Saturday, January 20, 2007

Just when you thought I couldn't get any cheaper...

Here are some photos:
The first is a Lada, which is a Russian car th at I'd never seen before but heard about on the Simpsons. The second is of the church called: Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. It was named this way because on the place where it was subsequently built, Alexander II was mortally wounded there in 1881. The third photo (of terrible quality) is of the main square in St. Petersburg where the Hermitage is located. The fourth photo is our train compartment on the way to St. Petersburg from Riga. The last photo is the spot where Roskolnikov, a character in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", lived.



















Here are some tips I have learned from my time in St. Petersburg.

1: The free morning breakfast should definitely be taken advantage of. If you eat as much as you can in the morning, you can skip lunch without too much trouble. This saves you many rubles!

2: Spam isn't that bad. There is Spam served with breakfast here as well as some Russian cheese spread. Due to my inherent Dutch nature, I was unable to see free food and not take full advantage of it, so I made two Spam and Cheese sandwiches and stuffed them into my pockets in a bag for dinner!

3: Bring a student card or some type of ID! We have saved ourselves many rubles by pretending our Driver's License is a student card. The Hermitage was free. St. Isaac's was half-price.

Will

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great advice! Are the prices reasonable because it isn't tourist season? We are on our way to the Schoons. Read you later!

Anonymous said...

You know....spam is highly underrated. It can be argued that it played a large part in the Allied victory of World War Two. See? This is why I go to university.

And yeah student cards! I was amazed at how it helped when I was in London...

When do you go see Figaro??

D.

Anonymous said...

Never heard of a Lada!!! Man, oncle P. can give you a few earfulls on that subject! This household has gone through a bunch of them, but, thankfully, that is now all history! Am enjoying your travelogue!

Mike S. said...

Haha dude... you are so dutch! Yeah so that's true... hmm I don't know what else to say... But thanks for the comment on my page, it totally makes it look like people actually care!

Hope the trip's goin well, and that you dont spend too much money... and end up broke like me. I spent $90 on presents for my family the other day... I dont recomend that! I am pretty sure your fam would be happy with some spam and cheese sandwiches though!

Later,

- Mike

Anonymous said...

It has been way too long since I read your blog - whoops! I find it all fascinating. I'm impressed by your money-saving tricks... I'll have to remember them! :P

Bri

Man somehow I can't seem to type in the right word verification letters! I mean how hard can it be!! ahaha

Anonymous said...

Oma went on your blog on Saturday at uncle Marty and aunt Gerri's and was quite excited.

Will said...

Hey everyone,

Mom, the prices haven't been too bad. We are also staying with people who usually provide us with breakfast and supper, so there's no problem there. If you go to a Montana's/Kelsey's class restaurant, you are probably looking at a lot of money, even though it's not gourmet. That being said, I love Kelsey's and Montana's food. Say hi to the Schoons!

Hey Diane,
Spam is highly underrated. It does taste very poor, but it's all the same in your stomach. We saw Figaro on the 21st and it was quite incredible. We didn't have the English guide so therefore we didn't know exactly what was going on. Regardless, it was still quite an incredible musical/visual experience.

Hey Tante Swanny,
I would like to hear what Uncle Paul has to say about Lada's. I have heard they are far from quality vehicles, but I wouldn't know firsthand.

Hey Mike,
Glad to hear from you! I am looking forward to getting some advice on Cambodia and how to get around and whatnot! I thought about the spamwiches as gifts but it may not smell so nice.

Hey Bri,
I don't have to put in the word verification for my own blog, but I do know your situation. I have had problems with word verification in the past.

Hey Oma,
I'm glad you had a great time on the site. Please keep up to date! I have taught my travel partner how to play Frustration. We played two rounds and he had so much trouble on the last round. I asked him why he had so much trouble on the last round and he said that for some reason, he just couldn't get a run of 10. For those of you who don't know Frustration, the last round is a set of 3 and a run of 7, which is slightly easier than a run of 10.

Anonymous said...

HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEYYYYY UNCLE WILLY !!!!Is xian treating you well??????I hear the bird flu is rampid over there! Becareful, I don't need you coming back as the chicken LADY !!!!

Your "concerned friend"
Robert "Mcgregor" Forsyth

Ps. Don't be so tight with your purse............