LAST DAY IN

ST. PETERSBURG......

We had the morning to do a 'little shopping' before catching our ALLEGRO FAST TRAIN back to Helsinki in the afternoon. We knew what us girls wanted to look for but didn't know where to go. Brat ja Sistra Veselov to our rescue!!! They were on Holiday Vacation still and had the day off work! Thank goodness....we never could have accomplished what we did without them.

It was a very cold snowy day....well, hello, we are in Russia after all......and in the winter time too! What else would be expect. People were just walking down the middle of the streets because the sidewalks were sooooo bad! And cars were having trouble going down the streets because they were so bad too.

Just had to get a picture of the RUSSIAN MCDONALDS! You get the picture.....even with the last part of the larger sign missing.

I was on the look for some Russian GOLD EARRINGS.......Found a pair in this store and the Security Guard (ALEXANDER) helped me pick them out. He was so cute!! SPASIBA Alexander!!

And more traveling down the streets.....just horrible conditions!! Certainly not cleaned up like Finland!

I also bought a pair of earrings at this FABERGE jewelry shop as well.....this is the jeweler who makes jewelry for the Czar!!!

Cool shot (thanks to Wayne) of Larissa Vesalova and I walking down the street.

It was time to head to the train station and head to our train......

What a wonderful weekend it has been!! We feel so blessed to have been able to take this trip.....thanks to President ja Sisar Haikkola for arranging our time from the temple to do it!

A shot of the train terminal as we were leaving.

A picture of a little neighborhood from the train as we were rolling down the tracks.....

Vyborg is the last stop on the Russian side of the border.......used to belong to Finland before the war when Russia took it away from Finland. Such a sad story! It certainly is run down from what we could see....unlike what it is like in Finland.

And a picture of the CASTLE in Vyborg.

The first stop once we crossed the border back into FINLAND.....VAINIKKALA!!! TERVETULOA!!! It feels good to be back where we belong!!