St Petersburg

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April 10th 2008

Published: April 11th 2008

After walking through a few of the magnificent Moscow metro stations for the last time (beautiful design is not something I had previously associated with a subway station, but the mosaics, gold leafing, sculptures and leadlight designs of the Moscow metro make it a great experience in itself), we made our way to our train platform to depart for St Petersburg. The Nikolaevsk Ekspress is by far and away the most luxurious train I have been on over the last few months. The beds were comfy, service impeccable and the supplied breakfast was both tasty and plentiful.

Arriving in St Petersburg, we managed to successfully navigate our way to our hostel. The Puppet Hostel is located above a puppet theatre and has a feel that is just as ancient as that performance art, dust and creaks included. The upside is that the hostel is located right in the heart of the city and they provided us with a free breakfast and free visa registration (you have to register your visa in every city you visit in Russia!). In the afternoon we went and visited the 'Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood', which is built on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated, thus the gruesome name. The outside of this church is based on the design of St Basil's in Moscow, so I already liked it before setting foot inside; however, nothing could prepare me for the sight I was about to see when I did step inside. Having tried my hand at mosaic artwork once before, I can appreciate how long it takes to complete even the smallest piece of mosaic design. Therefore it was with wonder and awe that I gazed at the walls, ceilings, pillars and domes of the interior of this amazing building. From the ground to the top of the central dome is covered with the most incredible mosaic design I have ever seen, to the point where I was rooted to the spot where I stood as I entered the building, such was its magnificence.

We also visited the Hermitage during our stay in St Petersburg, which is essentially an enormous art and artifacts museum in the old Winter Palace of the Tsars. It is yet another amazing amazing place to visit in this city. The design of the rooms that formed the old Winter Palace are phenomenal in the their own right, then you have to pinch yourself that you are looking at artifacts that are 10,000 years old from places like Egypt, then in the next room you are standing face to face with an original work by Da Vinci or Van Gough or Rembrandt or Picasso or Michelangelo or Rafael - the list goes on. As we were about to enter the hermitage from Dvortsovaya Ploschad, we heard the sounds of many musical instruments booming from the open space between the entrance and the 47.5m tall Alexander Column. What we saw and heard was a 240 piece military brass marching band. The sound of such an enormous band was incredible to hear and the scene was reminiscent of footage from WWII.

I found that simply wandering the streets of St Petersburg was a terrific way to see the grand buildings and get a feel for the city. There are some interesting bridges that span the canals, such as Bankovsky Most which has gold winged gryphons holding the suspension cables between their teeth. Anichkov Most is another bridge with impressive and famous statues, in fact, I probably found these sculptures more impressive than the gryphons adorned with gold, as their design was more captivating and arresting. Unfortunately the damp weather prevented us from taking a boat cruise around the canals, but it could not dampen the enjoyment I experienced from visiting this remarkable city. There is no doubt that St Petersburg is a beautiful city.

Another place we visited during our stay was Tinkoff Brewery, which had some very tasty beers indeed. However, it is a sobering thought to know that in a few days time I will be standing in front of a classroom full of students in England, but it's a necessary evil if we are going to see more of the world and eventually get back home to Australia.

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