The next stage of our adventure

Having travelled through 18 different countries in Europe over four months since we left our home in Mexico City both of us felt as if we were starting the second leg of our trip when we left Tallinn.  Despite everything we have seen and experienced so far I have been more excited about the next month than anything else we have so far planned on our journey.  As a History student Russia holds a strong allure and so visiting is a huge tick on my bucket list.  We were slightly apprehensive about what to expect and how we were going to deal with the new challenges about to face us (where do you start with the Cyrillic alphabet??!!) but we headed off from Tallinn with a new lease of life for travelling. 

The journey to St. Petersburg

With one final hurdle to overcome before entering Russia we crossed the Friendship Bridge in Narva and arrived at the border crossing hoping our documents were all in order.  After security had scrutinized every page of our passport and visa Russia lost all of its hard reputation when the security dog turned out to be an over enthusiastic cocker spaniel that ran around chasing its handler and madly wagging its tail rather than paying any attention to the new arrivals.  There was a real sense of adventure when we re-boarded the bus and headed off towards St Petersburg. It is impossible to avoid the overwhelming sense of history and power connected with Russia and travelling across the barren landscape, the scene of so many brutal conflicts over the past century it was hard not to imagine the hardship of life in the towns we passed through.  Music is an essential part of being on the road and listening to political songs from the 60’s by Dylan, Hendrix and Credence as we sped along led to day dreaming about the incomparable past of the nation.   Snow was already covering the ground and we passed numerous wooden houses with corrugated tin roofs, railway yards full of goods and a huge factory towering above a bleak looking forest.  It all added to the sense of intrigue and excitement as we left the countryside and suddenly the trees became an endless sea of heavy industry as we reached the outskirts of St Petersburg.