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Published: September 29th 2006
I promised I would write about our adventures in picturesque St. Petersburg. This is followed by one of Indie’s funniest entries yet… Let’s go!
Indie, the resourceful desi Russia has been quite an expensive country to travel across, certainly compared to other countries we’ve visited in Asia. Train tickets have eaten up most of our budget, but fortunately we have had a secret weapon - Indie’s devious zeal for saving money. His own brother has defined him as a ‘hippy freeloader’. This unscrupulous trait manifests itself in a constant search for ‘something for nothing’. For a start, a few times in Asia we’ve received very good service in restaurants and I’ve been tempted to tip (normally not done in many Asian cultures) but Indie has steadfastly refused to do so. He has also reduced me to hysterics with his vivid descriptions of ‘restaurant scams’ he has pulled back in he UK. As he puts it, “when you go for a meal in a restaurant, you should always be thinking to yourself ‘how can I get this for free?’!”. When I asked him how we could survive in Russia on only 20 pounds a day each, he cunningly smiled
and said ‘stealing!’.
In Moscow, Indie revealed to me the positive side to his profound resourcefulness. He is a member of several online ‘couch-surfing’ networks, all of which have many members in St. Petersburg. He duly emailed dozens of contacts in St. Petersburg, and soon we’d been guaranteed free accomodation with a local student, Slavan, and his family. This turned out to be great forward-thinking on Indie’s part.
Wandering through a wondrous city We spent two nights and three days in St. Petersburg, and we were very lucky in several respects. First, we were staying with an incredibly generous, warm Russian family in the south-eastern suburbs of the city. Second, Slavan was a kind host and great guide, dedicating several hours to showing us the sights of St. Petersburg. Third, the weather on our second and third days there was fantastic - blue skies, bright sunshine and mild temperatures. All of these factors allowed us to experience the true beauty of this historic city.
Slavan’s family were very hospitable. His mother warmly prepared us breakfast each morning; his charming father engaged us in several long conversations about our country and his own. Slavan himself
was very knowledgeable about his home city. None of them had met us before, yet they instantly took an interest in us and in our travels.
Having studied in one of St. Petersburg’s better secondary schools, Slavan was well-versed and well-read when it came to the city’s history and importance. What’s more, he also introduced us to some of his friends, who shared with us what it’s like to be a student in Russia. They told us about how they planned to strategically avoid being called up for military service, and talked of their penchant for Irish bars and for Guiness. They went on to warn us about the Russian police, who they described as “more dangerous than Russia’s criminals!”.
St. Petersburg has a cool, European feel to it. It’s prime location lends itself to aimless strolling around the pristine streets. There are several rivers running through the city, and around these the Russians have built beautiful churches, artsy cafes and green parks. Parts of the city resemble attractive, green areas of London such as Kensington and Hyde Park. Although we didn’t have much money left in St. Petersburg, we had a great time wandering around, taking in
the various sights. We walked up, down and around Nevsky Prospect (the main strip), and we saw Vasilyevsky Island, the Peter + Paul Fortress, the Mihailovsky Gardens and the city’s plethora of monuments and statues, many of them dedicated to it’s founder - Peter the Great. To me it feels like his aim of creating a European city within Russia had been fulfilled. We particularly enjoyed the busy streets running along the banks of the rivers Moika and Nevska. We saw St. Petersburg on a chilly, grey day when the rain was pounding down on the streets. We also saw it on a warm, idyllic September’s days with not a cloud in the sky. On both occasions it was beautiful and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Following our stay in St. Petersburg, we returned on another overnight train to Moscow. There, we had 15 hours before our evening train departed to Bucharest. This gave us ample time to stroll around the city and to re-visit some of the sights we’d enjoyed last time. We also saw some new parts, and again we were met with stunning early Autumn weather.
Battle of the Big Two - St. Petersburg v Moscow
Seeing both cities allows us to compare them. We spoke to several natives of each city about the similarities and contrasts between the two. For example, Slavan boasted that St. Petersburg had a richer cultural heritage - most of the leading musicians and actors originate there. It seemed to me like he was right - St. Petersburg had an artsy feel with a multitude of galleries, museums, indie cafes and the like. Moreover, while there we saw a movie being filmed, and on the metro we brushed shoulders with the bassist of one of Russia's best-known rock bands.
Moscow has more business-like air about it. It's bigger, the streets are wider, people seem more direct than in St. Petersburg. The former seems more Russian, whereas the latter feels far more European. Walking around Moscow, you can't help but notice the historical landmarks dotted around everywhere - government buildings, the Kremlin, plaques and striking signs indicating that 'Lenin lived here...' or 'some Soviet bigwig worked here...'. For me, it's not in any way a straightforward comparison, but St. Petersburg is closer to Edinburgh, while Moscow seems more like Glasgow. The latter is more important commercially, and
is considerably bigger, while the former is all pretty streets and culture. Except, of course, that Moscow is the country's political capital, while Glasgow is not.
On the train back to Moscow, a St. Petersburg's girl asked me which city I preferred. I told her I'd prefer to live in Moscow, but to holiday in St. Petersburg. "You prefer Moscow? What are you - a communist?!?" she asked jokingly. There is a lot of rivalry between the two - later, a Muscovite girl told us that while people in St. Petersburg may go on about how much their city is somehow better, Moscow natives simply don't care what anyone else in Russia thinks about their home city.
On returning to Moscow we were shown around by a Russian girl called Anastasia - a friend of Nikki, a friend from uni. Although we'd never met Anastasia before, she guided us around the city centre on a Saturday afternoon, and took us to a cool park in the south of Moscow. We have been genuinely touched by the generosity and warmth of the Russian people - neither Anastasia nor Slavan had ever met us before, yet both, in different ways,
were willing to dedicate time to showing us their city and it's culture. We had not been led to expect such hospitality in Russia, and that makes it somehow all the more attractive.
Some thought on leaving Russia Our opinions on Russian hospitality have been clearly stated. But there is more about this vast country hat makes me want to come back. After experiencing the transport infrastructure in many countries on the trip, I believe that Russia's is the best and most efficient. Why the hell am I writing about this? Because of the fact that it makes Russia a lot easier for travelling. What's more, if you speak a little Russian, it goes a long way. (If you don't, it might be tough).
We've now travelled 1st, 2nd and 3rd class on the Russian rails, and all get you where you want to go, and on time (unlike trains in the UK!). In spite of the country's generally unhelpful service sector, and the sheer quantity of people you see drinking on the streets (even early in the morning), this is a wonderful country. I intend to come back.
Back in Europe
As I write this, I am in Bucharest, where Indie and I have been for the last three days. I have been so excited at the prospect of returning to a city, and a country, where I spent one of the best summers of my life three years ago. I have been catching up with old friends and we've been seeing some of the Romanian capital's best sights. We are staying with Pia (Rochy's ex-flatmate and colleague from the AIESEC traineeship in Leeds) and her boyfriend Razvan. They are great hosts and it's been fun to see them again.
Mostly we are enjoying being back in Europe once more. We've been constantly on the move, and on the go, for three months now and tiredness was creeping in. We miss our family and friends, and of coure, we miss our girlfriends like crazy. But for now, we are having a blast in Bucharest!
Now, it's Indie's turn to get his own back for my comments in this, and previous, blogs!
Indie, on 'Being Ian Priestley' - Wake up two minutes before the alarm goes off just to have that feeling of
satifaction that you are ahead of schedule
- Go to bathroom and begin to brush teeth for about an hour. Then have shower
- After shower proceed to commandeer all available space for hanging clothes while fellow traveller is still asleep. Decide to leave him a small hanging space in the corner, simultaneously thinking 'how considerate I am'
- Lay out medley of cosmetic products on bed, such as sun cream, moisturizer, tea tree oil, deodorant and several kinds of aftershave
- After making a few tough decisions, decide on Adidas Sport for left arm, and Nivea for right arm.
- Decide to make time-specific, colour-coded list. Points include - 1. Make list, 2. Highlight internet cafes in Moscow even though we won't be there for another month, 3. Eat breakfast, etc... Then make list look pretty busy using bevy of coloured pens and highlighters
- Wake up fellow traveller and tell him a cool new idea he has had, even though fellow traveller told him the same idea yesterday
- Rant on about how developed and advanced the English language is
- Feel glad about having spare three hours before train
Rainy, cool St Petersburg - Day One #3
Soaked! Shortly afterwards we retreated to one of St P's many cool cafesleaves as it allows plenty of time to unpack contents of bag, lay them neatly on the bed and repack in ten different ways
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Marcie
non-member comment
Wonderful!
Can;t wait to see you in a few weeks. Can you bring Indie with you? He is a riot - I would love to meet him!!