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Published: September 28th 2007
The train to Novgorod
We couldn't get glasses but the boys drank their red wine undeterred.This is our final day in Russia. Since my last entry we’ve travelled in relative luxury on an overnight train from Moscow to Novgorod with supper served in our cabins and the space for both us and our bags! Novgorod is an ancient city to the north of Russia. Believed to have been settled in 859 (no-one is really sure, it’s too long ago) it was ruled from 862 by a Viking king. Novgorod seceded from Russia in 1136 and functioned as a republic until the 15th century, thus it is known, according to our guide at least, as the heart of Russian democracy.
For us Novgorod is the city of convents, cathedrals and museums. More of them! Russia does not want for displays of its religious, historical and cultural heritage despite attempts by everyone from the Vikings to the Nazis to the Communists to obliterate them, and we have now seen our share. Novgorod was also the home of an excellent Italian restaurant where we dined, drank and celebrated Pete C’s birthday, again, and the town in which Pete and I got locked in our hotel room thanks to a Russian-manufactured key!
From Novgorod we travelled by day
Inside a Russian Cathedral
Beautiful though they are, we do not need to see any more Russian icon paintings train along with the locals to St Petersburg. This is a wonderful city that, we have discovered, cannot possibly be fully explored in two and a half days. The Hermitage, a grand and ornate palace complex on the river built by Catherine the Great and housing thousands of artworks spanning centuries, took us half a day alone and we only saw a fraction of it.
St Petersburg also boasts canals, a spectacular river - the Neva - shops, cafes, bars and restaurants galore as well as markets, more museums, palaces, cathedrals and some glorious parks and gardens. I’m a little sorry to be leaving as this feels like the type of city that really needs to be lived in to be fully appreciated. Still, the show must go on and early tomorrow morning we board a train bound for Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We leave Russia behind and head west to explore the Baltic countries. Stay tuned!
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