Kaliningrad

Formerly Konigsberg East Prussia, Germany, this city would be unrecognizable now to anyone who lived in it before the war.  Was astounded by all the unlovely soviet architecture and general neglect.  Saw an old smashed cathedral that was never reconstructed.  To pass time, I visited the most pathetic little zoo I've ever seen and wished I could have let the few animals free.  They probably had as likely a survival rate on their own as they did in those neglected pens.  I was practically the only person there.  By now, all the leaves had turned and most were falling, hiding the gloom of the city with brilliant yellows.  In a tiny cafe that evening, I had a hard time ordering from the Russian menu.  My waitress, explaining the evening's fare, stuck her two index fingers up from her forehead and said "moo."  I had the beef for dinner.  Cost me the equvalent of 20 cents American.  I swear I just can't spend this local money fast enough.  Feel like a millionaire.