When: 29/05/13 – 02/06/13 Where: St Petersburg, Russia Stayed: Park Inn Radisson, Pribaltiyskaya
We’d been pretty excited about our trip to St Petersburg. On paper it ticked all the boxes. Extraordinary architecture, canals winding through the city, magical White Nights, a fascinating and extravagant imperial past, a plethora of restaurants, world renowned ballet and opera and an intriguing history. We were practically clapping our hands together with excitement. Sadly, our experience pulled up a tad short.
The downhill run started early on in the trip for me; it went something like this: trapped on a shuttle bus between the plane and the terminal in searing heat, two and a quarter hours in the passport control line with elbows in my ribs, on the receiving end of an adult tantrum from a sales assistant who didn’t like the size of then note I gave her, 90mins on another shuttle bus to the hotel with a driver who thought he was playing ‘dodgems’…
And all of that was simply arriving in the country and getting to the hotel…
Pulling up my optimistic pants, I assumed I’d just had a series of unfortunate experiences. Sadly the hotel staff did little to shift my perception. I wanted to remind them that it wasn’t my fault they worked in a hotel that arguably could pass as a prison in many respects, and that I had nothing to do with the selection of the location for the hotel being in quite possibly the most inconvenient (and ugly) part of the city. I held my tongue.
I saved my questions and comments for a significantly friendlier local who was our guide for the Hermitage museum. I’ll never forget my shock at being told not to be friendly to people I don’t know, not to smile if asking for help in anyway and to most definitely never compliment someone. What?! Apparently people will be instantly suspicious if you try to be a generally nice human being – a hangover from the days of communism… oh boy.
Fortunately the Hermitage lived up to it’s hype. St Petersburg has over 100 museums scattered throughout the city, the Hermitage is by far the most well known and prestigious of them. I read somewhere that it would take you 11 years to spend just 1 minute looking at each piece in the museum – that gives you an idea of the scale. In addition to the obviously impressive collection of art, one of the most memorable aspects of the museum is it’s architecture. 
Extremely well maintained in Baroque style; each room is simply jaw dropping. High ceilings, winding staircases, grand chandeliers, intricately detailed ornices, lavishly decorated halls – the museum even smells like imperial money. It was previously home to the Russian Tsars (also often known as the Winter Palace) so it’s probably no great surprise.
The Hermitage fronts the river Niva, the main waterway in St Petersburg. Considered the Venice of the North by many, St Petersburg is surrounded by water and is built on a series of around 42 islands. The islands are all very well connected by beautiful old bridges and the weaving canals between the broad boulevards make it an extremely picturesque city.
Everything centres around Nevsky Prospkt which is the main drag that runs through the heart of the city. Adorned by beautiful buildings, well known monuments, large shopping centres, grand squares and countless restaurants – most tourists make a bee-line for this area. Here we tucked into some traditional Russian donuts, gawked at The Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood, contemplated buying some tacky Russian souvenirs and were gob-smacked by the sheer volume of fur available for purchase in Gostiny Dvor.
Not too far from Nevsky Prospkt is St Isaac’s cathedral – an elaborately decorated church with a 300 step pathway to the cities best viewing platform. The gold dome of the church (now a museum) can be seen all over the city and is somewhat of an iconic landmark. The view was impressive to say the least; though we were a little distracted with hotel envy given the number of grand establishments in the area.
With so many palaces and museums to check out, we took some trip advisor advice and paid Peter Hoff Palace a visit. After a 40minute hydrofoil ride we entered a whole new world. A luxurious imperial estate with incredible gardens and one of the largest fountain ensembles in the world was just stunning. Built for Peter the Great, the extravagance of the Summer Palace cannot be understated. The only downside being absolutely no english anywhere. Sadly a lot of the impact (outside of the obvious visual) was lost on us simply because we didn’t know what we were looking at and apparently providing information for tourists is not necessary. Very disappointing for such a breathtaking tourist attraction.
All in all, St Petersburg gave us a very unique cultural experience. By the end of the trip I was almost used to having my plate taken away before I’d finished my meal, being grunted at in greeting and had internalised my desire to smile as much. Fortunately the younger generation seem to be far more open to speaking to foreigners and some even quite keen to practice their English. As a result, we found ourselves returning several times to the University area of the city to eat. Cafe Zoom was a standout. Despite a very mixed experience, there is absolutely no doubt the city is simply spectacular from an architectural point of view and the history is fascinating. Just don’t expect a warm reception or things to be particularly easy…
Cathy & Justin Abroad 