Saint
Petersburg –
September 13, 2017
 |
| central St. Petersburg |
St.
Petersburg didn't get off to a good start.
Our
plan was to stay in St. Petersburg for two weeks, attend some operas
and ballets and our son Robin would fly in from Tokyo to join us for
a few days.
 |
| on board the Sapsan (High Speed Train) Moscow to St. Petersburg |
We
boarded the Sapsan (high speed train) at Leningrad Station in Moscow
for the 4-hour trip to St Petersburg. Were met, as prearranged, by
Leonid, the rental apartment owner, at the station. Before we even left
the station he informed us that we had to pay the apartment rent in
cash, which we didn't have. We had been negligent, it turned out, and
had failed to read the terms of the rental agreement which stated that
credit cards were not accepted, cash only.
 |
| Ulitsa Dekabristov (our street) |
 |
| green around the gills |
Leonid
was friendly but firmly insistent that we get the cash. He drove us
to a bank with a Bankomat (ATM) machine before even going to the apartment at 19 Ulitsa Dekabristov. Spent a very
frustrating couple of hours (don't ask why) trying to get cash from the machine. The
amount we needed to pay the rent exceeded our daily cap for cash
withdrawals. We finally managed to get enough for a down payment,
told Leonid that we would contact our bank and increase the cap for
the next day. He took us, finally, to our ultramodern apartment. Had to spend the rest of the already latish hour
contacting our bank in Japan, by expensive cell phone, and
eventually, not without much aggravation, got our cap raised to cover
the larger withdrawal needed to pay the rent. We were not in a good
mood, overtired, and me with a newly acquired cold. Sleepless night
for both, tossing and turning.
 |
| ultramodern apartment decor |
 |
| one of a pair of monkeys |
Next
morning, September 14, went back to the bank, accom- panied by Leonid
hovering in the wings, and finally managed to get a sizable chunk out
of the ATM, but still not enough to cover the full rent. Leonid sent
an associate the next morning to take us back to the our by now trusty
old Bankomat friend where we finally extracted (something not unlike
having a tooth pulled) the balance of the rental fee we still owed.
 |
| apartment kitchen |
 |
| the other monkey |
 |
| our apartment building, behind the bus |
Having spent all this time in merely dealing with a cash transaction,
we did nearly nothing about getting oriented (except go-rounds to
and from the Bankomat) in St. Petersburg. Fortunately we had no shows
scheduled until September 15, for the ballet Le Corsaire, at
the new Mariinsky Theater. Good thing, actually, since we needed
a good rest and night's sleep. Under the weather with a cold and
exhaustion, we bought some ingredients at the supermarket down the
street for some chicken soup for body and soul prepared in
our own (rented) kitchen and stayed in.
 |
| sunrise the next morning from living room window - promise of a brighter future |
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