(Katie in front of a frozen canal and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood - an amazing church which deserves its own blog post)
This will be just a quick blog post of our early impressions of the city.
Economics - Thankfully things here are cheaper than Finland. The cultural sites are slightly cheaper than American standards, but the rest (clothes and food) largely seem to fall along what we would expect to pay in America.
Fashion - This is one fashionable city, especially as seen along its main shopping drag Nevsky Prospekt, where the people, largely the women, come dressed to impressed. Currently in style are boots (preferably knee high), fur, and bangs.
Architecture - this is an amazing place that many call the Venice of the north due to its many canals and waterways; although it may more closely resemble Amesterdam. The buildings are large, colorful, and ornately trimmed. It seems like you could constantly be taking pictures of the architecture. One downside to traveling at this time of the year is that the canals are still frozen solid - we are in awe of this city so far and we could only imagine how much more amazing it would be in the summer.
Smoking - Russians love to smoke, and can do it cheaply. Apparently a pack of Marlboros only sets you back the equivalent of a $1.50. It is hard to get used to as smoking is permissible in restaurants here, but thankfully the ones we have chosen so far haven't been too smokey. Also a blast from the past is the option of the smoking or no-smoking section. Doesn't it seems like ages ago when we were last asked that question?
We skipped an update in our blog about our trip to the northern Finland town of Joensuu for Katie's seminar. She will provide that update in a few days and this weekend we will update you on the rest of our time here in Russia.
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