A Waltz in Catherine the Great's Ball Room
We ventured out today with metro and taxi bus to Pushkin to Catherine Palace,
The biggest adventure for us today was our metro ride. We had to make a few transfers to different lines to get out to Pushkin about 30 km outside of Petersburg. Because we have difficulty reading Russian, we have thankfully learned to count stops to the exit spot. On our second transfer, the train was really crowded. Our group of five was the last to push aboard...well I should say four. The door shut on Russ's back pack. I was still on the platform. The door did a couple of quick open and closes. First Russ tried to push in and make room for me. Nope the door closed on him sideways, he muscled it open just enough to try and jump off, but that didn't work. A couple people drug his stuck body inside, the doors slid shut and the train took off. They watched me and I watched them as they disappeared down the track.
Fortunately we had just confirmed that we would get off at the seventh stop. I waited for the next train, a few minutes after the first. It wasn't crowded at all. I got a seat and rather than zone out and read, I attentively counted stops. I was hoping it would be an open platform stop so I could see the group on the platform. It was a safety station where there is a second set of doors so that the metro is like a horizontal elevator. I stepped out and looked around. It took a couple of seconds, but we spotted each other. Yeah! We were reunited, enjoyed our day to this splendid palace and gardens, and got to dance in Catherine's ballroom.
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