St. Petersburg

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Around 9am in the morning our cruise ship docked in St. Petersburg. Thankfully there was a breakfast buffet included in our fare onboard so we had a good meal before going through customs and passport control. The border guards gave some of the American students a tough time getting through (Eric had to sign his name twice as if they didn’t believe it was him) but for the most part it was pretty efficient. After this we began our guided bus tour of the city of St. Petersburg.



St. Petersburg is known as the “cultural capital” of Russia. It was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great and was the capital city up to the 20^th century. There are around 5 million people on 47 islands that are split up by many rivers and canals.



Our first stop was just past St. Petersburg’s first permanent bridge where we saw a pair of Sphinx monuments over 3,000 years old that were bought by the Russian government from Egypt. We then stopped at two former lighthouses that overlooked the Palace Bridge and the Royal Winter Palace/Hermitage Museum. Across the street we saw the former Stock Exchange building. Many of the buildings in this area were former warehouses and the like but now are mostly all museums.



The third stop was to St. Peter and St. Paul’s Fortress. I was disappointed to learn that the Cathedral inside the fortress is currently under renovations so we could not tour it. The cathedral houses the remains of all of the Royal Family from Peter the Great up to the Romanovs and was the beginning point of the construction of the city. We were still able to appreciate the golden spire and the other scenery on the fortress grounds. The grounds also had one of the two Royal Mints in Russia as well as a statue of Paul I where he is depicted as a spider with a very small head and long limbs. This is apparently because he was known to be much taller than the ordinary person in his time.



We then proceeded on to the Aurora battleship which is still used by the Navy today for training. It was used in the beginning of the 20^th century for war as well as WWI. It protected the city of St. Petersburg in WWII. Our last stop was to the Cathedral of Spilled Blood where Tsar Alexander II was killed. The Cathedral was built in his memory and took over 20 years to construct (more on that later).



The evening was my favourite part of the day as we had a traditional Russian meal with folk music and entertainment at a classy little restaurant near the Hermitage Museum. The meal was delicious and reminded me a lot of things that both my grandmas often prepare. We had beef stroganoff, a creamy mushroom sauce and blinsee (Russian crepes). The folk ensemble that sang for us were a lot of fun and we played traditional Russian games with them and had shots of vodka. Afterwards we headed out to a dance club called Xxxx bar where we stayed until late. There was also some “female entertainment” that I really wasn’t expecting that the guys really enjoyed! Clubs in Russia stay open until 5am but we definitely did not make it that late as we had a lot to do the next day (although some students definitely did so props to them).



After what seemed to be a very short sleep, we woke up and headed for our trip to Pushkin Village to see St. Catherine’s Summer Palace. After being to the Palace of Versailles and the Gardens of Versailles in Paris I figured that this would not match in comparison but I was pleasantly surprised as it was quite the opposite. The palace was huge and decorated with gold trim, marble, paintings and amber. My favourite room of all was called the Amber Room – the entire room is made of amber so it was quite phenomenal to see. We were not allowed to take photographs of the room but people have often called it the 8^th Wonder of the World (thank you Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bernsteinzimmer02.jpg). After a guided tour of the palace we had some free time to roam the gardens and explore. I was very happy as the sun was actually shining and it was a nice fall day. The colours of the leaves made it very pretty.



Following our trip to Pushkin we had a bit of free time back at the hotel to relax and shower before we left for the Russian ballet. The girls checked out the mall down the street but somehow I restrained myself (crazy I know) and took a little nap before showering and getting ready. We then grabbed supper at McDonald’s, as we were pressed for time and also curious to see what it was like. I ended up with some kind of weird shrimp wrap with fries and pop for about 7 euro.



As part of our trip we were lucky enough to see Swan Lake performed at the Hermitage Theatre where we sat front row ticket for only 55 euro. Although the performance was quite long (3 acts which took a total of about 2 and a half hours) I was so impressed with the dancers and the orchestra and really enjoyed myself. It was cool to see Swan Lake and realize there was actually a lot more to it than what I saw with Natalie Portman in the movie! I think all in all this was my favorite part of St. Petersburg and a once in a lifetime experience.



Following the ballet we were exhausted as there was a lot of activities packed into the past few days. We had already purchased tickets to go on a limo ride around St. Petersburg with champagne (I make it sound like a death sentence) so we somehow managed to stay awake for this and take part in it. There were some organizational issues and some students had snuck onto the trip without paying so there was very limited space. Basically long story short two of the guys and myself were standing outside without a seat in any of the limos (I was Roxanne-furious). They split us up and crammed us in where I discovered that I didn’t even have a glass for champagne. There was ten free bottles of champagne that were pretty much gone in 30 minutes (reminded me of Athlete Awards Night and the free kegs). I solved this problem pretty quick by drinking straight out of the bottle as I wasn’t a very happy camper. But we ended up having a pretty good time and taking some pictures of St Petersburg by night.



The next morning we had to get up early to pack up and check out of the hotel. We headed to the Hermitage Museum where we had a guided tour for the morning. The museum is the third largest in the world (the Louvre is the largest) with over 3 million pieces in 5 buildings. The first building we toured was the Royal Winter Palace where the Royal Family used to live. Peter the Great built this palace with 1057 rooms for his daughter, Elizabeth. It is in the Baroque style of architecture that I absolutely love as it is designed to extend space and I am always in awe of the elaborate decoration and design. We saw a lot of art that were part of Catherine the Great’s private art collection including two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci (he has only twelve in the world that are preserved and I have now seen 3!), a statue by Michelangelo, as well as art by Van Gogh and Monet. It was interesting to learn about the Hermitage Theatre after being there the night before for the ballet. Catherine had it built to fit 250 people and she often composed music here. She specifically made sure there was no seat numbers so people were free to sit where they pleased, which is why it is the same way to this day and I was able to sit front row to watch Swan Lake.



An interesting story from our tour: Apparently 15 years ago a man came into the Hermitage early in the morning and walked around the exhibit hall where a painting is located for about a half an hour before asking the curator which was the most expensive piece of art in the exhibit. When the curator pointed the painting out, the man walked up to it and threw a bottle of acid on the painting and sliced it twice with a knife. Turns out he was mentally ill and really had no reason for doing it. The painting took years to fix and you can still see acid marks today.



Following the Hermitage we then had a tour of some of the Cathedrals of St. Petersburg for the afternoon. The guided tour made three stops: St Nicholas’ Naval Cathedral, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Church of Resurrection (Cathedral of Spilled Blood). All three are Russian Orthodox Churches but are vastly different. St Nicholas’ is still a fully functioning Church so we were not allowed to take photographs but it is the only Church in St. Petersburg that has preserved all of its architectural features and was not ruined by the Communists. It was constructed in 1753 by order of Empress Elizabeth (Peter the Great’s daughter) and then consecrated when Catherine the Great reigned. It is dedicated to the Russian Navy and is in Russian Baroque style. It is said they painted it blue because Elizabeth loved the colour (the colour of her eyes). There is the authentic 17^th century icon of Saint Nicholas that holds some of his relics as well.



Next we stopped in at St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It is the fourth biggest Orthodox Church in the world. It is no longer a functioning Church and is now a museum, although there is a part of the Museum that still has service. It isn’t in the typical Russian Orthodox architectural style, but it was enormous. It took 40 years to complete from 1818-1858. The walls are 5m thick and there are huge granite columns that weigh over 100 tonnes each. The church can hold up to 12,000 people. During WWII it was used as a bomb shelter during air raids.



After St. Isaac’s we visited the Cathedral of Spilled Blood. This church is dedicated to the memory of Tsar Alexander II who was assassinated in the exact place where the church is built (they even put a canopy over that piece of the road). Apparently a political group attempted to kill the Tsar seven times before they were finally successful the eighth. A terrorist threw a bomb at his carriage in 1881 and it blew his legs off so he died later that day in the winter palace. Alexander was important as he abolished serfdom in 1861 and did other things such as allowing women to study at university. The Church itself took 24 years to complete, starting in 1883 and finished in 1907. It is richly ornamented and what is most unique about it is the fact that it is entirely mosaic tile inside. What I found most interesting is what the church was used for through the years. During Communist times it was used as a vegetable warehouse, then a morgue during WWII and then a storage warehouse for theatrical decorations until 1970 when restorations began. Restorations took over 20 years and required workers to take toothbrushes with soap and water to clean the soot and debris off the thousands of tiny mosaic pieces that made of the artwork.



The end of this tour marked the end of our time in St. Petersburg, as we got back on the bus and headed to the ferry terminal at this time. We have the same schedule for the ferry on the way home, with a day to spend in Helsinki and a morning to spend in Stockholm before I make the flight home to Lulea on Sunday. I fell in love with the city of St. Petersburg (even more than Paris) and definitely have put Moscow on my bucket list for a city to visit someday in the future.

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Photos

Hermitage Theatre
Waiting for the ballet to start