The tip of the Burg (The St Petersburg that is...)

While I absolutely loved my times in the Baltics there is no denying that I was giddy with excitement at the thought of venturing into the tip of Russia, St Petersburg. A lot of people are deterred by the strict visa restrictions and rumours of corrupt police. The visa was a lot easier to acquire than I had anticipated and while its true that the police are corrupt you just have to know how to handle them. The main thing is to always have a copy of your passport and your invitation when walking around, and if they ask to see your passport never give the original document because they have been known to hold it and demand a sum of money or they won’t give it back. I met some French people who hadn’t registered their visas and were stopped by police who demanded 3000 rubble on the spot. Ah Russians!

Border control was a bit special. Twice we had to get off the bus and take all our belongings with us. Each time passports were checked, questions were asked and bags were searched. Not pleasant at 2am!! Turns out the airports are even more rigorous with no less than 4 screen checks before you even you step out on the tarmac!

The bus dropped me off in the middle of nowhere and when I asked the attendant where I could catch the closest metro she just shrugged! So there I was at 6am I was on the streets, pretty as they are, frozen at -20 something with no idea where to go. I quickly discovered that next to no one speaks English, but some do speak French. So a few misguided directions and metro trips later I had arrived at my gorgeous hostel - Soul Kitchen.

They were so lovely and let me hop straight into bed which was well needed! Then over breakfast I became acquainted with some of the other guests, all of whom are awesome and most of whom spoke French. Looked like it was going to be a fun few days!!

The second I ventured out and saw St Petersburg in the day light I was in love. I could spend weeks people watching the Eastern looking men and the stunning Russian women in their big fur coats and black heeled boots.

To get to the main bits of the city from the hostel it was a nice long walk down Nevskiy Prospekt, Russias most famous street. Along this street every building is stunning, there is the Kazan Cathedral, Rastrelliesque Stroganov Palace, the Russian History museum and right at the end you’ll find the world famous Hermitage Museum. There were 3 things I came to St Petersburg; Vodka, The Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood and the Hermitage.

I was lucky to get there in the middle of the day and the line was virtually non-existent. Choice! It was ‘Celebrate the mother country’ day so I was surrounded by military boys which was nice!

After four hours of mingling and looking I went off in search of the famous Stolle pies. I had read about them and was eager to give them a shot. An hour of searching later Hangrr had settled in and I needed to get back to the hostel as frostbite was once again rearing his ugly head! On the walk back I happened to stumble across the Church of the Savour on the Spilled blood and was instantly captured by what is by far the most beautiful building I have ever seen! I spent a good ½ hour taking happy snaps before the cold really started to creep up on me again so it was time to give in to the cold and have a vodka fuelled night in with my new hostel friends.

The next day I had 3 goals – to find the elusive Stolle pie shop, to go inside the Church on the Saviour of the Spilled Blood and go see a ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre. Fortunately the Stolle search was a success and boy am I glad! Finally! Rabbit Pie and Wortleberry pie – Yummo! Right around the corner was my favourite building so I spent a good 2 hrs taking more photos. The inside is filled with hundreds of mosaics and is simply stunning!! Outside I went for a gorgeous walk through the snow laden summer gardens where I bought a hot wine to thaw out. The woman took pity on me ad spent the next fifteen minutes ‘forcing’ me to do vodka shots because as she said ‘this is the best and only way to beat the cold in Russia!’ Bless!

Feeling warm and fuzzy I somehow thought it would be a great idea to climb the Cononade at St Isaacs cathedral which has a spectacular view of the city. Vodka and icy spiral staircase equals DANGER! Was worth it for the view though!

Next stop was a visit to the gorgeous Marrinsky theatre for a ballet performance of Cinderella. Apparently there was a Stolle pie shop near the theatre but I looked for ½ an hour and couldn’t find it. Stolle eludes me L I opted instead for a gorgeous restaurant a bit out of my budget but very fitting for a night out at the theatre. For 360 rubbles (13 Aus dollars) I had a seat on the top balcony, I was expecting an obstructed view but it was actually brilliant. The couple next to me paid 1000 rubbles each buying the tickets from a tour guide. Rip off! I have never been to the ballet before but have been wanting to for a while. It brought back memories of our cheap Opera visit in Vienna! It was absolutely stunning and I truly loved it.

That night back at the hostel we had a ripper night, trading travelling war stories and tips on places to go next. John and Royce had been to a local soccer match Russia versus Germany and said it was amazing. A few people were throwing snow balls at rival fans but it turned gruesome when they upgraded to throwing massive ice chunks instead. A few people even ended up in hospital! Apparently Russian sport chants are also particularly hard to learn – go figure.

John and Royce met at the start of their Trans Siberian journey and have convinced me to do the same trip! I am now planning to do the Trans Siberian from Beijing/Mongolia up through Russia and into the Scandinavian countries. I’m now having a bit of a ‘mid twenties’ crisis trying to figure out how to go about it! I’m still going to move home but will be seriously rethinking my next move. This is the problem with travelling - when in the process of crossing one place off the list you meet people who put another 10 places on your lost... It’s a hard life!

On my last day I went to the gulf of Norway to walk on water Jesus style again. Twice in one week and I’m alive to tell the tale! It was great fun watching the people running around kids on with sleds, and old men ice fishing. Ahh Russia

Last on things to do was another visit to Stolle for a pie, easily found this time thank goodness! This time I had a fish pie, oh the deliciousness. After a leisurely stroll through Peter and Pauls Fortress and along the river back to the hostel it was time to pack up and get ready for Moldova.

St Petersburg is often referred to as a city that is in Russia but not Russian. Either way it is simply stunning and I will definitely be back to explore more of this fascinating country.