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Day 38 - Saint Petersburg
So on to Russia! This was just our 1st flight of our journey since we left the UK after the cancellation of our previous flight (that ash cloud!). Flight from Warsaw was just 2 hours and surprise surprise no problems this time and also Russian customs was a breeze. We had our fake itinery ready (Prepared by an agency for us, this is common practice). Basically when in Russia the authorities insist to know where you are ALL the time and you are also required to register your visa in every city where you are there longer than 3 days. This sounds daunting and stressful but when we contacted our russia friends we were to be staying with they told us not to bother! Anyway we had no problems and were pleasantly surprised at the border at the ease of it. You are also supposed to decare everything in your bag, again customs just waved us through telling us not to bother. How odd?
Ok so we were in Russia, was a pretty good feeling and the weather was a brilliant after Poland and we were basking in 24 degrees. Got a shuttle direct
to a metro station which again was surprisingly easy. Also first impressions were the locals were very helpful and while could not speak so much english always willing to help with directions etc.
Prior to leaving Poland we joined couchsurfing which is a community of people who basically put their couches up for use to travellers in exchange for meeting new people from different cultures!. Great idea I say, and for St Petes we were staying with a great Russian couple. Anastasia and Andre and they welcomed us and were great value really. Once we got there and had a bit of a chat we headed out on our own. As we did not have a lot of time before we met up with them a bit later, we just spent a couple of hours roaming the centre of the City.
Nevsky Prospect is the main drag for St Petes, it is more or less a 2km stretch that passes loads of canals (like Venice even) as well as many really nice old buildings. We were blown away by the amount of churches in he area which are mostly Orthodox, and Kazaan Cathederal which is just massive. Near the
river is the Hermitage which is the main Musesum and Palace in St Petes and supposedly even bigger that the Louve. It houses thousands of pieces of artwork as well as all the state, palace and throne rooms. Pretty impressive. From there we also saw St Issac's cathedral which is another incredible building on the river.
No rest and met the guys in the evening to try out some Georgian food, they had this so called great restaurant literally just near there flat. Of course no english menus or speaking staff so was so great to have them with us. They just ordered a load of dishes for us and well we would see what we would like. Worked for us, we also tried some georgian wine, semi sweet they make there and wow it was sweet but really good. They are well known for it, dry wine is not what they do so stick to the sweet stuff.
Really hearty food, had lamb, spicy chicken, cheese breads known as Khachapuri (really good!) and garlic salads, All the food was amazing and the cost was probably for us about £20 so not too bad for russia where things
Kazaan Cathedral
On the Nevsky Prospect.are generally pretty expensive.
After that we went back to the flat and drank more wine, tried some Kvaas. This is like a drink with almost 0 alcohol made from black bread but is really good, sort of similar to ginger beer and really refreshing but watch that aftertaste!
Anas and Andre reckoned as it was Sat night and so light we would go and watch the bridge raising in St Petes about 1am. Now you are wondering what the hell this is? We were but it is a huge thing here. Between 1am - 3am some 10+ bridges in St Petes areraised to allow all the boat traffic through and deliver their goods, fish etc. Also To make the point about the lightness in St Petes, it was midnight when we left and it was still near daylight outside! The white nights mean there is almost no darkness between June - July so pretty special to see, even in May it is still pretty light. Back to the bridges, it is really a sight to see. There were crowds everywhere and was like a scene out of one of those bad end of the world movies as
the road just lifted up vertically on both sides of the road and everyone cheered!!. Check out the pictures. Anyway we finally got back about 3am, knackered after a really full on day.
Day 39
Got up super early as was Sunday and wanted a lift with the guys to take us to the station, we decided to go to Pedrovets Palace which is a bit out of St Petes, about 45 mins by bus. It is a really amazing place, palace, and right by the Bay of the Baltic sea. The main attraction however is the park which is full of a ridiculous amount of fountations. This was designed by Peter the Great and really is a sight to see. Had a beautiful day for it, but down on the coast the wind was
sooo cold. Got some great pictures really worth doing. Skipped the Palace. Also worth noting Russians pay 1/2 the entry for almost any of the main sites so Ania put on her Russian accent and hey presto we got in with a discount. This is the same for many sights in russia and sometimes it can be up to 10 times for expensive
for foreigners, this is a shame as there are so many things to see in this city for example but we simply could not afford it and had to be very selective. The money is supposed to go towards improving the attractions.
After the fountains went back into the City and the first of all tried Russian Bliny. These are a type of pancakes and are fantastic and cheap. They go crazy on condensed milk in Russia as well and these were the best. Also had some with Bacon, cheese so bit of a selection to choose from but definately I could see this being one of our staple foods while in Russia.
We then checked out one of the most beautiful railways stations in Europe (according to our trusty LP guidebook). It was pretty nice, check the pictures. From there we sorted out train for Moscow (our first overnighter) and did some shopping before heading back to the flat.
Met up with the guys again where they cooked fish for us. The fish was a special type of fish ONLY available in St Petes but I'm failing to remember the name, so of course had to
Peterhoff - Palace
Part of the 140+ fountains in Peterhoff. try it. They fry it and just eat it as it is though we took the heads off. They are small like 2 inches long maybe but extremely tasty and go down well with a good beer which we tucked into.
Day 40
As it was a Monday no museums were open so we were out early like 9am but it was a really bad looking day. Rain was coming down and was cold for us for the first time in Russia! Today we just did so much walking and covered the majority of the main part of the city.
Started with the Church of the Savior of Spilled blood (quite a name), this was modelled on the same design as the famous Basil in Moscow. Pictures are good, did not go inside as very expensive.
Then headed to the river to see the Russian Cruiser Aurora but unfortunately for some reason we could not get in today. Apparently quite good, never mind moving on we had a typical russian lunch which consisted of Russian Pirozhki which are smaller pies with different types of fillings. Definintely worth trying and cheap and easy snack for on the move!
We then headed to the Peter and Paul Fortress which is the oldest building in St Petes. Planned and by Peter the Great for defence against the Swedes but never saw combat strangely enough. Just walking around the walls we got some amazing panaramic views and the the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, the main attraction. This has a 122m tall needle spire and last resting place of most of Russia's prerevolutionary rulers. Also a note it now houses the remains of the Romanov family who were cruelly murdered in Yekaterinburg in 1917. Hopefully we will find out more of this when we visit this city later in our travels!
As it was getting late we headed back taking in more of the canals in and around the city.
Cooked for Andre tonight as Anastasia had gone to Moscow, now Andre does not speak a lot of english so we had a fun but long night with some interesting converstations. Reckon we got him using more of his english though. Tomorrow our last day in St Petes.
Day 41
As it was our last day in St Petes we finally got a sleep in till around
10am as had our own key for the day. Lazy day and got into town around 1pm to see the Winter Palace. This is one of the older palaces that houses some nice rooms of the former palace. Cheap like 60 rubles so was worth a go. From there really we decided to take it easy walking more of the City and getting back at about 6pm.
Dinner was again with Andre and decided on the Georgian restaurant again, is it that good trust me! I can see why it is Russian's favourite food. Said our goodbyes to Andre and the 2 dogs and headed to the station to catch our evening train. It was leaving at 22:47 and arriving 07:40 so pretty good time we thought. The condition of the train left a lot to be desired, but it was one of the cheapest on the St Petes - Moscow route at about £33 each and you have a bed sharing the berth with 3 others. It was packed out and when we wake up hopefully we will be in the Russian capital!
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