Sasha

"You are foolish, to take train if you only talk English"

"I thought I might be, it sounds about right"

Sasha was the first Russian I met and one of the best. I'd taken the night train Plansky, from Riga, to St. Petersburg and met him on the train. I think he may have became a sort of protector. I had sat down  and a Russian started shouting at me. I think he may have been trying to rob me, but Russian is such a mystery to me, I could have just sat in his Seat. Like a Cossack at War Sasha, started shouting howling and the man retreated in confusion; like Napolean out of Moscow. That was how we met.

I asked Sasha what the man had wanted, but he said it didn't matter. But he followed it with:

"I will sit next to you, so no one will rob you." In a benevolent way I think he was trying to scare me, because the train didn't seem threatening at all. Like all night trains it was just full of tired people.

As we left Riga, the train entered the boggy grass land marsh and birch that I had seen entering Riga. It looked miserable, really bleak. Sasha had been in Riga on business on a real estate trip. Prices in Riga have fallen by 2/3 since the finical crisis hit, there are more empty properties here than in Ireland. He lived in St. Petersburg, at the border he showed me his passport, it still said USSR, he had been born in Belarus.

St. Petersburg is built in 700 Islands, it has over 100 bridges. It was built by Peter the Great, probably Russia best leader, although Putin might get a shoe in. Russia is like no country I have visited, they have the west but this is different. Crylicc is indecipherable, the language incomprehensible to my ears. It felt like I was visiting a civilization not a city.

Sasha was friendly, I told him that I had presumed Russians were all surly, he said.

"Yes, But I'm not real Russian. Im from Belarus"

He spoke English well, but with a make piece syntax, that was amusing.

"In St.Petersburg you will make Big party"
"Don't flush toilet paper down loo, you will have chance of seeing real flood".

The water in St. Petersburg comes out the tap Brown. I wasn't sure at first, I thought my eyes might tired eyes might be tricking me, so I poured a glass and let it settle. It was definitely Brown.

I asked the receptionist at the Hostel if it was drinkable.
"This is not recommended. At least, you must boil it first". I  played it safe and stuck to the bottled beer.

Sasha said that I was just going to miss the White nights. The city is at such a high lattiude that at the end of may to mid june, the sun never properly sets. Twilight lasts to midnight and the sun rises a few hours later. Even though I was in may, the city had a sombre glow till well past two, but I supposed could be my wish for romantisicim re interpretating, light pollution.