a lot of military personnel wandering in and out through a gate which leads into a large fenced in building. 15.31 A staircase up, we found the hotel's small café. Here we are about to order food, a late lunch. The lady who works here only master Russian but we are able to order food. The range seems to be limited, 16.33 We had chicken schnitzel and spaghetti for lunch. That was what the kitchen had to offer. It is time to plan the evening. 17.24 We will now, after a little more rest, familiarise us with the neighbourhood. It will be a walk, which hopefully will take us to some dinner place later on tonight.
Our room at Empire Park Hotel.
The Russian military are our neighbours.
We discovered a tiny church during our afternoon walk.
The Saint Sampson cathedral.
Christer has just finished his photography session at Sampsonievsky bridge.
The cruiser Aurora was important during the Russian revolution.
18.21 Our little spontaneous walking tour has taken us past a beautiful little church. Now, we are in the Sampsonievsky park/gardens. A short distance away, we also see the light blue St Sampson Cathedral.
19.08 We walked on. Now we stand on a bridge (Sampsonievsky Bridge) over one of the river Neva's, branches/tributaries, Bolshaya Nevka. A bit away is the cruiser Aurora. The starting signal of the October Revolution on 7 November 1917 was fired from Aurora. So why is it called October revolution? Well, the Russians used then still the Julian calendar and according to it, the date was October 25th. After we have photographed and made a video clip here we are now on our way towards new goals. 19.28 We left the riverfront area, but we will return to see more. Now we are sitting in the restaurant Chernika (http://restchernika.ru), which by the way means blueberry. The building also has a colour which is reminiscent of blueberries. 21.08 The dinner food was enjoyed. It was, unfortunately, a bit small portions but we cannot have everything. The beer was tasty and the small amount of food tasted good. After dinner we searched, found and ignored a couple of different small grocery stores. Finally, I went into one while Christer sat and guarded our small backpacks that are seldom welcome. Now the opposite is being done. Christer is inside the shop. The shop in question is called Dixy (Дикси). 21.39 Christer did his shopping mad we returned to the hotel and the room. Ahead of us now are some relaxing. 22.54 It is now time for Russia to join the group of countries where we have drunk an evening beer in. Christer bought and consumed one of the few beers that existed during the Soviet time, Zhigulevskoye. I have bought and drink a Belarussian beer, Lidskae. 23.53 We now have a plan and structure for what we do tomorrow. What is happening and if it goes as planned, tomorrow will show.
Party atmosphere on the boat Afalina.
A restaurant with a blueberry colours should also be named Blueberry (Chernika).
Small portions but good beer at Restoran Chernika.
The rain falls on an Uber-car outside Empire Park Hotel.
08.13 The night sleep has, despite a narrow bed and a thin pillow, passed with good results for my part. Today we'll for sure see Saint Petersburg. This is an amazing city that is worth a much longer stay than two days and one night but the journey is long and there are many cities to visit.
09.03 Christer's night has not been as good as mine. He has barely slept at all. A hefty headache and aggressive mosquitoes in the room disturbed his sleep. Outside the window, it is overcast today. 09.58 We walked upstairs to the café to get breakfast, thus, the same room where we had our lunch yesterday. It was a meagre selection that was offered. When will we have a hearty and tasty breakfast? One thing that is positive is that Christer is feeling better and the sun breaks through the clouds again. 10.37 We are now ready to rediscover the former Russian capital. There is a metro to use but on this day we will move on foot. 11.00 Today's first stop will be in the park in front of the railway station we arrived at, Finlyandskiy Vokzal. Here the first soviet leader, Vladimir Lenin, stand and points. He is still to be seen everywhere in Russia. When communism fell in Eastern Europe Lenin was removed in many places. In Russia, he still stands. The square here is called Lenin square. It has also given its name to the nearby metro station. This was the place where Lenin gave a speech to the people after having stepped off the train from Finland.
This is where Lenin left the train from Finland and started the Russian revolution in 1917.
The railway station Finlyandskiy Vokzal.
Christer by the Neva river.
Neva goes right through Saint Petersburg.
We have made it across the river and look back to places where we have been.
The Peter and Paul Cathedral.
11.21 We have crossed the Neva River via the Liteyny Bridge and now walk along the Neva. Out in the river we are looking at Zayachy Island with the Peter Paul fortress and its cathedral.
11.44 Before we left the river walk we heard the cannons fire a salute. We have listened to try to find out where the sound came from. We looked at a map and guessed that it derived from an artillery museum. Now we are at Marsovo Pole, the Field of Mars. Saint Petersburg has one, just as Paris and Rome. Field of Mars this is a spacious park area. It is cool and lovely walking weather today. Hope we don't have rain. 12.27 Things are clear regarding the salute we heard, it is also becoming clear in the overcast sky. Slowly the clouds disappear. We have been sitting on a bench here in the park and read some in our books. Soon, our stroll in the city will continue. 12.41 A walk through the park took us past another one of the world's eternal flames. This burns at a monument to the ones that fought in the Russian revolution. Once out of the park we crossed a small bridge with padlocks to the railing. At the other railing sat a bridal couple. In a short while, we have seen three of our classic things, an eternal flame, padlocks on a bridge and some newlywed. After the bridge, we ended up at the amazing "Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood". This beautiful church was erected to the memory of the assassinated tsar Alexander II, who died here in a series of bombings in the winter of 1881. The tsar passed by in his sleigh and a nitro-glycerine bomb was thrown in during the. The tsar survived, but had fatal injuries of a second bomb. The church is also called Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 13.41 Once again, we have made it over the Neva, this time on the Troitsky Bridge. Troitsky means trinity and has nothing to with the communist Trotskij. On the poles hang flags for the upcoming World Cup of football next year. It is also connected to Confederation Cup which Germany won the other day. We are once again in a country just before they are hosting the football World Cup. In 2009, we were in South Africa the year before the World Cup and in 2010 we were in Brazil four years before they had the World Cup in football. Right now, we are on a bench in Alexandrovsky Park.
Tourists who want to see Saint Petersburg from the water.
Marsovo Pole, Field of Mars.
The eternal flame is burning for the heroes of the revolution.
The church on the spilled blood and a stone about the Russian revolution.
Church of the Saviour on Blood
Alexander Suvorov (1730-1800), a Russian national hero.
14.03 Here in the park there is a zoo, Leningrad Zoo (also known as Zoopark), and in connection to it, there is a restaurant. That's where we are now to have lunch. It was not easy to find a suitable eatery in the area, mostly small Sushi places, and otherwise uninteresting. This however looks very promising.
14.22 We were lucky and found a really good restaurant. With our limited knowledge of Russian, we believe that it's called "Restaurant Mountain Eagle" or something similar, Gorny Orel is the Russian name. Here everything is perfect, besides the language skills in English. In any case we ordered some grilled meat; the food here is from the Caucasus region. 15.11. We are now in the Leningrad Zoo (http://spbzoo.ru/en). It is supposed to be Russia's oldest zoo. Here a wolf howls. The macaws have gone ape and just scream. The raccoon dog looks sad and the condors are huge. Yet, there is more to see. The sun shines on us again and we are satisfied. 15.46 Mammals are so much cooler than birds. I feel sorry for the tigers. They should have received more space, but it is of course difficult with large cages when the zoo is centrally located in a large city. They have probably solved it as well as it is possible in this limited area. But it looks not so homely with stinging nettle in almost all of the cages. Certainly the animals have fur or feathers, but still. 16.31 The polar bears were not at home. Their home was under reconstruction. We have now left the zoo and are looking for a place that offers coffee and pastry. The first wagon had pastries but no coffee. The woman there referred us to a small coffee kiosk where there were people before us. It's empty now and we are moving towards the coffee. 16.45 Coffee was bought by a young lady who showed her mobile phone with greater interest than to sell something to us. A pastry was purchased in the first cart we visited. It felt right to buy from the one of the two that was helpful and service minded. 17.45 After a concluding a long walk via Sampsonievsky bridge where we were yesterday, we have finally come home to the Empire Park Hotel. Now awaits a cooling shower. 20.33 We shall now, after some hours of relaxing, once again wander off outdoors.
Boat travel on Neva.
Inside the restaurant Gorny Orel.
We are eating dead animals before going to watch more alive animals.
Inside the Leningrad Zoo.
This giraffe was one of many animals we visited this afternoon.
Genatsvale, this evening´s quiet dinner restaurant.
20.50 It was a short evening stroll to the Georgian restaurant a bit away from our hotel. The restaurant is called Genatsvale, is located on the Komissara Smirnova 5 and here we are the only guests beside an injured man in bandages who does not eat anything. He seems to just be a visitor.
21.39 I am now, when yet another tasty meal is completed, once again backpack guard. Christer is inside last evening's store Dixy (Дикси). 22.10 We are at home in our hotel room to finish the day with a quiet moment and to plan what tomorrow will contain. 23.14 We round off the evening with a traditional evening beer each.
You can see 43 photos from July 2 in this photoalbum.
You can see 34 photos from July 3 in this photoalbum.
You can see 58 photos from July 4 in this photoalbum.