С Новым годом!

Ok, my last two days will be wrapped into one post because I didn’t feel awake enough to write after celebrating the New Year… And my last few hours were spent packing, taking one final walk with Olga around Nevsky Prospect, and then getting to the airport…

So, here I sit in the Frankfurt airport during a 13-hour layover. I suppose I could have checked out of the airport and stayed at a hotel here in Germany, BUT I discovered that I had lost my debit card somewhere in St. Petersburg sometime on between Dec. 29 and 31. Let’s just say, it’s not fun when you lose essentially, your only source for money when overseas, especially on a holiday, the day before you leave… Thankfully, no unauthorized charges had showed up so it was easy to cancel the card and I had an emergency credit card to cover me until I get back to the States…

I had a very enjoyable New Years Eve, even better than my awesome New Years Eve in London last year. And that had a great firework display I watched from the square flanked Westminster Abbey and Parliament with the clock tower that houses Big Ben. Maybe it was better because I got to spend it with someone special this year… That might have a little something to do with it…

Original Theatre

I got to watch the Nutcracker ballet at the Russian Conservatory for Opera and Ballet. Very good dancing from the students there. Also, since it was a noon matinee performance, there were many families there with young children. The conservatory theatre is right across the street from the Mariinsky Theatre (very famous theatre where I got to see a ballet the last time I was in St. Petersburg). I think the Conservatory Theatre originally had been that classic highly decorated Italian style theatre (think a horseshoe shape opened to the stage, like the Mariinsky Theatre) but at some point in the 20^th Century it had been gutted and reshaped in the 20^th Century style auditorium much like you might find in the US… It’s a pity for me because I like that older style look…

"New" theatre style

After the show, Olga picked me up from the theatre and we made our way to her apartment for a little meal with her friend Sveta. I think the original plan was to have some food and then Sveta and Olga would play a little on Olga’s harp, but the Nutcracker ran longer than expected and Sveta arrived a little late so we “dined and dashed” if you will. Sveta had to leave to get to the Philharmonic where she was playing the concert that Olga and I were going to that night… Sveta went ahead of us and we were going to stop in at a little shopping center to buy some gifts for my family when I discovered that my debit card was missing!

Arrived during intermission!

So, instead of heading to the Philharmonic hall for the concert, we hustled back to my hotel to see if maybe I had dropped my card in my room. Alas, I could not find it. So I had to call the credit unions card holder services and get my card canceled. We ended up missing the first half of the concert. Thankfully, we had heard the same concert the previous day so it was not a total loss. The bad part was they the orchestra sounded a little better the second time. The first time we heard it was a Sunday matinee show where the tickets were cheaper whereas the second show was the big New Years Eve concert so I think the musicians took it a little more seriously and played better. Although it was packed house both shows!  

We walked the streets with Sveta for a while after concert on the condition that I carried her bag, which I was more than willing to do. We stopped in a few fancy stores and walked the streets watching preparations for the big party later in the evening.  After we said goodbye to Sveta, we headed over to the restaurant that Olga had booked for us to celebrate the New Year.

We shared some great food. Olga made sure that I had tried most of the traditional Russian food on the menu. My taste buds did not complain, my stomach, however, had to pace things out so that I didn’t overstuff myself to fast.

We got to watch President Vladimir Putin address the country in the last few moments before midnight. Olga told me that all he said was “You are happy, You are happy, You are happy,” apparently try to convince people that they are happy (and not upset at the government or anything like that) but he didn’t look to excited or happy himself. One point of difference, in Russia, almost everyone parties to the early hours of the morning, no exceptions!

For my New Year day, I slept in and had a very late breakfast. Then I packed my bags and checked out of my room. Thankfully the hotel allows guest to leave bags in a little sitting area if they are not leaving town right away.

Hot Chocolate...

Olga arrived at the hotel about 2pm and we walked down to “Singers,” a famous Art Neuvaux Style Bookstore, where we had hot chocolate. This was not American style hot chocolate, they call that cocoa. No, this hot chocolate was warm and thick, so think you could almost stand your spoon up in it! And it was delicious! I picked up a few last things for my nieces and nephews and then we headed back to my hotel where I packed my things in a taxi and headed to the airport.

I enjoyed my little holiday vacation in St. Petersburg. It's fun to have friends overseas so you have a good excuse to travel!