Day 15: The Idiot and Svetlana

It is only natural that a restaurant in St. Petersburg would pay homage to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, one of the greatest authors in Russian history.  In this case, “The Idiot” is a cozy restaurant named after one of his famous novels.  Like many places in Europe, the Idiot is a clear example of making the most of a small space.  The restaurant itself is located in the basement of one of the buildings yet after you step inside you quickly forget its outside appearance in light of its well furnished and lit interior.

Inside “The Idiot'”

Lance and his family were a bit delayed getting to the restaurant, unfortunately, because Jasper slipped on the hardwood floor of the hostel and got a nasty cut on his chin.  Of course, figuring out how to get medical care in a foreign country isn’t a very simple thing… but thankfully, one of the other hostel guests, Svetlana, heard the commotion and volunteered to help.  And what a help it was!  Svetlana, a resident of Kazakhstan, can speak English and Russian fluently and spent the rest of the day going from place to place trying to find one that could help.  They finally found a doctor at the American Medical Clinic which strangely enough isn’t owned by Americans anymore.  

  In thanks for her help, Lance invited Svetlana to dinner and the subsequent “Feel Yourself Russian” show at the Nikolaevsky Palace.  Here is Svetlana, Jasper (sporting some stitches), and two happy parents.

Svetlana is a college student double majoring in Mathematics and Computer Modeling with a mixed Russian/Ukrainian background.  Her parents were moved to Kazakhstan during 1980s when it was still a part of the Soviet Union and after the fall of communism her parents continued to live there.  She has some relatives that live in St. Petersburg and had always heard of how great the city is, so she finally made it out there and was spending a couple weeks in the city.  Her sister Oksana who was studying abroad in North America (also majoring in Mathematics and another technical field) was coming to visit her as well.

Our next stop after dinner was a show called “Fell Yourself Russian” at the Nikolaevsky Palace.  Due to Jasper’s fall, we were a bit pressed for time but thankfully the restaurant is fairly close to the palace and just to be safe, Dad and I formed an advanced party to secure tickets and seats.  Lance invited Svetlana to come with us to the show, and as it turned out I had an extra ticket (originally bought for Jasper, but after the experience at the Russian National Ballet Theater, I realized Jasper would spend most of his time either in someone’s lap or walking up and down the row).  So, with dinner complete, off we went for some more Russian culture!