Tuesday : Fine

Well as predicted the sleep was pretty rubbish, and we couldn't wait to get on with our day. We quickly had breakfast and threw the rest of our belongings in our packs.

To our surprise it wasn't as easy getting back to the airport, as it was coming into town. The metro was no problem, but it's doesn't go to the airport. It stops about 6kms before the airport, and then we had to get a bus.

The bus stop was nowhere to be seen once above ground though. there were plenty of bus stops, but none with our bus number. There wasn't even any airport signs leading people to where the stop is.

We started asking people where the airport bus stop was but no one knew what we were saying. My Russian isn't very good. We eventually saw the bus drive by and flagged him from the footpath. He just pointed in the direction that we needed to be going.

The bus stop was really far from the train station, maybe a 5-10min walk on the other side of the road heading in the direction to the airport. Which was strange because on the way in to town, the airport bus dropped us off right out the front of the metro station.

The night before we even asked the hostel staff if it was the same way getting to the international terminal instead of the domestic. They said yes, nothing about where they stop was. They even told us the bus number to the domestic terminal, not the international.

Luckily Kim again came to the recuse and read the bus map at the stop correctly and we got on the right bus to the international terminal. Which was great because we jumped straight on the next bus. The lines of people waiting for buses to the airport were shocking. The domestic airport bus lines were huge, we would of definitely missed our flight if we waited for that bus.

I think luck played a part with us getting through the airport too. We seemed to time our arrival perfectly. We were at the start of our bag drop off, immigration and security queues. Each time I looked back the lines were ridiculous long and confusing, it wasn't a very efficient setup at the airport either.

Apart from the trip to the airport Saint Petersburg was great. A really pretty city, could be a new favorite of mine in Europe. Loved the buildings and streets and there are lots of parks and squares to relax in. Actually I have been blown away by these two Russian cities. The food is great the people were friendly, the cities were very clean and well presented. Well it is summer and the athletic world championships are on here, they are holding the Winter Olympics too. So everyone probably has been told to turn that frown upside down.

The flight was fine, and we were making our way into Berlin. We took a few trains to get to the hotel, it was very simple, the signs had three or four languages on them. So easy compared to the Russian metro.

The hotel is right near a metro station, which is handy, but we were too early to check in. We gained two hours in the flight over.

We asked reception were the nearest pub was, we got a bit of a laugh, but we were in need of a good beer and a feast. The friendly fello said that there are more cafes and restaurants selling beer than pubs. He mentioned a few places and pointed us in the right direction.

There was a nice strip of cafes and restaurants, and the only pub was the Irish pub. At least one in every town! The pub was on the list of places to check out, so we went in.

Not a bad place at all, we grabbed a table near a window to people watch and had a couple german beers, and some greasy pub food. We used the wifi to organise some bus tickets to Dresden and train tickets to Prague. We also booked another free walking tour for tomorrow.

After some more beers and feeling a bit pissy, we went to check in. On the way back we decided to pickup some more drinks at a shop to have back in the room. We were so tired, maybe because we have had about 3-4 hours sleep in two nights. We thought that we needed an afternoon off, we just wanted to relax and have some drinks watching some TV.