Last Day In Russia

Our last day in Russia, and we spent it doing the three things left on our list. Took the trolley bus to St Isaac's, the largest of the city cathedrals. It's now a museum, but also has a viewing gallery in the dome where you can look out over the city. Close to the tallest structure, as you can't build tall buildings on the boggy ground, so the view is good. Then walked back to the market square so Mandy could buy her Russian doll set, and lastly a look at the Cathedral of the Spilt Blood next door, so called because Tsar Alexander was ambushed and killed on that spot. It's one of the most ornate churches in the city, being renowned for its mosaics both inside and out, and still functions as a cathedral. The spiritual heart of the city it seems.

Walked back to the hostel and collected our bags. Metro to Moskovska station (the right one this time) then a minibus to the airport. There was some difference of opinion in various books and tourist guides as to which of the two airports AerosVit operates out of (was it the international one, or the one for former Russian states? It could have been either), and we breathed a huge sigh of relief when we found that we were at the right one, even though the flight was not listed on the board. Allowing time to switch airports if we needed meant that we were very early, so we sat down and devised ways of spending our Russian coins while we waited. Two separate lots of security screening, then check in and customs was a rude shock after train travel for the last two weeks.

Russia? Well, I enjoyed the country, its history and culture, but the people, with notable exceptions, are generally grumpy, pushy and unhelpful. As our guide said, Russia is really only 10 years old, and there is no history of a service culture, so I'm sure that in 20 years time it will be very different.

Arrived safely in Kiev, and got through immigration. Took the bus to the city (45 min) then found a metro station to our stop (15 min), then a minibus to Kristina's apartment (10 min), so it was dark when we arrived. The bus was a bit of a circus, with our fellow passengers arguing about where we should get off. Luckily one of them was sure, or we would have ended up a long way from where we wanted to be. Knocked on a strange apartment door in the dark which had no sign, and was very relieved to find her expecting us, although Kristina thought we were arriving at 9am rather than 9pm. Its actually a spare room in her apartment which she shares with her granny. Its quite convenient, as I think granny does the cleaning, and will even cook you meals, in return for living there.