We arrived in Russia on a strange day. The gigantic beauty of St. Petersburg was shocking. Bright and colorful architecture contrasted with submarines on the water channels and military airplanes in the sky.  Navy men walked around, as people gathered around the city's water channels with Russian flags.

 

We would later find that this wasn't normal. They were practicing for an upcoming military parade. For me, this was a strange thing to witness. After living in Germany for many years, I had gotten used to seeing flags relegated to football stadiums. Seeing this display of military power was unsettling. It reminded me of my country, Colombia, where military presence has become normalized and is even used as a symbol of national pride.
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Beyond the shock of that first day, the beauty of the cities, the food, and the people were delightful and much more impressive than any symbol of military power displayed that first day.