S:t Petersburg June 20-23

[diverboy70]

WOW! What a trip!

So I finally did it, got my feets on the ground

I just got home after three very intensive days in Rusiya! I will update this post a little bit later when I am not so extremly tired! But lets just say it was fantastic!! The place, the people and especially the girl!! Its a lot of talk of one week wonders here, but have you ever heard about one weekend wonder? No, just joking! But we had an instant connection that just grew over the days and we have decided to go ecsklusive and see what can become of this! I will go there again in July for a week or two and she will come here in August, after that we just have to see.

it was also a wonderful trip in all other ways! On friday it was the "graduation day" and a LOT of people out in the street, it was kind of a mix of the bigest party and a civil war, crazy! On saturday Russia played Holland in the Euro 2008 championship in Soccer and the Russians won Nevskiy Prospect was just one big party!

I also got to meet a really nice American guy that is dating J.s sister. He is working there as a pilot for one of the most succesfull buisnessmen in the country, so the party continued in a two stories suite in the Rennesaince hotel

Will be continued...........

[Kuna]

Sounds like a great trip and another WOVO success story...  congrats!

I guess you live close to Russia???  Lucky bugger - but it sounds like you're doing the right thing by planning frequent visits.

We'll look forward to the full TR.

Thanks for the prologue. 

Kuna

[diverboy70]

Thanks Kuna!

I have just been so busy the last few days. And I also feel that i have to take some time to think about this trip, before beeing able to give a full trip report.

And yes i live quite close to russia! I live in the Aland Islands, a group of Islands in the Baltic Sea, in between Finland and Sweden. I fly out of Stockholm in Sweden, and it is a one hour flight! Very convenient 

I am going back to S:t Pete for ten days in the end of July, just to get to know J. better! She is currently checking out appartments and I have allready found some good flights

[diverboy70]

I have a real hard time to get something down here

I think I do some kind of a combined thing of this first trip and the second one, that I will go on in three weeks. I just got the hotel comfirmed by J. 50 € a night is quite ok in St.Pete in the high season I also found some good flight tickets from Stockholm. Going for 10 days this time, a little more time to try to get to know each other.

Wish me luck, I really like this girl

[diverboy70]

Ok, After beeing back from the trip for a week now, I think I feel ready to get my experience down in words.

So here it goes! Remember that English is not my native language and that I have never been very good to put down my experiences in words.

I was flying out of Stockholm, Sweden and it was a very uneventful 1 hours flight. Landing in Pulkovo, the passport control was a breeze and took about 15 minutes, just about the time it took for the luggage to get from the plane to the terminal. My reflection on Pulkovo is that it seems to be a very small airport for quite a large city. Our flight seemed to be the only flight that landed at that time.

I was flying with SAS (Scandinavian airlines) They were on time and did not loose my luggage on either way, so I was happy with them!

I was quite nervous going through customs, not for the customs itself but I knew that I would see J. for the first time when I exited. And there she was, with her mobile in hand. Well I didn’t expect that  But she was at the time in the middle of a job search, so she may be excused  Anyway as soon as she finished her call we said hello and hugged. Then it was a 30 minutes wait for the taxi, when we just was sitting down, talking and trying to get a feel of each other. We had corresponded for little over a month before my trip. Mostly by calls and sms. No letter writing campaign!

The taxi arrived and we were on our way to the hotel. I already felt quite comfortable with J. And I was just soaking in the impressions of a new city. I checked in at this minihotel “Rinaldi” with just six room. Rather run down on the outside, but newly renovated at the inside, and very affordable.

I just left my bags and freshened up a bit Then off we went into the heart of St.Pete to get something to eat. We went to this café/restaurant place called “two sticks” in English. Don´t know the name in Russian. Anyway it is some kind of a chain with multiple places throughout the city. We were sitting outside on a terrace at the Nevskiy Prospect. Really good atmosphere and good food. The place had a western atmosphere and was really laid back! But the Russian service! It was a LOT of waitresses and it seemed that nobody really knew what they was doing. It took ages before we got to order and even longer before we got the food. I know local restaurants with double the seats and half the staff that is much faster. But I guess it’s just the way it works there, and I was really not in a hurry 

After the meal we went for a walk by the riverside, took some photos and somehow we soon ended up walking holding hands. Everything felt really relaxed and we talked a lot. After an hour or so just walking around she took me to a very nice bar a bit in on a side street from Newskiy. Again a very relaxed place. We ordered in some beers and this salted dried bread in cubes. Never seen that before. And then we just talked and laughed and had a very good time. Time just seemed to disappear and suddenly J. asked what time it was. When I told her she said we really had to go, not to get stuck when they open the bridges, so off we went.

Outside it was like a civil war, it was "graduation day", and the street was invaded by students with bottles in their hands. It was impossible to get a taxi or a car, partially because half of the streets was closed off by the police. So we started walking and got over the bridge without any problems. On the other side we could slow down on the pace again, we just walked in an easy pace watching all the chaos around us and laughing at the scenes! Somehow I never really felt afraid. It was a total chaos but at the same time a very friendly feeling in the air. We stopped outside of her university and that’s were we kissed for the very first time. I will always remember that place!

Finally we took a car to my hotel. The driver was a bit strange so J. didn’t want to continue her ride home with him. Instead she got out with me and we went to my room to call a taxi from a company she usually uses! They said it would take half an hour for the taxi to arrive. So we just shared a small bottle of wine that I had with me. It was really late now and we just lay down on the bed to rest a little and fell asleep in each others arms. The taxi never showed and when we woke after a little while J decided to just try to take a car outside and I gave her money for that. But I was a little worried about it and asked her to send me an sms when she got home. After a little while I got the sms and could finally go to sleep.

That’s the end of my first day in Russsia! So what was my impressions? Well St:Petersburg is really “Russia light” ,I think. Very western oriented and the city centre looks like any other big European city. But still there is a very distinct Russian feel about the city. And even in such a large city it is hard to get by in English.

My meeting with J. went far better than I could ever have imagined. It was just this instant connection and all the nervousness disappeared in just minutes. It really looked promising…. 

[Kuna]

Great story so far... and as for English being your second language... it's MUCH better than some people who have English as their only language.

I'm interested in how you met J.  Which site/Agency/method?

How long did you write before meeting?

Phone calls?

I just think it's interesting that this is another successful WOVO trip and maybe a sign that things are changing.

A while ago in RWD there was comment that the ages of men seeking love and marriage in RU was falling...  Maybe that's a reason (more appropriately matched couples) that successful WOVO trips are becoming more common.

Anyway,  trip sounds great so far...  will be interested to continue reading when you've got time to pen more.

Oh, one last comment...  you have NO IDEA how lucky you are to live so close.  PLease be sure to use that advantage that some of us can only dream of (I live in Australia and the MINIMUM journey for me would be around 21 hours.

Kuna

[diverboy70]

Thanks Kuna!

Yes I am a lucky bastard!  I intend to use the advantage of the short distance. I allready booked my next trip. One other good thing about living in Finland is that is very easy for her to get a tourist Visa here, she actually allready got one!

I met her through freepersonal.ru. She was also listed on bride.ru But not at any agencies. We really have not written a lot of e-mails. We have mostly talked over msn and Skype. She speaks fluent English.

About age, she is 24 and i'm 38 so there is quite an age difference but it doesn't really bother any of us.

We talked for about one and a half months before the trip. Once again because the advantage of short distances I could go and visit her over a longweekend to find out if there were any chemistry between us, and there seems to be

But I'll just take it step by step now. I think i will know better after the next 10 days trip in July.

[Faux Pas]

I noticed there seemed to be several of the "Two Sticks" restaurants in St. Petersburg. These are the sushi joints right? There was one close to my apartment on Italianaskya that was actually quite good. The wait was a little longer than I would have liked but the service was good as was the food and they had wi-fi. They also had an english menu and a good selection of oriental food. All of the sushi chefs were young russians. For some reason I found that odd. The sushi however was excellent. For future reference there is a very good upper scale restaurant on Nevesky called the Apricot Restaurant. It is only written in cyrillic on the outside. I could not rave about the food or service there enough. It was excellent. Excellent beer and wine selection too. Surprisingly, it was not expensive at all. One would generally expect to pay far more than you do for such a fine meal and white table cloth. The menu was excellent and was mostly Russian cuisine. I will never forget the baked salmon on rice with caviar. Makes my mouth water just to think about it. In 8 days I ate there 3 times and never tired of it.

[Phil dAmore]

If Sushi is uncooked fish, and
if uncooked fish is cat food, then

Sushi = cat food

And people pay how much for it?

[Faux Pas]

If Sushi is uncooked fish, and
if uncooked fish is cat food, then

Sushi = cat food

And people pay how much for it?

 

It's for your feline side. Actually Phil about 15 years ago I had the same opinion concerning sushi as you. My thought was how in the world could raw fish be better than cooked fish? I certainly liked cooked fish. But my sense of adventure and curiosity got the better of me and I tried it. When you get past the thought of it you might discover it is quite delicious. The sushi I ate at Two Sticks in St Pete was as good or better as any sushi I have eaten anywhere. I don't know for sure but I attributed it to the fish being so close and fresh and coming out of those cold waters in the Gulf of Finland. To get that particular type of quality and freshness in the US is quite expensive as it is shipped in from afar. Phil, I understand your leaving St Pete? You really should open your mind up enough to try it before you leave. You might even like it.

The Japanese have eaten it for thousands of years and if prepared correctly, is very good for your health compared to cooked fish or other meat. Seriously, try it.

[Phil dAmore]

I'm especially cautious about any fish from the Gulf of Finland.  It is my understanding that Finnish citizens are only allowed a certain amount of fish per year from the GoF because of Russia's practice of dumping who-knows-what in there for so many years.

Yeah, the clock is ticking down on my time in Piter.  Just a little over 3 months to go.

I'll probably try it at some point though.

[Faux Pas]

Phil I honestly don't know why the fish and sushi was so much better in St Pete but it was. I just attributed it to being so close to the GoF. It could have been the Barents or the Arctic. I grew up in the South US just a rocks throw from the Atlantic and was raised on fresh seafood. For those accustomed to it, we can taste "fresh". Now I live in the central US and "fresh" is difficult to come by at reasonable prices. It is unfortunate that many do not know the difference.

I also had occasion to try ribeye steak two different times in St Pete. Two times was enough. I won't try it again  Wasn't really bad just wasn't good either. Fish and a good cut of beef happen to be my main choices.

All the Russian cuisine I ate was excellent. Went to a couple of joints that were pricey but overall most was good food and very reasonable. Two Sticks I found to be extremely reasonable for the quality of food and one hellva bargain for sushi.

[diverboy70]

DAY II, Saturday

Ok, sorry for the delay I have been busy moving to another place!

Well Saturday morning we both slept quite long, after the too long night the day before! I sent J. an sms when I woke up. And she said she would be at my hotel in an hour. So I had some time to shower and freshen up!

Julia showed up in an hours and off we went to Mc Donalds for some breakfast, not very romantic I know But it was just what I needed then.

Then off with the subway to a bus stop for the minibuses to the Peterhof. It was a terrible ride, a lot of traffic, very hot in the bus and it took ages. But again, I’m not the one to complain, I was just enjoying my company. We were listening to some of her favourite songs on her mobile during the trip.

Finally we arrived. WOW what a place, it is just beautiful, the architecture and all of the gardens! Walking up trough the front garden this old babuscka came up an walked besides us and was rambeling something in Russian. I was looking at J. but she seemed a bit interested in what the old lady had to say so I just walked along. After a while J. said something to the lady and off she went. She then told me that this is something usual there, old babuschkas trying to get a dime by telling the future about couples. But she had been intrigued about what the old lady said. She also told that a long time ago a former boyfriends grandmother had “put a spell” at her that she would never find a new boyfriend. I know J. is not really into that, but somehow at that point it struck a chord for her!

So we spent a couple of hours just walking around hand in hand admiring this beautiful place. Then we had planned to take one of the speedboats back to St. Petersburg. But somehow we had once again lost track of time and the boats had stop running for the day! So it was time for the bus again. J. then came up with the idea to take the bus to the train (“Electriscka”) So we did just that. It was an 45 minutes ride in to town.

Back in St:Pete we met up with J:s sister I. She is ten years older than J. But sometimes I get the feeling that it is really J. that is the older one of the two. We had something to drink and some sushi, or rather, they had sushi,  it is really not my thing! I. was sms:ing with her American “boyfriend” we were supposed to meet at a place called “Magrib” (once again don’t know the Russian name) But he was late from his flight, he is working as a pilot for some Russian Businessman with a private jet. So we decided that we would meet at Magrib. I. knows some important guy at that restaurant so we didn’t need to pay any admission fee and got really good seats. The pilot B. finally showed and we ordered some food and started watching the main event of the day, the quarter finals between Russia and Holland. The food was not really a success, but it was ok. It was a good game, and after full time int was 1-1. So time for some extra time. And then the Russian team just rose to the occasion and crushed the Dutch team! 

What a party! Nevskiy Prospekt was just one big party!! 

At that time we all had some whiskey under our belt and thought that we really did not want to end the night quite yet. So off we went to B.s place, a two stories suite at one of the finer hotels in the city. That businessman at least looks after his employees That night was just one of my best nights in a very long time. We just had so much fun. Finally we ended the night and once again I had J. in my arms when I fell asleep.

My Impressions:

First of all I was so glad that I had found this beautiful girl! I noticed the differences from her western counterparts, but I also noticed that she is very “westernized”. That is not really a problem for me, since I wasn’t looking for specifically a RW. I was looking for MY woman, wherever she may live.

Second: The girls are not stupid, they know exactly what is going on in the MOB business. They know of all the "keyboard romeos", they also know that there are a lot of idiots out there, who thinks it's easy just to get over and pick-up a russian girl:( I think what won her over was that I was totally honest with her the whole time we were togheter, i was the person that I am. I was holding my expectations down, and I rather find out now than in a year if we are not compatible. I certainly made a millions mistakes according to what you should do “by the book”. But I think that there is really not “one way” to do this, and this was just our way to do it and it worked for us.

The most important impression though is : Get on the plane!!!!
You can never really imagine how it will be before you actually are there! It is a whole different ballgame when you are actually there. You quickly realize that women are women everywhere, but what everybody says about RW seems to be true

[cad101]

The most important impression though is : Get on the plane!!!!
You can never really imagine how it will be before you actually are there! It is a whole different ballgame when you are actually there. You quickly realize that women are women everywhere, but what everybody says about RW seems to be true

You're right about gettin on the plane and gettin on over there. I'll never forget my first trip and boy was I in culture shock for 12 days but it was the experience of my lifetime and a memory that I'll never forget.
You seem to have the right attitude...positive, and going at everything in a good manner.
The best of luck to you.

[steviej]

... Second: The girls are not stupid, they know exactly what is going on in the MOB ... business.

Diverboy, nice report! Yes, the girls are street-smart, practical ... and wildly romantic at heart. The cool thing about Russian women is how this is all bundled together. You seem like a "solid" and honest guy, and your girl is gonna dig that.

Did you decide when you're going back yet? (I am assume, from your report you are, and are even counting down the minutes ..??)

[diverboy70]

Steviej:

I'm going in two weeks!  I will spend 10 days there this time!

[Phil dAmore]

Dive:

Uhh... how best to put this?

Magrib?  Yeah you uh... you DO know about the kind of women one usually finds at Magrib?   And your gal's sister knew someone there well enough to get you all in for free?

I have to wonder how that came to be.

[diverboy70]

Phil,

Yes J. told me that!

She knows the art director there, but she knows him from before he started to work there So i am not too worried

[diverboy70]

Sunday

We slept quite late and then had a room service breakfast with a lot of coffee  J. and I left her sister and B. to go back to my hotel!

J. used my shower to freshen up and I also shaved and made myself a little more representable. Then we took a bus back to J.s place to feed the cat. She lives with her parents and her sister in a very nice part of the city, close to the sea and just three subway stations away from the city centre. We also looked at some photos at her place. It was really nice to see where she lived. In western standards it seemed like a small apartment for four persons, but it was otherwise a really nice apartment.

After that we walked through her neighbourhood and she showed me her old school and other points of interest. We went down to the seaside to a really cosy restaurant and had a late lunch. I also gave her a necklace that I had brought for her. A local handmade flower representing “joy and happiness” and also a symbol of our national flower. I really wanted to give her something locally produced from my place. She was really glad and liked it a lot.

We then walked for a while along the seaside watching all the wind and kite surfers. We sat down at a café and just enjoyed each others company and talked a lot. It was also now we decided that we both wanted to go exclusive, and to really give this a chance.

At night we met up with her sister and B. again. We broke the news about the new “boyfriend & girlfriend thing”  ;)and celebrated in Russian “Champaign” We sat at the restaurant quite late, but finally we had to leave. B. was flying out to Finland the next day and really had to get some sleep. We dropped of B. on the way and after the bridges J. and I got out and just walked around in her part of the city, close to my hotel also. We found a café and sat down and had a beer, again just enjoying being together. Finally we decided to make it a night. We walked to my hotel and J. took a taxi home!

Just one impression after this day: Life was smiling at me and I felt like a very happy man!

[diverboy70]

By the way, I met with my "friend the Consul" yesterday He was happy to see me again and was really glad that I liked his country so much So he would have the Visa ready for friday!

So now everything is booked and Im ready to go in just under two weeks 

[Ade]

By the way, I met with my "friend the Consul" yesterday He was happy to see me again and was really glad that I liked his country so much So he would have the Visa ready for friday!

So now everything is booked and Im ready to go in just under two weeks 

Congratulations on your success :-)

I had a similar experience and met my gf for the first time in Saint Petersburg in March this year - I came down with a bad flu for most of the week while I was there though (bloody typical ) and she wasn't a local but from Arkhangelsk.

I was in Helsinki at the beginning of June meeting her again - she got her Schengen visa from Finland - and after a few days we flew back to Norway. We'd originally planned that she'd only stay for half her 30 day visa but at 05:30 in the morning on the day of her return flight we decided we'd like to stay together so we binned the tickets. Good thing too as I got to take her to a cool open air Nigel Kennedy concert which she enjoyed immensely.
She flew back last Sunday and we were both more than a little gutted that we had to part.

I'll hopefully be going to Arkhangelsk next in August if I can get away from work. I'm also looking into future visa possibilities for her - not a lot of options really besides the 90 day vistor's visa (90 days out of every 6 months) and the Fiancé permit.
I guess it's similar in Finland?

Oh, you might find this amusing; before my trip to Helsinki I asked my Norwegian colleagues if they'd been to Finland and what I should expect. The majority said no, and some of them said something along the lines of, "why go to Finland? It's just full of drunk ugly people." 

[SANDRO43]

some of them said something along the lines of, "why go to Finland? It's just full of drunk ugly people."

I've been to Finland only once, back in 1978 I think, for a course at the Kalastajatorppa (Fisherman's Hut, IIRC) Hotel in the suburbs of Helsinky. The hotel restaurant was on top of a separate, circular building, with a disco on the bottom floor.

After dinner at about 9:30 pm we, a bunch of some 20 IBMers from all over Europe, went downstairs to have a look at the disco, and found a very strange situation: girls and boys sitting in separate groups at different tables, almost ignoring each other, the girls mostly chatting and the boys mostly drinking.   

A band was playing and the dance floor was deserted, so we invited some girls to dance and they jumped up enthusiastically. I asked my dance partner, in her early 20's and named Ippu ( couldn't forget such a strange name), why they were not intermixing, and she replied with a sigh: "Our boys are shy, they sit and drink to work up the courage to invite us, but later they are too drunk to bother".

I hope the local circumstances may have changed in these past 30 years .

[Ade]

I've been to Finland only once, back in 1978 I think, for a course at the Kalastajatorppa (Fisherman's Hut, IIRC) Hotel in the suburbs of Helsinky. The hotel restaurant was on top of a separate, circular building, with a disco on the bottom floor.

After dinner at about 9:30 pm we, a bunch of some 20 IBMers from all over Europe, went downstairs to have a look at the disco, and found a very strange situation: girls and boys sitting in separate groups at different tables, almost ignoring each other, the girls mostly chatting and the boys mostly drinking.   

A band was playing and the dance floor was deserted, so we invited some girls to dance and they jumped up enthusiastically. I asked my dance partner, in her early 20's and named Ippu ( couldn't forget such a strange name), why they were not intermixing, and she replied with a sigh: "Our boys are shy, they sit and drink to work up the courage to invite us, but later they are too drunk to bother".

I hope the local circumstances may have changed in these past 30 years .

A few Norwegians have told me this joke; when you talk to an introverted Finn they look down at their shoes. When you talk to an extrovert Finn, they look down at your shoes.

Norwegians also believe that Finns get drunk as often as they can. I've worked with several Finns and they were quiet unassuming people but not at all drunkards.

My guess is that the average Finnish guy gets no more drunk than the average Brit, which is to say, a lot.

[steviej]

A few Norwegians have told me this joke; when you talk to an introverted Finn they look down at their shoes. When you talk to an extrovert Finn, they look down at your shoes.

Finns are not Scandanavian nor Slavic. Not Germanic either, I think. They are from some group originally known as Ugriks, I think. Perhaps this is more related to the Baltic peoples originally. Their language is not of Indo-European origin. The "classic Russian beauty" seems to be a kind of combination of Scandanavian and Slavic, with just a hint of Eurasian, just a whiff. What would be your stereotypical description of a Finn? For example, Scandanavians have very light to blond hair, light blue eyes, maybe some red hair (I think theword "Rus" came from Red), which is also why Irish people have red hair. WE know for a fact that very few of the Viking ships were carrying condoms.

[diverboy70]

To complicate this issues a little more, I am from the Aland Island, a group of Islands in the middle of the Baltic sea. We have a special status under the UN and international law. We have our own parliament with legislative power in some areas. We are totally Swedish speaking and really have very close bonds to Sweden. We don't concider us to be "Finns" and not "Swedish". We are just proud of our "regional status"