Three Countries, Four Flights, 25 Hours to St. Petersburg, Russia

Cleveland to Washington DC to Frankfurt, Germany to Zagreb, Croatia to St. Petersburg, Russia…using just 30K United frequent flyer miles.

It took about 25 hours, but here I am, my first time in this land that is so far away. It's my 40-something country, but this one has its own level of intrigue. 

When I travel I like to make my own observations, to take mental notes (and real photos) on things I see that are maybe different than my everyday. So here are some quick observations from the first 15 or so hours after touching down.

The scene at Washington Dulles airport - everyone seemed to stop to watch the PKs between Russia and Croatia. Here’s where I found out that I’d be watching Croatia take on England in the second semi. (France and Belgium had advanced to the other semi the day before).

The airport experience in St. Petersburg was fine...I had my documents, was able to take money out of the ATM, printed my tickets to the games at the airport World Cup office, and had World Cup volunteers call a taxi for me to get me to the city center. BTW, I've found plenty of English speakers so far (except for the taxi driver), which surprised and comforted me. I also have phone / message / email access like I would back home since AT&T added the perk for those traveling to this event (though wonder how much is monitored, ha). 

On the highway from the airport, I see a sign overhead that reads ‘Saint Petersburg.’ I'd been trying to study the Cyrillic alphabet but think it won't matter much. This language is hard.

I had blindly picked a hotel online, and it turns out it's on a main side street filled with restaurants, bars and coffee shops - with a bunch of outdoor patios - from all over the world...a Belgian place, Asian, Cuban, Mexican, Texas BBQ, Irish bars, Georgian spots - which I'm told is popular food here (country, not US state).

I see my first 'American' local, a sign reads ‘McDonalds’...I'm hoping I don't have to resort to this.

I meet up with a Japanese colleague - Ino - who I had worked with in Hawaii earlier this year. Ino speaks Spanish and English fluently, though he tells that he speaks Russian even better. He's been working with the local pro soccer team, Zenit St. Petersburg, for the last five months and had provided the helpful tips on what to do once I landed. We sat on a street-side patio for a beer and then grabbed dinner - at midnight, which seems to be common. 

By the way, it’s daylight pretty late here...what they call the ‘white nights’ (doubt it has anything to do with the Game of Thrones). 

Ino shares a ton of great observations from his experience here. Very interesting to hear from a somewhat local, though from another country. 

The main street is Nevsky Prospekt, a long stretch with similar looking buildings filled with restaurants, hotels, bars and shops. There are a lot of people walking around - on a Sunday night. So many languages being spoken as you pass by people. Ino tells me this is somewhat surprising, and wonders what this will be like in a week or so when the tournament ends. By 1 am it's finally dark outside.

As we waited for the late dinner at a 24 hour diner / restaurant that served just about everything (I had pasta carbonara), I saw...the bathroom in this place is gender neutral with a common sink and three stalls behind doors, each with two toilets facing each other. How do you not take note of this? 

I'm in a unique place. It’s 2am when I can't keep my eyes open any longer, but I can't wait to see more on Monday.