Tuesday, June 18, 2013

St. Petersburg, Russia to Tallinn, Estonia


Waiting at St. Petersburg bus station to take the overnight (about 9pm-5am) bus to Tallinn, Estonia.  We have loved every minute of Russia (or most of the minutes).  However, we can not wait to get to Europe!  The security check at about 2 am was the surest sign that we were leaving a developing world and entering developed Russia.  On the Russian side of the border, everything was rusty, we had to exit the bus, take all of our belongings, wait in a long line for another unhappy immigration officer (Jihye's was actually talkative, perhaps had never seen a Korean passport at this particular border crossing) get an exit stamp, and get back on the bus.  We drove forward about 50 meters and at the entrance to Estonia (and Europe) the immigration official got on board and took everyone's passports, only a slight double take at us non-Russians, and 10 minutes later he came back and we were on our way.  First sight as we leave the border crossing, literally 20 feet from the border...a massive lit castle structure, clean roads, new buildings, and an unescapable feeling of order and progress.   Ahhhh.....

http://youtu.be/-op-P6r_FGY

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