Impressions of the trip

So that's it for this year.
Loved Istanbul - a bit chaotic, lots of touts trying to sell things, touristy and busy even in off season. But sitting in the park between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia in the sun was magical. We'll probably go back to Turkey, take in other parts of the country.
For me, Santorini was the highlight for a number of reasons. The weather was perfect, the views stunning, the volcano and Akrotiri historically interesting, the food good, the prices reasonable and the sunset over Oia one of life's great moments.
We're very likely to go back, probably to another Island or cruise around them.
Eastern Europe had its highs and lows. Not much in Bucharest but I'd never been to any of Eastern Europe so wanted to see it, and it was pretty much as I expected. Brasov was a good excursion to get out of the city to see some of the country on the train and visit a castle.
Prague was full of magnificent buildings in amazing condition and there was plenty to see. It was spoilt by the sheer number of people, but I can't really complain because we were part of it. The astronomical clock was interesting, the Charles Bridge a great sight and just wandering around the city marvelling at all the buildings was fascinating.
Krakow old town was very pleasant, the square was very nice and picturesque, and the castle good, plus the Da Vinci painting was worth seeing.
Didn't really see much of Warsaw, the old town square was probably the main attraction.
Riga and Tallinn were a pleasant surprise - both very pretty and interesting (but cold!). Also surprisingly busy with tourists. The buildings in Riga, although for the most part rebuilt after the war, were beautiful, especially (for me), the Art Nouveau area.
The old walls and red tiled roofs of Tallinn were interesting, and just walking around the old town was very pleasant.
Only spent a half day in Helsinki, not a lot to see there.
St Petersburg was much as I expected, but I may have been more impressed had I not been to Prague and Riga first. St Petersburg was a different scale to these 2, but a lot of the buildings were looking a bit neglected. Even part of the Hermitage museum had crumbling masonry outside. We passed a Palace just around the corner from the main square that was boarded up and covered in graffiti.
But there are so many incredible buildings and sights there, including the hermitage museum where every room was spectacular, plus the artwork impressive, a good collection.
Moscow was mainly a transport stop for us to fly from, so we didn't see much. Red Square was smaller than I expected, St Basil's Cathedral remarkable, GUM different to what I thought and the metro stations all elaborately designed.
Dubai was a rest stop for us to recover, disappointed the Burj Khalifa was so expensive - I just didn't think it was worth it.
Next year I have my long service leave - 3 months holiday.
However, we've decided that doing so many places and taking 4-5 weeks is too draining. Both of us have got ill at the end, and it happened to me the last 2 times as well, so we think we'll cut it back a bit next year.
We have been thinking of a couple of weeks in New Zealand, then back home for a spell, then some time in France, mainly Paris, over to England, Ireland, Scotland and perhaps Iceland, but staying longer in each place so we're not as rushed.

Day 31 - Dubai (last day)

Last day. Phew.
Woke up late, the jet lag probably kicked in. Went over to the mall to get what was now lunch. Found a Paul's patisserie (did I mention we like them?). I had a chicken and mushroom crepe with cheese sauce, Song had a chicken and salad sandwich. Sat there for a while then left the mall to do our only bit of sight seeing. Got a cab there, only to see a metro station almost next to it.
It was a historical house and mock up of a traditional village. It was also empty, I guess most people come here for the tower and the shopping (although the prices are cheaper in Melbourne).
The house was interesting, had lots of old photos of Dubai and old documents like an agreement from 1965 with Shell to extract oil. The photos showed that Dubai was basically a collection of traditional mud houses in 1950 with a population of around 3000. It's grown a bit since that.
Wandered around for a couple of hours, Song still ill, then took the metro back. Song went back to the hotel, I watched another movie.
Back to the hotel, sleep, flight tomorrow, last daily post of the trip.
Looking forward to getting back home now.

Day 30 - Dubai

Flight was 5 hours, didn't get any sleep. The Ukrainian woman next to me spent most of it applying make up and doing her hair and kept nudging me. Frankly, it wasn't worth the effort. One of the cabin crew looked remarkably like a younger Angelina Jolie, so that was nice. Arrived at 02:00, airport was busy but got through easily. Taxi took us to the hotel which was only 10 minutes away and he moaned for most of it because he'd been waiting an hour and wanted a longer trip - seems they are the same the world over. I put my violin away and paid him the $13.
We hadn't booked the hotel for this day, weren't sure what we would do, but he gave us a cheaper rate so we took it otherwise we would need to find something to do for 6 hours at 04:00 in the morning.
Slept like a log, woke up around 10:00 then out to a shopping mall to get something to eat. Walked out of the hotel into an oven - a big change from recent places. Luckily the mall was just around the corner, and it was huge, cool and busy. Went straight to the food court and both had an appalling excuse for a meal but since we both had blocked noses were fortunate we couldn't really taste it. Song had a noodle thing and I had a toasted sandwich, and the less said about it the better.
Not satisfied with the size of this mall, we got the metro to the Dubai Mall, apparently the largest in the world.
The metro was packed, realised it was Saturday. Got off and walked to the mall. And walked, then walked a bit more with the aid of travellators, then did a bit more walking till we eventually got there. The main reason for going was to go up the Burj tower, but the weather was a bit hazy so wandered around the mall. This was no ordinary mall - it had a carousel, a star atrium, a dinosaur skeleton, an ice rink, 2 waterfalls and an aquarium - with sharks and stuff. In the mall.
Walked through the replica souk and stopped for a coffee and ice cream.
Carried on and discovered the high end area of the mall where there was jewellery and watches on display that cost more than the house.
Decided we'd had enough,  on the way out I asked about going up the tower and was told it would cost about $130. If I booked for the next day it would be the bargain price of $80. I thought about it for about a second and said no thanks. I'd wanted to go up but not that much. I'd rather spend the money on a decent meal.
Song had a bath and I went back over to the mall to watch a movie, cost about the same as Australia.
Came out of the movie at 22:45 and the mall was still busy, including families with young kids, all the shops still open.

Day 29 - Moscow

Found out yesterday that Red Square is closed until May 9th so we won't be able to see that.
Woke up around 7:30, Song now has a cold and sore throat, I'm feeling a bit better. Don't know where she could have got it.
Warm and sunny again, but needed a jacket.
Went around the corner to a Paul's patisserie and had a coffee and pastry.
Decided to go to the Kremlin to see which museum we could visit, they were closed yesterday.
Turned out that they had opened Red Square, so we were able to get pictures of the cathedral and the other buildings.
Pottered around for a bit but decided we'd seen enough palaces and cathedrals so went and sat down in GUM for a while.
Went outside again for more photos, then back to the hotel to chill before getting the metro and train to the airport. We flew to Kiev first, had a 2 hour stop over then onto Dubai. Bought a sandwich at the Kiev airport, had to use a credit card because we didn't have any Ukrainian Hoojamits or whatever they use, and hoped I wouldn't see charges for a couple of military helicopters on it when I got the statement.
We arrive in Dubai at 0300 in the morning because our flight was changed, but haven't booked a hotel - we may see if they have a day or hour rate, or find a lounge at the airport, or just find a seat to get some sleep.

Day 28 - Moscow

IUp at 05:00, day cold but sunny. Ordered a taxi which got us to the station in good time because there was no traffic - might be because it was May 01, I think it was a public holiday.
Train was packed, but comfortable and fast, took 3.5 hours.
Came out of the train station, had to walk around the corner, down a ramp, through some doors, down some steps, around another corner, and through some more doors to get to the metro. I've no idea why they couldn't just put in an escalator or tunnel to join it up.
Managed to get on the right train, but got off a stop early, got back on, then found the hotel easily, it was just by the station. Weather in Moscow was warm, it said 17C but felt warmer, especially after St Petersburg.
Left the hotel and walked around the corner to Arbat Street , a pleasant pedestrian street lined with restaurants, cafes and just about every portrait artist in Moscow.
Only needed a t shirt, carried on until we came to the Lenin library.
Followed the crowds and ended up outside the Kremlin, walked past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then carried on tailing the crowd through a small passage and ended up outside Gum, the famous Russian store, now home to all the luxury brands. Had a look through, decided not to buy anything, but Song went to the historical toilet and paid $2.55 and did a historical wee.
The building was very impressive.
It turned out that there had been a pro-Russian march through Red Square because of May Day so it was closed off. Hopefully it will be open tomorrow otherwise we won't be able to see it. As mentioned yesterday, we were supposed to be here for 3 days but our flight got changed so we've lost a day.
Got on the metro to go back to the hotel area to get something to eat.
The metro stations in Moscow are magnificent - huge chandeliers, marble, mosaics, statues etc.
Got off at a stop and realised we'd gone in the wrong direction, but luckily the station we ended up in had a shopping mall and we found a place, went for sushi which was actually good. Apparently one of the first foreign foods to arrive in Russia was sushi, so there are a lot of restaurants here.
Both feeling tired after the early start, went back to the hotel and relaxed. Walked 9.34 Km.

Day 27- St Petersburg

Got up late, around.09:00. Still feeling rough but not as bad as before so hopefully on the mend.
Last day in St Petersburg and just Moscow and Dubai to go, we're ready to come home now.
Weather was cold, but sunny.
Got the bus, then the metro to a monastery, a look around another cathedral, then saw that the second largest shopping mall in St Petersburg was nearby so walked there and had a coffee. I think the activity of the last few days had caught up with us, and we were both happy to sit there for a while and chill. Had a look around the place, it was basically a shopping mall so not too interesting.
Left and walked up Nesky road, took a bit longer than expected, about 40 minutes, to the same place we went to yesterday for lunch / dinner.
I had borsht to start then a chicken pie and mashed potatoes for main, Song had cabbage soup to start and the same salmon dish as the day before. No cake again.
Went outside to get on the bus, one came but we couldn't fit on, so had to wait for the next one and that was a bit of a squeeze.
Back at the hotel, just relaxed.
Walked 10.03 Km today.
Train to Moscow tomorrow - we only have one day there because our original flight was changed.