Back on the mainland I was going to explore the two most prominent landmarks. The first was the red church which is the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral.It was not as elaborate as the Orthodox Churches in Russia with none of the artwork and murals along the inside domes and arches.A few streets away was Senate Square and the city's most famous landmark.The main Cathedral again had a simple white interior and was more minimalist in contrast to neighbouring Russia.Local...

Jumping on the ferry from Market Square I was going to head to the island fortress. Ferry ticket was 2.50 Eu ($3) from a vending machine. Luckily I had Euro coins.Heading out there are good views of the city landmarks. You also see the various ferry ships for this international harbour.It was getting windy and gulls were following expecting snacks. I still had my luggage so I got some rest during the ferry instead of carrying my bag the whole time.On arrival ever...

Today I was leaving Mother Russia and taking the train to Finland, back into the EU, Western Europe, and the real world. The train journey used to take six hours but has since been cut to 3.5 hours with modern high speed trains.I had booked my ticket online beforehand but Finlandsky Station was confusing when I had gone previously to scout it out. The main station is all in Cyrillic and has local commuter and suburban trains. Someone in the hotel had told me to g...