Venice of the north

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July 28th 2014

Published: July 30th 2014

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Phillip the Arab

The Greek and Roman collection

Arriving aroud 9pm we decide to get a taxi to the hotel so had to negotiate with the dodgy taxi drivers, our 5 star hotel (probably the first one I have ever stayed in) was located a few kilometres away in a beautifully restored building. Our room is lovely, comfortable and modern, I dont think they see many people wander in with backpacks. After check in we enjoyed a few drinks at a local bar before crashing out.

Next morning we headed down to the Hermitage which is truly an amazing museum, the palace is so beautifully decorated it is a piece of art itself, comparable to the Monet and Da Vinci it houses. My favorite areas would be the central asia and caucasius sections and knights and armour section. We went to look at the gold artifact room which was pretty interesting but one militant curator physically pushed us back to a "guide" every time we wandered. I kept having run ins with her till we managed to escape that room, we then went to see the master painters. My first Da Vinci and Picasso all on the same day.

After 4 or 5 hours we left and

The Hermitage

St Petersburg

headed for prettiest of the cities cathedral's this one also called the Church on the spilled blood gives St Basils in Moscow a run for its money. I leasurely walk in the boiling sun took us to Nevsky metro station and our ride home, the metro here is even easier to use then Moscow's.

Our second morning in St Petersburg saw us enjoy a great buffet breakfast before walking to Vladimirskaya station for the quick ride to Gorkoskaya and the SS Peter and Paul fortress, this was built to repel Swedes but was never needed. Interesting enough place packed to the rafters for Navy day, which is taken very seriously in Russia. Here we saw the remains of Romanov royalty, before jumping on a tourist bus to Nevsky prospect were we decided to take a canal cruise.

The cruise lasted 90 minutes and was great value as we travelled the canals seeing a substantial amount of the cites architecture from a unique perspective. We visited four or five pubs on the way back to our room enjoying a serving of the cities most famous dish, the beef strongonoff on the way.

Checkout was at 5am and even

One of the old gods

The Greek and Roman collection

with the help of a cab driver doing 140km hour plus speeds we almost missed our flight to Moscow and had to sit seperately. On arrival we took the airport train to the city before entering the metro. We then got lost within sight of our hotel before finally arriving. We then walked the ten minutes or so to the Belarus embassy so I could apply for my visa. What a nightmare that was, if not for the friendly Polish guy who managed to get me through the doors, translate for me, help me get my documents in order, come with me to obtain local travel insurance and finally lend me some money to pay for it, I would never have gotten that far.

Ruth an I decided to go back to the room and take a break for awhile it had been an extremely stressful day, Ruth slept while I tried to develop a plan in case something goes wrong when I returned to get my passport at 4pm the next day. As darkness decended over Moscow we went out to eat before wandering around Red Square, I felt sick in the stomach, if the visa is not

Stunning paintings from Tajikistan

Central Asia collection

ready right on time I could miss my flight and then I would be an illegal alien.

After a poor nights sleep I dragged myself down to breakfast but couldnt eat, am not very motivated either at check out time we walk to the Moscow museum as we have 3 hours to kill, but it is closed today so we go to a pub instead, it is hot here and we find no relief. Ruth goes for a walk as tension builds her flight departs at 6.35pm and she must leave at 2.30pm to be sure of arriving on time. We return to hour hotel and her cab arrives we say farewell although I will try to catch her at the airport before she departs.

I throw on my backpack and do the ten or fifteen minute walk to the embassy in half that time, I am soaking with sweat, they let me into the waiting room, I take off my pack and wait, and wait, and wait, 90 minutes later at 4.10pm I have my visa and I head for the Kitay Gorod metro station, jumping on the train a few minutes later, I change lines and

A mummy from Siberia

The Hermitage

arrive at Aero express station at 16.33 having missed the train by just a few minutes, I wait till 5pm. I board the next train arriving at Domededovo at 5.45pm and move quickly to check in, only to wait 40 minutes to check my bag and discover that my flight to Minsk is considered domestic so after all that I wont see Ruth off after all. I go to the Lufthansa desk and beg for information they tell me Ruth's bag has been checked, so I stop worrying and make my way to the gate.

There is no customs check in Moscow or Belarus, this has me concerned. My airport pickup arrives and I am on my way to the city, I dont like the driver much he is snappy, I arrive at the apartment I booked and ask the driver to wait, but he left anyway and there was no one to let me in, I tried the intercom but there was no answer, so as darkness was falling, I was stumped, my hanging around anoyed an old lady who yelled something at me which brought a young English speaking guy running, what are the chances of that.

Greek helm

The Caucasus collection

He and his girlfriend got me a coffee, called my travel agent (you need one to get into the country) to organise accomodation and had me in a taxi which he insisted in paying for within no time at all. Then on arrival at the hotel he gave me his number and they headed off to catch the last train home, just amazing.

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