Waiting for a train...

It's about 3 hours to boarding at the Moscow railroad station in St. Petersburg, and as is usually the case when you've got a lot of time to kill, the time passes slowly and tempers shorten.

We walked from the hotel to the Hermitage today. It was Natalie's idea, and when we turned right at the Fontanka River, I got the idea she wanted to pass by the statue of the finch - the чижик-пижик - that I was not able to capture with my digital camera yesterday.

While it was a long way to walk, it was a good day for walking. Sunny, and not too cold, at least at first. However, by the time we got to the Hermitage, I was ready to sit down and rest for a while, which was also the case with Galina and Natalie.

My campaign shirt (and some words from Galina) got me in at the foreigners-in-Russia rate (100 rubles, which is the same as the charge for locals, as opposed to the 400 rubles charged tourists). We took in quite a bit, although at a rapid pace and trying to avoid the many tour groups being herded through the halls.

We took a taxi back to the apartment, from which the agency had graciously allowed us a late check-out, and the fare turned out to be the same using a meter (700 rubles) as what had been offered "by eyeball" by the first hack we ran across after leaving the museum building. Our hack's maneuvering immediately after we sat down was pretty impressive, too. (Back in the States, it probably would've earned the driver an immediate suspension, but it was "business as usual" outside the Hermitage.)

My legs are tired. It's been a long day. The clock is updating v-e-r-y slowly.

Cheers...