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.

Day 26 - St Petersburg

Still feeling rotten, asked the girl at reception to write down in Russian "flu medicine" so I could go to a pharmacy later.
Had a decent breakfast, then on the bus to the Hermitage museum. When we arrived in the main square the military band was still going from yesterday.
Queued up for about 20 minutes, then in.
It's impossible to do the place justice here, it's huge. We skipped the Egyptian and Greek antiquities since we'd been to Athens, and went straight for the European art. Took in some Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Pissaro, Signac. The rooms themselves were works of art - huge chandeliers, decorated walls and ceilings, gold everywhere. There were beautiful green and blue malachite vases and tables.
The place was very busy but we managed to see the main things - including the 2 Da Vinci paintings.
The place was a maze, and we found ourselves back tracking a few times, then headed upstairs to more impressionists and other European art. There was hardly anyone on this floor, but there were paintings by Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso. At one stage Song and I had the Picasso gallery to ourselves. I was still not well, took most of the opportunities to sit down. I ached, had a headache and my nose couldn't decide whether to be blocked or running.
The upper level started to fill up with Japanese tour groups playing "my camera is bigger than yours" so we went downstairs.
Decided to have a whiz through the Egyptian area because the book said that the rooms were worth seeing.
Had a peep at the vases and other artifacts, found a tablet with hieroglyphics that I managed to translate a bit of :
"Day 7 - Cairo
Woke up at the 6th bell, down to breakfast of goat's cheese and camel meat... "
Decided we'd been on the go for a while, we went in at 10:50 and it was now 16:30, time to leave.
They don't allow food and drink inside so our first stop was to get something to eat. We didn't want to go somewhere too close to the museum so headed down the main street and saw a place that was pretty busy and right next to the bus stop so tried it.
I had beef stroganoff, Song had a fish salad to start and salmon for main. Song said hers was very good, I couldn't really taste mine.
They also had lots of cakes, but I couldn't face one but I promised the chocolate one I'd come back for it tomorrow.
Bus was packed, got off and went to a pharmacy for some drugs. I handed the piece of paper to the most miserable female assistant who sighed and dug out some medicine. I said I only wanted one of the 2 things, but she rang up both anyway. Tried again and she got the message, sighed again and pointed to the display.
Back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.
Walked 7.69 Km according to fitbit, but I reckon it's lying.

Day 25 - St Petersburg

Woke up around 8, didn't sleep very well, still had a temperature and headache. Breakfast was good, the usual fare. Caught a bus to the main square again, which was empty because the hermitage was closed, so got some good photos.
Walked over a bridge to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Another Sunny day, about 10C but warming up.
Fancied a cup of coffee so found a cafe, which fortunately had a menu outside which informed us a latte cost around $8. Decided I wasn't that desperate so walked through a park heading to a main road when Song spotted a cafe built into a grotto. It turned out this was a great find - number 39 in Tripadvisor and wonderful. We both had a home made pastry (still hot from the oven) and I had a large latte, all for about $9. What's more, the coffee tasted like coffee and not warm water that had once had a coffee bean dipped in it. As good as a Melbourne coffee.
Went into the Peter and Paul Fortress, bought a ticket for the cathedral and jail, and I wanted to visit the space exploration museum but it was closed for renovations, so I was pretty disappointed.
The cathedral was small, but had plenty of gold to make up for it. It is also the place where all the Russian Tsars were buried. There are the tombs of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Bob the pretty average.
I'm sure Putin has a spot marked out for himself.
Didn't spend too long inside, then went to the jail, known as the Russian Bastille, where they used to house political prisoners up to the 1920s.
It was interesting, but a bit of a con because it was 2 floors of identical cells, so once we'd seen one or two the rest held no interest. I have to say, the cells were pretty generous in size, I estimated about 6m by 3.5m. Not that I'd like to have stayed there, but they were roomy for a prison cell.
Wandered around the fortress for a bit longer, then out for something to eat.
Found a place from the Lonely Planet book again, traditional Georgian food.
We ordered a traditional Georgian salad (lettuce, cucumber, spring onion and a vinaigrette dressing) and a bread filled with cheese, spinach and greens. Both were good.
For main Song had Georgian sausage which came with a salad and soggy chips (most of which I ate). I had a traditional dish of chicken pieces with spices served in a pot with a sauce that was like ratatouille. Again, both were good. Despite being a bit under the weather, I had a local beer.
Sat there for a while then headed out, walking back towards the hotel.
Found ourselves back at the main square and there was a bit of a crowd. It turned out there was a full blown old style Soviet military parade going on, complete with thousands of leg-lifting, arm-swinging marching soldiers, a huge military band, armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, a choir and old men in big hats with lots of gold braid. Not sure what it was in aid of, but it was impressive and not something you see every day.
We left feeling in the mood to annex a former member state, but instead got on the bus back to the hotel.
Walked 14.39 km today.
Hermitage museum tomorrow.

Day 24 - St Petersburg

Last leg of the trip; St Petersburg, Moscow and Dubai the only stops now.
Up at 04:45, across to the station and onto the train. Wifi and power points, so watched some downloads. There wasn't much scenery. Trip took 3.3 hrs and we had our passports checked 3 times.
Lost another hour with a time zone change.
We were going to get a pick up by the hotel, but they wanted to charge $30, so we decided to use public transport. Apparently the taxis can be a bit dodgy, and there is also a tradition of flagging down any car and asking the driver to take you somewhere for a price, but we weren't game to try that.
We took the metro, down the longest escalator I've ever seen, I half expected to end up back in Melbourne. There was a stern lady in a booth at the top and bottom of the escalator (not the same one I think), whose job, it appeared, was to sit there and stare at the people and some CCTV screens all day. No wonder they looked miserable.
They did have a jaunty red hat though, so they had that going for them.
Outside the metro we asked a taxi driver how much to our hotel, he said 300 Roubles (about $9), Song offered 200, he declined so we got on a tram and hoped it was going the right way. Luckily they still employ conductors so I was able to point at the map, to which she replied "da", which means "yes".
I actually studied Russian for 2 years at high school, and "da" is about all I remember. To be fair, it was 30 years ago. I can still read Cyrillic though, so hopefully won't mistake "restaurant" for "Mafia den".
Got off at the nearest stop and dragged the cases up the worst street so far - past a couple of abandoned cars, people smoking in doorways, a woman drinking beer from a large bottle and a dead pigeon.
Luckily the room was ready so we could collapse for a while. The hotel was quite trendy - the walls of the corridors were decorated in what I believe youngsters call "street art".
Rested for a few minutes, and still feeling a bit woozy, headed out and opened the lonely planet map, and immediately discovered we had a lot to see. Weather was good - clear skies and about 17C.
Went into the Grand Choral Synagogue, walked past the Mariinsky Theatre, then along a canal, past the Yusopov Palace. Took some photos of Saint Isaac's Cathedral (didn't go in), round the corner to the Bronze Horseman, past the Admiralty, took pictures over the river of the Academy of Arts Museum, the Menshikov Palace, the Kunstkamera and the Rostral Columns. Ambled a bit more and came to the side of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage (I think it's the same thing) , into Palace Square, photos of Alexander Column, through the Triumphal Arch and into Nevsky Prospect. And this was all before lunch.
Found a place in the Lonely Planet guide and sat down in a heap. The waitress took us through the menu then said the magic words - all you can eat buffet. Now I like a challenge, so we went for one of those each. My strategy was to try a small piece of everything to determine what was edible and what was "a local delicacy", which I have found to mean "crap we can palm off on tourists".
Once I'd found what I liked, it was back to the buffet to load up on the nice things, elbowing the other customers out of the way.
Disappointed there was no dessert included, we finished up and went out again. Past the Singer building and down to the Church on the Spilled Blood, perhaps one of the most recognisable buildings in St Petersburg. Decided to go in, and were rewarded with an interior decorated completely in mosaic. Very impressive. It was a lot warmer now so managed to take off the jacket and just wear a t shirt.
Out of the church and made the bad decision to get a cup of coffee from a street vendor - a very small, watery, bitter latte for $4.
Sat in a park, looking at the Russian Museum, then past the Armenian Church of Saint Catherine, into another park to see a Statue of Catherine the Great.
Having now seen more sights in a day than in the last week, we felt a bit fatigued and decided to head back. Luckily we were on the right street to catch the tram so stood at what we thought was the tram stop and waited. 20 minutes later and no sign of a tram we flagged down the first bus that passed and did the pointing at the map trick again which solicited a "da", so we were happy.
A quick trip to the supermarket for supplies then back to the hotel.
Didn't wear the fitbit again today but we walked a long way.
I looked at some photos that Song had taken and there was some fat bloke in a lot of them. So despite all the walking I seemed to be balancing it out with the food intake.
Haven't decided what to do tomorrow yet, but the plan for tonight is to sleep a lot.

Day 23 - Tallinn and Helsinki

Had a temperature during the night and didn't sleep very well plus had a sore throat and ached a bit, felt like the flu. A bit annoying because I had a flu injection before we left.
Down to breakfast, not bad, then back to the room to pack up. We left the bags and went into the old town again. Took more photos, then on to the ferry to Helsinki. 2.5 hr trip, passed by watching some Tv downloads.
Hopped on a tram to the hotel then went out for dinner. We soon discovered Helsinki is expensive - we went to a tapas restaurant which was about number 14 in Tripadvisor, and a set menu for one was around 40 Euro. We decided to pass, then found another tapas place called Bar Celona (I see what they did there). We had 3 dishes each and that was over 12 Euro each. Pretty pricey for what we got, but the quality was good. Despite being number 605 out of 686 restaurants in Helsinki.
I was still feeling a bit rough, coughing and with a headache.
Wandered back to the hotel via a supermarket - we leave on the 06:12 train in the morning so got some supplies for the trip. We walked through the train station - it was a very good example of Art Deco architecture. We didn't have much time in Helsinki, but to be honest I don't think there is a lot to see.
For some reason we were given a hotel room designed for a wheelchair, so it was a bit bigger than a normal room and had a bath, which was just what I needed in my condition.
Train to Saint Petersburg tomorrow, have to get up at 04:30.

Day 22 - Tallinn

First people at breakfast, loaded up then dragged the cases to the bus station. I do wish the Europeans would move on from cobblestones, they look nice but are murder to pull cases along. 4.5 hour trip on the bus, went quickly as I watched some downloaded Tv shows. The buses in Europe are really good - this one had a toilet, a free coffee machine, power points and wifi.
The scenery was mainly pine trees with a couple of lakes.
Got off the bus and decided to walk to the hotel instead of getting the tram, it was about 2 km.
I'm used to not knowing what day it is when travelling because the concept of a weekend loses its meaning - but I think I've been on the road a bit too long because I didn't know what country we were in. I thought we were still in Latvia, but we were now in Estonia. It doesn't help that there are no borders any more either, so you've no idea when you go from one country to another.
Checked into the hotel, then out to explore the town. Turned around and went back in to get Song's coat because it was pretty cold.
We were right between the old town and the new one, so went into the old one.
The walls and buildings were noticeably older than the other places we've been. The sun was shining but it was a lot colder than anywhere else so far.
Ambled around for a while,  taking photos. Some of the old city walls were still there, with impressive towers topped in orange tiles. I took photos. Again. There weren't too many tourists around.
Decided to get an early dinner, so went to the number one restaurant in Tallin.
I had oven baked goat's cheese which was served on a layer of  finely chopped capsicum and came with a cream sauce. It was very good. Song had a smoked fish salad. For main Song had grilled pork with potato and roast apple and pear. I had braised elk with pureed potato, carrot and a smoked wine sauce. I can honestly say it was the best braised elk I have ever had. Actually it was good, sort of like beef but with a slightly stronger taste. For the first time on the trip we also had dessert. Song had a sea buckthorn tart (no, we hadn't heard of it either). I had a chocolate pudding with ice cream. Mine was nice,  but nothing special. I also had a beer.
Still plenty of light left in the day this far North, we grabbed the map and did a whirlwind tour of the old town. Some buildings dating back to the 1300's, still in good condition  (relatively), the inevitable churches dotted around, and the Town Square.
Having seen just about everything, walked back to the hotel. Song relaxed in the room and I went out again to get the ferry tickets to Helsinki for tomorrow, we leave at 13:30 so don't have to rush.
Back at the hotel and I've picked up a sore throat - one or both of us always seem to pick up a bug when we travel. I hoped this wouldn't develop into something worse.
Don't know how far we walked today, I left my fitbit in the room, but I suspect it was around 6 Km.
Ferry to Helsinki tomorrow.