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I tried to be somewhat practical about planning my two month trip of a life-time. It would be unlikely that I would ever have this much consecutive time off again for a long time, so I tried to include destinations that might be challenging to get to in the future if I were working or have a family some day. Russia was on that list.
I decided to travel with an organized tour - On the Go - as it is difficult to organize a Visa without having an "invitation" to visit. So the Russian leg of my trip was booked before I left Canada. I would spend a very fast one week, starting in St.Petersburg and finishing up in Moscow. Just a shot of Vodka, so to speak.
The flight from Paris was smooth and fairly uneventful despite the threat of an Air France strike. I was met at the small airport in St.Petersburg by Katia, our group leader and a few of my fellow passengers. A larger size group this time, there were 11 of us including Thacker, a fellow Torontonian who was an amazing 82 years old and traveling alone.
After a brief introduction at the hotel, a few of us made our way out of the hotel to have some dinner (plemeni and beer) and get to know each other.
I had a great sleep and awoke fresh and ready to see St.Petersburg. With a later start, I was able to sleep and adjust to the time change. However, when I opened the curtains I was surprised to see that it was still pitch black. At 10 am. I checked my blackberry. I checked my computer. And then I phoned the front desk. Yes, it truly was 10 am and pitch dark. I guess that's the deal this far north in the winter months.
Our first day kicked off with a tour along the Nevsky Prospect (the main drag of the city) and a visit outside of the Church on the Spilled Blood - a beautiful church city at the foot of one of the city's many canals. After lots of photo-taking of this stunning church and the pretty canals, we headed throughout the city to check out key monuments along the Church of St.Nicholas, a beautiful blue orthodox church that required me to cover my hair with a scarf.
We stopped for hot chocolate by the sea and did a drive by the university where people like Putin and Dostoyevsky studied before our big trip to the Hermitage.
For anyone who has studied art, like me, the Hermitage is a very important place to visit. A baroque palace filled with some of the most exquisite art treasures in the world - including some of the most famous impressionist and expressionist works. A dream come true.
After the Hermitage, a few of us went off to walk the Nevsky Prospest and stopped in for beer and snacks at a pub. We then made our way to meet the rest of our group at a small palace for a cultural music and dance show. We sipped champagne during intermission and sat at the back during the performance to avoid awkward audience participation moments. The music and dancing was really good - encompassing traditional folk styles as well as ballet and classical music. Not something I probably would have picked to do on my own, so it was fortunate that it was part of the itinerary. Still hungry after the show, we made our way to a burger place just off the Nevsky Prospect "St-Petersburger" which perfectly hit the spot! We grabbed the subway back to our hotel and did some people watching over coffee in the lobby. A long day - but a really great one.
Our next day was just as action-packed. We started out at the Catherine Palace, a bit outside of the city centre. The palace is magnificent - very grand, with sweeping grounds and is just as colourful as the exterior of the Hermitage. Though I didn't get a chance to see it, a short walk from the palace is the smaller once home of Nicholas II and Alexandra Romanov and their children. For those of you who don't know their story, I highly recommend reading: The Last Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky which tells the story of their love, their family and their execution all in the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. We also visited the Peter and Paul Fortress where I did see their final resting place (their remains were recovered years later). All of the Russian Czars are buried here in the church.
Afterwards - a Vodka tasting with traditional Russian fare like Borscht and Beef Stroganoff. And after that, a tour of the interior of the incredibly stunning Church on the Spilled Blood. Named so for it being the site of the assassination of a Czar, it is filled with gemstone mosaics from floor to ceiling. Partially destroyed and pilfered during WWII, it has now been lovingly restored and is a beautiful thing see. Next up - some shopping, where I purchased a gorgeous Russian mink hat to keep me warm in the cold as well as some treasures for my family, and a pretty set of Matryoshka dolls for me.
A few of us ventured out to a cozy cafe for dinner before catching our overnight train to Moscow. We ordered rounds of Vodka, plates of the most delicious french fries and what we thought was Chicken Kiev...but turned out to be just chicken wings. I guess we needed to work on our Russian...which we could continue to do in our next stop, Moscow!
I decided to travel with an organized tour - On the Go - as it is difficult to organize a Visa without having an "invitation" to visit. So the Russian leg of my trip was booked before I left Canada. I would spend a very fast one week, starting in St.Petersburg and finishing up in Moscow. Just a shot of Vodka, so to speak.
The flight from Paris was smooth and fairly uneventful despite the threat of an Air France strike. I was met at the small airport in St.Petersburg by Katia, our group leader and a few of my fellow passengers. A larger size group this time, there were 11 of us including Thacker, a fellow Torontonian who was an amazing 82 years old and traveling alone.
After a brief introduction at the hotel, a few of us made our way out of the hotel to have some dinner (plemeni and beer) and get to know each other.
I had a great sleep and awoke fresh and ready to see St.Petersburg. With a later start, I was able to sleep and adjust to the time change. However, when I opened the curtains I was surprised to see that it was still pitch black. At 10 am. I checked my blackberry. I checked my computer. And then I phoned the front desk. Yes, it truly was 10 am and pitch dark. I guess that's the deal this far north in the winter months.
Our first day kicked off with a tour along the Nevsky Prospect (the main drag of the city) and a visit outside of the Church on the Spilled Blood - a beautiful church city at the foot of one of the city's many canals. After lots of photo-taking of this stunning church and the pretty canals, we headed throughout the city to check out key monuments along the Church of St.Nicholas, a beautiful blue orthodox church that required me to cover my hair with a scarf.
We stopped for hot chocolate by the sea and did a drive by the university where people like Putin and Dostoyevsky studied before our big trip to the Hermitage.
For anyone who has studied art, like me, the Hermitage is a very important place to visit. A baroque palace filled with some of the most exquisite art treasures in the world - including some of the most famous impressionist and expressionist works. A dream come true.
After the Hermitage, a few of us went off to walk the Nevsky Prospest and stopped in for beer and snacks at a pub. We then made our way to meet the rest of our group at a small palace for a cultural music and dance show. We sipped champagne during intermission and sat at the back during the performance to avoid awkward audience participation moments. The music and dancing was really good - encompassing traditional folk styles as well as ballet and classical music. Not something I probably would have picked to do on my own, so it was fortunate that it was part of the itinerary. Still hungry after the show, we made our way to a burger place just off the Nevsky Prospect "St-Petersburger" which perfectly hit the spot! We grabbed the subway back to our hotel and did some people watching over coffee in the lobby. A long day - but a really great one.
Our next day was just as action-packed. We started out at the Catherine Palace, a bit outside of the city centre. The palace is magnificent - very grand, with sweeping grounds and is just as colourful as the exterior of the Hermitage. Though I didn't get a chance to see it, a short walk from the palace is the smaller once home of Nicholas II and Alexandra Romanov and their children. For those of you who don't know their story, I highly recommend reading: The Last Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky which tells the story of their love, their family and their execution all in the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. We also visited the Peter and Paul Fortress where I did see their final resting place (their remains were recovered years later). All of the Russian Czars are buried here in the church.
Afterwards - a Vodka tasting with traditional Russian fare like Borscht and Beef Stroganoff. And after that, a tour of the interior of the incredibly stunning Church on the Spilled Blood. Named so for it being the site of the assassination of a Czar, it is filled with gemstone mosaics from floor to ceiling. Partially destroyed and pilfered during WWII, it has now been lovingly restored and is a beautiful thing see. Next up - some shopping, where I purchased a gorgeous Russian mink hat to keep me warm in the cold as well as some treasures for my family, and a pretty set of Matryoshka dolls for me.
A few of us ventured out to a cozy cafe for dinner before catching our overnight train to Moscow. We ordered rounds of Vodka, plates of the most delicious french fries and what we thought was Chicken Kiev...but turned out to be just chicken wings. I guess we needed to work on our Russian...which we could continue to do in our next stop, Moscow!
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