HEY - IT'S RUSSIA!

So we have now been "in country" for exactly three weeks today.

Back then, everything was strange and new; from the sounds emitted at the street cross walks, to the chatter of people walking on the street (more on that at another time), to the signage displayed in shop windows.

Now, my surroundings are familiar, and it's hard to think back to when every single thing had to it that strange air of being out of this world.

However, I was reminded today in several ways how "out of it" I remain and how strange this place is.

First, we were nonchalantly notified at 7:00 p.m. tonight by a sign suddenly posted on the street level door that between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, Friday and Monday, there will no electricity. NO ELECTRICITY! Only in Russia (I think.) 

During our first week here, there was a day we had no cold water for several hours, but that wasn't so bad. We thought we were so well off here in St. Petersburg because unlike Andrea's previous sojourns to Moscow in summertime, apartment complexes there literally go for weeks without any hot water!

And today was my second trip to the Summer Garden, because yesterday I walked there, but the park was closed. Today, it was open, but Peter the Great's Summer Palace -- which I wanted to see after reading about it -- is closed for the entire summer! (Dare I say once again, "only in Russia!?)

The third reminder that I am in a foreign land is my ongoing inability to understand and communicate in what Andrea assures me is one of the most difficult languages on the planet.

Now yesterday, I lazed about and at the last minute decided to take the 4:30 p.m. Northern Island boat trip. I have not yet been up there to see that part of the city and figured a little boat jaunt would be a nice way to see it, especially since the sun came out late in the afternoon. 

I grabbed a bus and headed up to the Lion's Pier. Well, I heard the conductor say something about the Admiralty, but I figured it would take me right past it and stop at the Hermitage. It didn't!

And before I knew it, I was on a strange street. No worries, though. I hopped off at the next bus stop and walked a few blocks over to the pier...and I literally missed the boat! (That's when I walked over to the Summer Garden...)

Today, I made sure I had plenty of time to get to the pier and buy my ticket. With a few halting words in Russian, I bought the ticket and boarding pass, proceeded through the turnstile, stepped up to my appointed Pier 1, handed the mate my boarding pass and found a seat on board.

I was slightly curious that the boat was enclosed. I presumed it would be an open deck since we were touring through the islands. I was a little more curious when the 4:30 p.m. boat pushed away from the dock at 4:10 p.m., but there were so few people aboard, I thought they decided to get an early start. (Plus, no boat is scheduled to leave at 4:10.)

It was only as I was standing on the viewing deck snapping photos that I realized I had seen some of these sites before...I was on a boat to Peterhof...AGAIN!

Now, had I been in the States, France or Germany, I would have felt comfortable enough to have asked some questions, but my Russian is too rudimentary to even ask "where the heck is this boat going?"

No big deal. I told the mate once we landed at Peterhof that I had made a mistake, and she indicated I could stay on the same boat and return to SPB.

She did help me upon our arrival at the pier by telling the office there that she had not read my boarding pass correctly, and after some back and forth, I can take the trip tomorrow...when there's a 90% chance of rain!

Hopefully, I can post some photos of today's visit to the Summer Garden by the time the electricity is shut off tomorrow...