Scandinavia-Off To St. Pete.

August 12, 2006-Insecurity
(Photo:St. Petersburg, Russia)

We’ve re-packed. We were a lot less stressed than the couple in the next room who argued and yelled as they decided what stayed and what didn’t. Luckily we aren’t carrying baby formula or breast milk. It’s allowed on board but has to be tasted by the passenger to clear security. I am carrying an almost empty bottle of lens solution with me. It’s saline and I’ll squirt it in my mouth if necessary.

We sat on the porch of Junior’s Restaurant while we ate lunch. It’s around the corner from our hotel and has been our fallback for snacks. Two of New York’s finest mounted police strolled by. It was amusing to see a cop on a cell phone on a horse.

Getting There

We called Finn Air to be sure our flight was leaving on time. They told us they wanted us there for check-in hours ahead of take-off. Ugh! That means we sat in a skuzzy waiting room for four hours for a 7 hr and 15 min long flight. The security was lame. They didn’t even open the toiletries bag in my carry-on or David’s CPAP breathing machine. We passed the time meeting other Grand Circle Tour travelers.

The flight left for Helsinki an hour late due to increased security. When the announcements started I thought I was in a Saturday Night Live sketch and someone was going to ask to “skeeewer de torkey.” The accented English was a blend of Scandinavian and Russian. As we boarded we were handed eight ounce bottles of water as a consolation prize for disposing of our own liquids. They passed out water frequently as they tend to do on long hauls. It was welcome since lunch was a spicy chicken curry. The orange juice with our breakfast snack referred users to contact Country Pure Foods in Akron, Ohio 44314, with any questions. They gave a web site of juice4u.com. Never heard of it.

We landed in Helsinki on August 13, and immediately walked onto our flight for St. Petersburg. We were settled in our seats when we were informed of a forty minute delay due to navigational equipment issues. The two cities are spitting distance from each other, but I guess the pilot was being picky.

The 45-minute flight approached St. Petersburg, Russia over the Gulf of Finland. We flew low enough to see shipping activity. The area alternates between forest and farmland until the airport and gray city housing blocks come into view. The welcoming terminal was vintage Communist military mustard and tan stone construction. The bright spot was Nadia, our guide, who promises to be knowledgeable and understandable. She teaches English for eight months of the year and is a guide the balance.

We stopped at the Warsaw Restaurant for our third meal of pork products. We had two snacks while flying that consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches. At the Warsaw the soup had sausage. Nadia immediately noted our request and we were served a delicious hot beef borscht with sour cream.

We are now ensconced in the Pulkovskaya Hotel owned by SAS and Radisson. It’s lots better than I expected but the past lives on. The two towers of the building are called “blocks.” We are in block I. The dining room is in block II. Nadia said that the hotel staff insists that the building is air-conditioned. The public rooms are fine. The guest rooms are on the warm side. The solution is to call the desk and insist that they send someone to unlock the windows. She also told us that hairdryers are available on request. There is no charge and nowhere to plug them into the bathroom but they work in any plug in the sleeping area. Lucky for us our window was already unlocked and we only need a hair dryer to dry laundry.

Toby