Now this is train travel! May 9th, Victory Day in Russia

We had an 11:40am departure on the high speed bullet train from Moscow to St. Petersburg.  Since it was Victory Day we left the hotel at 9:30am just in case there was any traffic.  Our taxi driver, Demetri, whizzed thru the city and made it to the train station just in time for a 1 1/2 hour wait. 😀 We had plenty of time to buy another Russian sim card for our phone which will allow us to navigate the city of St. Petersburg much easier than relying on our ability to read Russian signage.

Bullett Train

This train is much nicer than the Trans-Siberian.  It is like a ride at Disney World. We opted for second class seats and they were just fine.  First class were double the price and just added 3 inches of leg room. 

The lounge car

 Lunch on the train, best chicken burger, fries and coke zero ever!

This train reached speeds of 198 km/hr which is equivalent to 123 mph. 

This is what 123 MPH looks like on a bullet train

Bullet train ride

After a very comfortable, fast ride we arrived in St. Petersburg at 3:30pm, the exact time we were scheduled to arrive.  We exited the train expecting to see our transport driver and again, no one was there to meet us.  So we started walking the platform towards the exit and finally ran into our driver holding the "William Thomason" sign.  We started walking, briskly, with lots of luggage in tow to what we thought was our taxi.  Well, once again Victory Day got in the way and all the streets were closed.  He was able to communicate to us that we would be WALKING to our hotel.  UGH! We have over 100 pounds of luggage. So into the streets we went and it was mass bedlam. For Victory Day, the citizens march with posters of pictures of their loved ones that were lost in the war.  We were walking with 500,000 people.  This made Bill somewhat uncomfortable since he had received an email warning from the U.S. State Department the day before to avoid crowded areas, especially marches and protests. But unlike the recent marches in the United States, this was very "approved" and peaceful, organized, "clean", and people were walking in solidarity. It was nice and refreshing to see and we couldn't help but wonder what they think of the US when they see our violent marches/protests on the news.  

Walking to the hotel with our "driver". Click here for video. Victory Day

View from our hotel window.

We received a welcome drink of Champagne after checking in to our home for the next three days...the Nevsky Forum Hotel...and watched the marchers from our hotel window.

We left the hotel late in the evening for a very nice dinner.   Bill finally found Beef Stroganoff on the menu and it was outstanding! This city is quainter and livelier than Moscow, and just has a nice feel to it.  Still plenty of police everywhere, but they are nice, friendly and usually can speak a bit of English. It's actually very comforting to see them everywhere! We are excited to tour this city over the next two days!