Rushing around Russia

Firstly an apology, the internet was painfully slow in KL so I couldn't upload any pictures and now I'm in school which doesn't let me either. So as it is...you'll have to use your imaginagination.

Russia was, quite simply, amazing. The whole trip was fantastic and exhasting.
I saw everythign from Red Square to the Hermitage and loved it all. I think my favourite place was St. Petersburg. It had more of a European feel to it and was just a gorgeous city, it was just a pity it was raining most of the trip.

The most prominant memory was the cold as by the second day it was snowing, not that we minded, in fact we spent a god 1/2 hour running around in it. This didn't achieve much more than make us even more cold and wet than we already were but it was fun, and no one can deny that.

Russia itself is a very interesting country, mainly because of their increadible history which is both impressive and frightening. It amazes me how much of the old communist Russia still exists (it wasn't removed until fairly recently so its not really that surprising). However much we criticise Russia for its past, they are very proud of it, and realistically they have a lot to be proud about. They moved from a feudal and rather backward state to a modern power very quickly (admitidly at a high price) and are the main reason Germany didn't win WW II, The Great Patraotic War for them.

At any rate, though the people weren't the most friendly and the food was pretty dismal (fish...always fish...gah!) the trip was definitely worth while. It's made Russia seem more tangible than before, when studying it in history we percieve it mainly in it's role as the USSR.

Overall though there are many wonderful experiences, too many to write about here. I'll try and share some pictures later on...