Day #11: St Petersburg

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More like a half-day in St Petersburg, by the time our overnight train had arrived, and we'd found our hostel and recovered from the overnight journey.

We had hoped to take a boat tour, but whilst the river was flowing, the canals are still frozen over.

We weren't keen to commit to heavy-duty sightseeing by that point, so walked almost the full length of Nevsky Prospect as a way of getting a feel for the city. It was dusty and crowded and the buildings sometimes dishevelled-looking, but still beautiful. It's true what the guidebooks say - it is like being in Western Europe. In terms of our overall journey, it felt like we had regressed! The style of the buildings, the enthusiasm for speaking English and French (much more so than in Moscow), the strong precence of theatre and classical music - at various points I was reminded of Paris, Vienna and Venice. The presence of upmarket tourism is also more obvious, wih many high-end gift shops.

Also saw sexist statue of Catherine the Great surrounded by her lovers - as if that is what she should be remembered for!

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