Vienna & Salzburg Austria

Three days ago, Laurence and I met up again at the Vienna Airport. I had just flown in from St.Petersburg to Berlin to Vienna. Laurence after being deported from Russia was sent on a train to Prague, which was surprisingly paid for in full by the Russian government. He then was able to meet up with friends in Warsaw and hang around with them for a few days while I was still finishing up in Russia. Considering the conditions in which we last spoke I think it is pretty incredible that we were able to meet up at all let alone how smoothly it went. Needless to say we were both very relieved to have been able to cross paths again.

Russia was fun. By the time I had to leave I beginning to enjoy it a lot. It took some getting use to but by the end I was enjoying the place and kind of proud of the fact that I was able to get around on my own. But I was still fairly relieved to get back to the West. I felt safe there the entire time, except for when the Police were around ironically, but it still felt good to be back somewhere vaguely familiar. Still Russia was an exciting place and I did encounter a lot of nice Russian people even despite my not even being able to say hello in Russian. I also got to meet a couple of interesting folks in the hostile I was staying at. I met two Swiss guys who were a good time and this old Iranian man. He took the cake though. One night I was sitting in my bed at around midnight getting reading and getting ready to fall asleep when he, Iraj, stumbles into my room. Apparently, he had spent the last few hours drinking Champagne in a park in town with a bunch of random girls he met. He was really proud of these two girls he met and showed me pictures of them; nothing to write home about. But because alcohol is banned in Iran and woman are forced to dress very conservatively there he was having the best time of his life. Anyway, he was a sight to see and a very friendly, open man. He gave me all of his information, so the next time I'm in Iran I'll have a place to stay.

Anyway, I never got to see the Hermitage. It was closed on the Monday I tried to go. I tried to go again on Tuesday before I flew out but I thoroughly underestimated the draw it gets and didnt even make it to the ticket gate before I had to leave. On the Monday, instead of going to Hermitage I went to St.Isaac's which is a huge beautiful church right on the river and had the best view of the city. After that I wander around a little bit and came to rest in a park near by for a bit and read my book "A Farewell to Arms", trying to get some classics in. Anyway, after about 30 minutes I get up to leave and on the way out of the park I pass a woman very casually sitting on a bench with a baby Bear. That's right for 100 rubles, just over $4, I got to have my picture taken with a bear. It was awesome. The Bear was small but still big enough to do some damage if you are sitting down next to it like I was. And even though it had a mussle on that didnt stop it from trying to bite my arm at one point. Either way, this was definitely a highlight for me up until this point.

After Russia, Laurence and I went around Vienna for a bit. We saw the Hapsburg Palace, the Shoennbrunn, and some nice parks. The coffee and food in Austria are ridiculous. I dont even drink coffee but I have been the whole time I've been here. Yesterday, we took the train all day to Salzburg which has been very nice. Today, we started out by watching the Sound of Music, my first time the whole way through, and then going on a Sound of Music tour. It was corny but very nice. The mountains and small towns in Austria are really one of a kind. Tonight, I think we are going to hit the biggest local beer hall. It should be a good time

I wish I could post some of the pictures I've been taking up till now but these hostel computers are junk. I will soon enough.

St.Petersburg

Its 11:40 pm and the Sun is still shinging bright in St.Petersburg. The light and the mosquitos can make it hard to sleep at night. A few beers helps with that though. Since I last wrote I have seen the Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Unfortunately though, I did not get to see Lenin's Mausoleum, Vladmir's or John's. Dagger! But I did get to see alot of Moscow. Moscow is a huge place filled with people. Every building there was at least a NY city block long, no joke. There werent many sky scrapers in the middle of the city so the sky line was filled more with Churchs tops, apartment buildings and an occasional Stalin sky scrapers. I met a guy names Jeff in hostel on the first night. He is a UCLA student studying Russian literature and spoke Russian. He was my saving grace. He helped me use the metro, order food, and get a ticket to St.Petersburg. All in all he was a pretty cool guy.

We took the 2:30 am train from Moscow to St.Petersburg to here. We ended up hanging around the train statin for some two hours before hand just to make sure we got there on time. That was a site to say the least. There is no open container law in Moscow or St.Petersburg so everyone is drinking and just milling around. I saw some drunk get escorted to where ever it is the police take you when you're drunk. The train itself was comfortable but small. The swaying helped me sleep.

Since we arrived I have been milled around St.Peterburg. I've seen the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Resurrection of Christ Church . Which was probably one of the most beautiful churchs I've seen. Then I saw the Russian Museum also. Which was interesting but short. Russia also has a lot of beautiful gardens Ive been enjoying too. Tomorrow I'll go see the Hermatage, an art museum, and then take a boat around the city.

On Tuesday, Ill take a flight out to go visit Laurence my exiled friend. He has been hanging out in Prague for the past few days and is fine. We are going to meet in our hostel in Vienna, which I look forward to.

This computer is pretty slow so Ill save the photo upload for another time.