Russia! Part 2

Our trip to Russia not only included three days in Moscow but also 5 days in St. Petersburg. In this post, I will talk about my experiences in St. Petersburg.

When we got off the train we went to the hostel we would be staying at. It was called the Soul Kitchen Hostel. This hostel is ranked one of the best small hostels in the world and also considered one of the most luxurious hostels in Europe many times over. It was a nice place. They even made you take off your shoes once you entered. I felt right at home!

our room

one of the hallways in the hostel

We had a walking tour of St. Petersburg to orient ourselves to the city and to understand some of the history of the city. St. Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703; a pretty young city for Europe. It is considered the Venice of the North due to its many waterways and Islands. It has roughly 100 tributaries and canals adding a certain charm to the city. The city was a posh, luxurious center for the rich in the 1700s and 1800s. There are over 30 palaces in St. Petersburg contributing the the outstanding scenery and architecture of the city.

The Hermitage along the Neva River

kinda hard to see, but some of the large buildings and palaces lining the Neva River

Street View

Government Building

After the tour about 8 of us decided to go on a roof top sight seeing experience. We had to go on a 35 minute power walking adventure to get to the location. We just made it in time! We made cut out 20 minutes of travel time thanks to our brisk pace. Once we ascended to the roof we could view city spreading as far as the eye could see. We were given binoculars and could look at many of the iconic buildings.

the roof

the view

St. Petersburg is mine

Then we saw a show titled Feel Yourself Russian. This show highlighted traditional dance, music, and song of Russia. It was a very entertaining and engaging show that was performed in Nikolaevsky Palace. Two people from our study abroad group were even chosen to go on stage! We had many laughs while they were on stage!

The outside of the palace

inside

After feeling quite Russian, we decided to head to Palace Square to see it lit up. The views did not disappoint. The two main buildings in Palace Square are the massive Hermitage Museum which was the former winter palace of Tsar Nicholas II and a building that is used for some kind of offices for the Russian government.

Along the Neva River at night

The Russian government building in Palace Square

The Hermitage

Our day also consisted of eating authentic Russian donuts (pyshki) and very large milkshakes that came with pieces of cake on top. Two very delicious treats!

my milkshake, I actually did share it too....

The next day consisted of a visit to Kazan Cathedral. It's design was inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It had many pillars and a colonnade extending out like arms on each side of the cathedral.

One of the highlights of the St. Petersburg portion of the trip, for me, was going to Grand Maket Russia. Grand Maket Russia is a massive 8,600 square foot model train display depicting real locations in Russia. It was amazingly detailed and truly massive! It not only had trains, but also trucks and buses that would move on the roads. These vehicles would not only use turn signals to indicate lane changes and turns, but also stop at red lights! In my opinion, the crowning achievement of this model was a building that would 'catch on fire' every 15 minutes. Once the fifteen minutes elapsed, the little building started smoking. As a result, the fire trucks, with lights on and little tiny engines roaring, would respond to the scene (see video on Facebook). Hands down, this was the most amazing train model I have ever seen. Even going at a relatively quick pace, it took us 1.5 hours to see the whole thing.

a winter scene! I'm looking forward to winter!

The small detail should be appreciated

Putin on a bear, in the model train set. The real life Putin actually rode a bear shirtless. A tribute, haha.

The fire trucks are on scene

I think I liked the ski resort the best

oh yeah, I forgot to say that it changed from day to night. So cool!

We also paid a visit to the Yusupov Palace. For those history lovers out there, this palace is where Rasputin, the adviser to Tsar Nicholas II, was assassinated. It was crazy to think that people actually lived in such massive, ornate, and absolutely excessive houses. The detail in the decoration and architecture of some of the rooms was something to envy. (I know I use the same words to describe these palaces and churches that are just so beautiful. Bear with me, sometimes words and even pictures just do not do a justice).

yeah, just a hallway... for real!?!

The home theater of the 1800s. Looks pretty nice to me!

The entry way into the theater

the beautiful wood work on the ceiling

the ballroom

One of my favorite things I did in St. Petersburg was walk around the city in the evenings with some friends. We would go to a cafe or restaurant then walk Nevsky Prospect ( the largest, most touristy, most populated street in St. Petersburg). I just loved the atmosphere. The streets filled with cars, the sidewalks filled with people and shops and cafes lining the sidewalks. Even at 10 and 11 pm there would still be lots of people navigating the streets. I loved going in souvenir shops and looking at the massive amount of Russian Matryoshka Dolls and other shiny and cute souvenirs. I even found a really cool art market on the street. I decided to buy a small painting of some of the beautiful buildings along the Neva river in the wintertime at this art market.

The art market

Matryoshka Dolls

One of the days was pretty much a full free day. So my friend Jameson and I departed for the Hermitage Museum. With our ISIC cards (student card) we could get in for free. The museum is the second largest museum in the world. There are four floors to the hermitage but there are 5 connected buildings that make up the museum. Even if you spent only 1 minute at each exhibit, you would have to spend 20 years in the museum. We didn't have that kind of time so we only stayed on the second floor and only looked at the most impressive and interesting pieces of art. Even then, spending no more than 10 seconds at the 10% of the exhibits we decided to really stop and look at, only on the second floor, it took us over 2 hours to navigate the place. Even with this massive amount of art within the accessible museum, only 30% of the Hermitage's collection is on display! Each room of the museum was adorned in beautiful architecture and design that is typical of European buildings of this stature. Again, pardon my lack of words, but the detail was just exquisite and very intricate even for such a huge building. It is truly amazing that humans can even make something as beautiful as some of these rooms.

8-9-10. Time is up!

In the grand staircase

A beautiful painting, the lighting is just perfectly done. The crucifixion of Peter

After the Hermitage, we took a pit stop at Burger King. We exited the restaurant and entered into what seemed like a movie scene. Huge snowflakes were falling from the sky among the old buildings of antiquity lining the streets. I felt like a true Russian sporting my beloved fuzzy Russian hat (called a ushanka) in the snow. However, to our dismay the snow quickly abated, leaving no trace of its presence but a crisp, cold air. The cold air was no match for the heat produced as we walked to Peter and Paul Fortress, the prison for political offenders in the Soviet times. As we walked along the outside wall of the fortress on the sand, I realized I was looking at the very same view that my painting depicted. I thought that was pretty cool.

The scene of my painting. Kind of small because it is far away

here is my painting. Hopefully you can see it.

The fortress

After we departed from the Fortress I decided to go to St. Issac's cathedral. It is the largest Orthodox Cathedral in the world. I decided to get tickets for both the interior of the cathedral and for the colonnade on the roof of the cathedral.

looking up at the dome

In the evening, we headed to a Russian ballet. It was a good cultural experience. I could tell it was wonderfully done with expert dancing and an overall wonderful performance. However, I feel, considering my level of interest in ballet, I could not truly appreciate it. I'm glad I saw the ballet but I would probably not pay to see another, it simply is not my thing.

The final day we treated ourselves to go to a sauna. After all, I walked 83.5 miles in the span of 7 days. After getting over the initial shock of a bunch of somewhat unprepossessing old Russian men being naked, it was relaxing. The sauna was extremely hot. The thermometer read 95 degrees C when we got there ( 203 degrees F). It actually topped 100 degrees C (212 degrees F). We took about six or seven 1-3 minute shifts in the sauna. They had an ice bath you could dip into and cold showers to cool off in. One man was even kind enough to give me these leaves you would hit yourself with that would help cleanse your skin, it was very nice of him. Saddened I could not immediately crawl into a bed and sleep, I went to a Georgian restaurant with my friend Karen. It was quite good. We then headed for the train for a 17 hour ride to Riga to meet our bus to take us the remaining 4 hours to Klaipeda. By the end of the bus ride I was happy the traveling was over.

I will do one more post about what I learned during my trip to Russia.