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Published: August 15th 2009
The coach pulled into St. Petersburg on the morning of August 4th. Tom came to meet me and guide me back to his friend's pad where we'd be staying for the duration of our time in St. Petes. We took the metro to an area in the south of the city for 40 pence and then travelled by bus to Irena & Sophie's flat.
Having dropped off my baggage we headed back into the centre and took a walk around the city. Transport is abundant and very cheap. The underground takes you to any part of the city for 20 rubbles. Many buses serve all areas of the city, and if that fails the unlicensed 'chasnik' taxis (every other car on the roads of this city- so far as I can tell), will take you to your destination for cheap.
The city is grandiose and spacious, reminiscent of Paris in ways. Walking around during the afternoon, Tom pointed out some of the Key landmarks, including St Issacs Cathedral, the Hermitage, Kunst Kamera, and the Fort (the first construction of the city - commissioned by 'Peter the Great'). Inside the Fort is the St Peter and Paul Cathedral, housing the
tombs of the Tsars. During our meandering we also happened upon the world sand-castle competition exhibits, which were pretty impressive. The evening entailed sampling of Russian Vodka at 'Datcha' (translates: country house), as small bar in the city centre.
The following day, myself, Tom and Rosa (Sophie's sister- also visiting St. Petersburg) visited the Hermitage palace/museum, a massive place with louvre-sized art collections. We also spent some time sorting out train tickets.
Over the next couple of days, we did more sight-seeing in and around Pt. Petersburg, visiting near-by Puskin, the Cathedral of spilt blood and the Kunst Kamera museum. One evening we went to the centre of the city to watch one of the main bridges opening to allow the boats through. The city is spectacular at night, with the illuminated facades reflected in the rivers and canals.
On Saturday 8th we visited Peterhof; the palace built by Peter the great with the intention of rivalling Versailles. Fountains in abundance. We didn't manage to go inside, as the weather was great and being a Saturday, Peterhof proved to be a popular destination.
On Monday we paid a visit to the Russian Museum, to peruse some
art including 'the last days of Pompeii', and purchased a few trinkets at the market before packing up and heading to the train station.
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