Travel account 2002-01-30 on the way to Tallinn and onwards to St. Petersburg.

This journey was supposed to have been undertaken already on December 7, but for various reasons it has been postponed until now. The reasons have been several: partly it has been difficult to get a visa in time, the Russians have made it complicated. You cannot send in the passport photo to the consulate; now you have to go yourself to Stockholm and show up. The second reason for the journey's postponement has been that at the beginning of November I became very ill. It turned out that it was the lungs that were acting up – so far I have had to visit the doctor 6 times – been x-rayed and examined down to the smallest detail. Now the lungs are healing, but I still suffer from severe weakness and to some extent also from some kind of lack of initiative and activity. The muscles have atrophied and I cannot do a single push-up; before the illness I could do close to 10 of them. Now, however, this journey took place to attend my last cousin's – Vera Petrovna's 80th birthday. It is today that she turns, but the festivities will have to wait until Bella, her niece, and I arrive in St. Petersburg tomorrow.

Yesterday we had the annual meeting at BRF Morkullan and afterwards sandwiches were served. The topping contained mayonnaise with shrimp, which was not noticed by Ann-Marie. At 2:30 AM I woke to some kind of whimpering sound coming from the bathroom. I had noticed that Ann-Marie had gotten up, and when I rushed up, she was lying there on the threshold between the hall and the bathroom. I tried to get her up, but she asked to lie for a while because she said she had severe stomach pain.

Well, I thought, there won't be any trip this time either. We have known for a long time that she cannot tolerate shrimp, but after the gallstone surgery some decades ago she has managed quite well. But that was apparently not the case. She remained on the floor for a while and then I helped her into bed and the attack seemed to have passed.

At 5, when the alarm clock rang, she felt quite well, only that she had a slight headache.

I have arranged with former colleague Björn Grönroos in Alby that he would drive me to Kappelskär. In winter, the ferries from Stockholm only run every other day, and I would either have gone the day before yesterday, and loitered for a couple of days in Tallinn without anything to do. Bella and Rein work and cannot take care of me; in winter there is not much to do in Tallinn. From Kappelskär there is a daily connection – from Kappelskär to Tallinn in the morning and back at night. Björn accompanied me to Kappelskär and will take care of the Ford while I am in Estonia-Russia. The return trip will depend a bit on how things develop.

I have a few things with me, a computer for Alexander Topper (my uncle Karl's grandchild). The idea was that I would have come by car to Albert and Faina in Tapa. Albert was going to do some improvements on the car, but he also suffers from lung inflammation and cannot do anything at the moment (he has welded too much and too long with poor Russian electrodes in unventilated spaces). His lungs are more or less destroyed and he is forced to sometimes use an inhaler.

It is quite laborious to bring a computer; I have it on a small cart, but my weakness makes it somewhat difficult to handle on stairs.

I arrived at Björn Grönroos well before eight, now at 09:00 we cast off from Kappelskär. This ferry is the former Russian boat "Anna Karenina" and operated in cruise traffic during Soviet times. Now she sails under Estonian flag with the name "Christina Balticum". It is actually not a ferry from the beginning; it is a real boat and it goes as if on rails. It is intended to sail even in rough seas, not like Silja Lines and Viking Lines "barns" on a hull. They cannot take much sea.

It is not tourist season and apart from the truck drivers, there are not many people on board, only a handful of Russians, you can see that from both clothes and behavior. This boat is mostly a cargo ship. Kappelskär is a fair distance from Stockholm and there are no direct passenger connections here; if you don't have a car you have to go to Norrtälje and from there continue with a local line to reach the boat.

At the moment I feel quite well, I sleep and rest during the journey.

I arrived at Paldiski. It is not a passenger port; it lacks customs and passport clearance for "ordinary" passengers, and consequently we were stuffed into a small bus for further transport to the customs and passport control. There Alexander met me and we began a somewhat difficult journey to Tallinn. There was quite a lot of snow, we had to change buses in Keila and on the way we dropped the computer. Upon arrival at Alexander's residence (1 room and kitchen) it turned out that the screen had received a jolt and the electronic system had shifted so that we could not get the bottom toolbar in Word. I hope that one of the computer-literate comrades can manage a repair. Alexander's wife Öie offered some food and their 3-year-old child Sigrid tried to scare me now and then by making feigned attacks with facial expressions. After a few hours we drove out to the Bus Square in Tallinn where Rein and Bella were waiting for us. Rein took over the package cart and the blanket that the computer was wrapped in.

It was a less modern long-distance bus with good seats and space for 20-25 passengers, and we started our journey at 11:00 PM. It is 18 mil between Tallinn and the border station in Narva. I was able to fall asleep and that part of the journey went quickly. We arrived at Narva around 2 o'clock at night. On the Estonian side, the passport control went fast; a passport officer collected the passports and after 10 minutes she was back. On the Russian side, it was swarming with people (as usual), with efficiency, it was low and it took almost 2 hours before we could continue the journey. The actual inspection was not meticulous (as it could be in Soviet times). We had to drag out our suitcases and let them pass through an X-ray check, carry back the suitcases and wait for everyone to be ready. Nobody was allowed to go out of the customs building until all were checked. However, I did not think of that. When we were done, Bella and I went out into the yard and instantly there was a female person who shouted in Russian:

"You are not allowed to go out!" I pretended not to understand her Russian and shouted back in English that I did not understand what she said. That was enough, she fell silent and we went to the bus's luggage compartment where we stowed our suitcases. Language skills still seem to be poor; if you use a foreign language, the person becomes somewhat confused and lets the matter rest.

The time for the journey was ample considering possible delays at the border, and we arrived at Baltijskaja Station in St. Petersburg at the scheduled time – 05:30. According to Bella, Tanja (Vera Petrovna's daughter) was supposed to meet us at the station, but we could not find her and prepared to wait a few minutes.

When after a quarter of an hour Tanja had not arrived, we decided to act. Bella did not want to take the metro, where we would have to transfer; she suggested a taxi. We walked up to a row of cars that looked like they could be taxis and asked the nearest man what it would cost to get to Moskovskij Prospekt 106.

200 rubles, was the reply. (1 USD = 32 rubles)

That is too expensive, said Bella, last year I went for 30 rubles.

How much do you want to pay? asked the driver. Shall I say 100

rubles, I suggested to Bella in Estonian and she answered affirmatively.

We arrived at Vera and Tanja's residence, a large and imposing building on what is called St. Petersburg's "Wall Street". Previously mostly party functionaries lived here. The houses looked quite neat from the front, but the courtyards were still not taken care of and there were old and new cars littered about, rusted sheet metal garages and open garbage bins. The stairwell looked as always in Russia, unkempt and dark; the elevator worked, but creaked ominously and looked too aged to inspire any confidence.

We rang the doorbell of apartment No. 6 on the 5th floor and heard Vera's voice as she asked who it was. When the door opened, we entered a fairly large hall, met by Vera, the dog Joy, and two cats. The dog is old and has been run over, it limped slightly. Tanja's son Alexej was at work and came somewhat later.

The apartment consisted of two large rooms (almost 4 meters ceiling height) with kitchen and bathroom. One room was completely renovated, likewise the bathroom and kitchen; the remaining room was under renovation. If one previously thought that Russian bathrooms looked unfinished, that was certainly not the case at Tanja's. The bathroom was perfectly tiled and the kitchen had floor tiles. The wallpapering was also very well done; there are apparently skilled craftsmen in Russia too, where were they hiding during Soviet times?

Vera is reasonably healthy, but has had a number of minor brain hemorrhages. These seemed to have healed; she had had paralysis on one side, but that too had receded and now she could move around fairly well in the apartment – though she was not inclined to go out. After a while, Tanja also appeared; she had been delayed to the bus station, and we sat down at the table with tea, sandwiches, and salads, as well as a couple of snaps to celebrate the birthday. For me it was then time to lie down and rest; I felt quite tired after the bus journey. On the Russian side, the roads are neither particularly well plowed nor graded, and it shook considerably.

When the rest was over, Bella and I went out for a walk. The residence is located between the Moscow Gate (a triumphal arch raised in memory of some victory) and the Novodevichy Monastery with its associated cemetery. The monastery was used as a warehouse during Soviet times; the building is outwardly quite dilapidated, and in the cemetery only the main path was plowed. To the right of the entrance there is a very fine grave monument in memory of the writer-poet Nekrasov; to the left a plaque with the names of all those who participated in the terrorist organization "People's Will" and sought the life of Tsar Alexander III. Among the leading figures was Lenin's older brother. He was hanged in the fortress of Nöteborg (Schlüsselburg) in 1887, and during a naval visit to Leningrad I saw the memorial plaque above one of the cell doors there.

After the walk and rest, the household began to prepare for the evening's festivities; the table was set and Tanja, Bella and Vera busied themselves with cooking. Around six o'clock in the evening, the guests began to arrive.: Vera's daughter Rita with her husband Slava and son Yuri, as well as another cousin child, the daughter of Vera's brother Alexander, who died a couple of years ago. Rita and Slava's son Yuri turned out, unlike Tanja's son, to be a very well-mannered youth – both polite and courteous. He made a very good impression.

The evening passed in a festive spirit, with an abundance of both food and drink. During the evening I called Jan-Åke Berg in Uppsala and Vera got to speak with him. Jan-Åke and Margaretha had sent a present in the form of an envelope with some pecuniary content; from me and Ann-Marie there was also 2 x 500 SEK included. Vera should be pleased with the presents. The money is needed for the apartment renovation. Around 10:00 PM guests began to drift away; I was also quite tired by this time and wished to get to bed as soon as possible. The sleeping places were rearranged; Tanja and Bella got to sleep in the kitchen on a convertible sofa; I took over Alexej's bed. The bed was moved to Vera's room, and I got to sleep in it with Vera, while Alexej was bedded down in the living room, a sleeping place consisting of two armchairs with some pillows in between.

Also on Saturday we took a walk, this time in Tanja's company. The weather had turned from –15 to +2-3 degrees and the streets were filled with water and slush. Tanja was going to try to catch up on some lost time, but before that we went to a café and had coffee and 50 grams of cognac. Tanja has become a "real estate agent" and apparently earns quite well since she can afford to buy and renovate an apartment. Now she is even considering buying a car. We went into a Ford dealership and looked at one of the smallest Fords at a price of 11,000 USD.

We walked to the Moscow Gate, Tanja left us and we went into a supermarket to buy vodka. The store was completely Western, filled with people and goods. Bella recommended the vodka "Russian Measure" with a label showing how the bottle should be consumed during the day. "The Restorer", "the first shot" etc. I bought 1 liter and two half-liter bottles at the easy price of about 100 SEK.

When we returned, it was time to prepare for the evening's celebration at Vera's daughter Rita and her husband Slava's home. We took a "Marschrutnoje taxi", a VW-bus-like vehicle that ran along the smaller routes, where neither trams nor subway went. At the final stop we were met by Yura.

Tanja and Vera live in the very center, while Rita's family lives further out in the "periphery" on Morskoj Prospekt. When we arrived at Rita and Slava's apartment, it turned out to be a veritable fortress. They share the entrance hall with another family and the entrance was fitted with an iron door. In addition, there was another wrought-iron gate that divided the hall into two parts. When we last visited them in 1985, Slava had begun working on the apartment. Now he had done a real major renovation, most of the old furniture had been replaced with new, both in the room, kitchen and on the balcony. The apartment had been completely remodeled in a Western style, with modern kitchen equipment from stove to refrigerator and dishwasher.

We sat down at the table again and enjoyed ourselves, but the lung inflammation takes its toll on my strength and as soon as we returned to Vera and Tanja's home I had some difficulty falling asleep. Partly it was perhaps because I had slept some in the afternoon, and partly the anticipation of the return trip made me feel not rested when I got up on Sunday morning. The bus to Tallinn was to depart at 08:00. We had a substantial breakfast, said goodbye to Vera and Tanja followed us to Baltijskaja Station.

The return trip took place during the day and we could look out the windows, but the weather was exceptionally dreary and gray, the passing landscape is flat, flooded and every now and then you see some Russian peasant cottages that look like they could collapse at any moment. It is actually not much better on the Estonian side either, although there they try to improve and repaint.

On the Russian side the bus stopped only once, in Kingisepp. The customs formalities at Ivangorod-Narva did not take very long, barely half an hour. This meant that the bus driver had to make some longer stops at certain places; he had to keep the schedule in Sillamäe, Jõhvi as well as Rakvere. In Rakvere I got off and was received by Albert and his wife Faina. I had arranged with Albert Jr and asked if he could pick me up in Rakvere and treat me to a sauna in Tapa. I left Bella to continue the journey to Tallinn and moved to Albert and Faina's SAAB. That car was bought a few years ago when Albert and Faina's son Alexej was visiting Sweden and I helped with the purchase. The car cost 45,000 SEK and afterwards I had a lot of trouble getting the VAT back on the car. Finally the VAT authorities agreed to a refund, but before that I had to write several letters and make about ten phone calls. The girl at the VAT office told me that I was the first to get the VAT back on a used car.

In Tapa we inspected Albert and Faina's house, also completely rebuilt, similar to Slava and Rita's. All the old furniture was thrown out, the kitchen was completely modern with stainless steel equipment and all modern conveniences. The bathroom was also remodeled and looked quite luxurious. After a little rest we ate some food, then Albert turned on the sauna and we took a good bath. I didn't have much energy, but Albert whipped me with the sauna whisk and it felt very pleasant. I could wash off the Russian dust and smell.

I went to bed early. The hosts watched an American movie. On Monday I woke up after about 11 hours of sleep. The Stockholm ferry departed in the evening and since the railways function poorly (there is only one trip in each direction between Tallinn-Narva) I had to take the only trip already at 09:45 from Tapa. Upon arrival I picked up my little cart and blanket from Bella at Tallinn's Kaubamaja (department store) and then headed to the harbor. There was a long wait for the ferry, which was not to depart until 18:00 in the evening. Alexander was possibly going to come to the ferry before departure, but he didn't make it. However, Sveta, another cousin's child, visited me. The journey home was on the ferry Tallinn-Frihamnen in Stockholm. Upon arrival Björn Grönroos picked me up by car and I could set off to Nyköping.

I must have looked terrible after the trip. When I got home Björn called, he wasn't entirely sure that I was capable of driving and was worried about me.