Maybe after 2 1/2 years, the long Russian Winter just gets to be..... long. There is something about needing to get a break from Russia that's hard to describe, and it probably applies to a lot of people who live in a country that they are not from. For me, it's that nothing is ever easy in Russia, and even simply tasks can take a lot of time & effort. And you can't help but feel like you're alone in trying to deal with it. And that can be exhausting. It's not really the language barrier; I think it's that's you are just different from most everyone else, and can never forget it. So when you get an opportunity to leave for a few days, it's as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, if only for a few short while.
We were in Svetogorsk late last week, and decided to cross the border & catch a local Finnish train to Helsinki. Crossing the border took a ridiculous 75 minutes due to new guards & questions about my passport stamps. But once we got across, the Imatra rail station is easy & small
I took some pretty cool shots of the Finnish countryside through the windows of the train. The sky was beautiful that night.
St. Henry's Church, one of the few Catholic chucrches in town
St. John's Church, an enormous Lutheran church
I love gargoles!
I loved our hotel bar, and love how they used a giant wooden table. Some day when I own a house again, I may have to try that (but maybe with fewer bottles? Maybe).
We found an outdoor flea/food market early on Sunday morning. The pictures aren't great, but we tried one of their Springtime specialties for an early outdoor breakfast. It's called Muikki, which are tiny lake fish (I think also called vendace) that they fry on these large griddles in a whole stick of butter with a spicy seasoning. You eat them with your fingers, head & bones & tail & all. You can only get them in the Spring, when the lakes are just starting to thaw.
I hope the ice & snow on the rivers starts to melt soon!
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