This was my final afternoon and night in St Petersburg and Russia. It had proven to be uneventful despite all the dire online warnings about visiting Russia.

First I was going to walk up Nevsky Prospekt which is said to be the most famous and expensive street in all of Russia as it leads in a long boulevard from the Hermitage.

I didn't see department stores or any shopping arcades so maybe I had missed something. I found some cheaper souvenirs in an underpass and couldn't decide on a magnet. They had one of the metro map which in regret I should have bought.

There was a money exchange place to get rid of my paper Ruble bills. The lady's reaction was that I was a great bother and she exclaimed so loud "euros?" when I asked for them as though it was such an unusual currency. I exchanged 1200 Rubles for 20 Euros.

Nearby was the Faberge Museum but they advised me the tourist pass is only after 6pm and during the day it was group tours only. I didn't want to come back so I decided to just leave it.

I took the two stops home on the metro. The escalators are so long and deep I wondered what if someone fainted from illness at some point. Somehow I had jammed my camera lens by holding my camera against the escalator handrail for so long worried it was now broken for the rest of my trip but luckily it reset when I pulled the battery out.

I needed food again so got a kebab plate with drink for 285R ($5). Then I stopped by the Uzbek place to get a Samsa for my train ride to Helsinki tomorrow for 40R ($1).

Initially I thought I wouldn't go back to St Petersburg as I did everything and just remember being so tired at the time from all the walking. Looking back on the blog it wasn't as bad and I could go back at some time to appreciate it some more.

There was none of the stories I read on wiki travel; Russians are very patriotic and anti foreigner, if you are dark skinned you can be attacked on the streets, police officers will try to take bribes, street fights are not uncommon. I don't know who makes up all this stuff although I wasn't going to bars or out at night. I did notice brawling in tv dramas though. I saw more mafia types in designer cars when I was in Sofia Bulgaria but none I Russia. Maybe Moscow is different?

Russians are also given the reputation of being very rude and aggressive. The metro was quite orderly and people are more aggressive in western cities. People in customer service do not smile but that does not mean they are being rude as they are not doing any overt behaviour.

In the hotel I was enjoying watching some of the retro musicals each night. It was bedlam again with the school kids running up and down halls, banging on their friends doors, yelling at each other from ends of the hallway. After an hour a Russian man was heard telling them off. Not sure if he was their teacher, hotel staff, or another guest.

This was my final night in Russia so hopefully more quiet in my Helsinki hotel next.