Here goes nothing....Enjoy!
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I fell in love with Saint Petersburg when I first visited it
in 2009. It was my first ever visit to Russia (my family and I lived in the
Ukraine prior to our move to South Africa) and when my parents first moved over
to Russia, they chose Saint Petersburg as their home. I remember my mom
fetching me from the airport and as we drove through the city I starred at it in
awe- the city was beautiful beyond words!
A little bit of history – Saint Petersburg was built in 1703
by Tsar Peter the Great (hence the name Petersburg). It was established as the
capital of Imperial Russia and stayed so until the revolution in 1918. Then it
was renamed to Leningrad, but when the USSR broke down in 1990, it went back to
being called Saint Petersburg. The Russians affectionately call the city
“Piter”. Don’t get me wrong, I love Moscow. I love the bright city lights and
the feeling of being in a real metropolis. But Piter is something different.
The city is enriched with stunning architecture, historical museums and has
culture bursting at its seems. To this day the Russians still refer to St.
Petersburg as the cultural capital of the county.
What There Is To See
If you are ever planning a trip to Russia, take the 70% of
the time that you are going to be there, and schedule it for St. Petersburg.
There is so much to see in St. Petersburg that you would need a couple of weeks
or a month to properly see everything this gorgeous city has to offer. I’ve
complied my personal favourite places.
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| Church of Christ the Saviour on Spilled Blood on my hand. It's Midnight... |
1. Church of Our Saviour
on Spilled Blood(Spas na Krovi) and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan(Kazanski
Sobor)
There is a variety of
stunning religious marks all over the St. Petersburg but these two are my favourite.
They are both located by Nevskiy Prospect-the main street in Piter. My parents have
a thing for always wanting to live right in the centre of the city(I guess
living in Benoni while in SA was too much for them) and they had the most gorgeous,
antique apartment that overlooked both of these cathedrals in one go. When I
went there in the summer, we stayed up late on the balcony while drinking tea
and just admired these gorgeous pieces of architecture. How might we see at
night you might ask? Well that is my must-see thing number 2…
2.White Nights.
This is a phenomenon that occurs in St. Petersburg during
the months of May to July. The sun doesn’t go down, or when it does it goes
down for an hour or two. It is the most fascinating thing, realizing that its
midnight yet the sun is still high up in the sky. This is a beautiful time in
Piter as everyone celebrates and rejoices the summer, and groups of friends are
walking the city, couples are making out in the streets and people are still
taking boat rides at 3 in the morning. Speaking of the boat rides…
3. Take a boat ride
along St. Petersburg
Piter is actually located on water. In runs on a couple of channels
and mainly on the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. I loved
taking a city tour and exploring the city while on a boat. During the night
time the boats provide you blankets and hot tea so you are comfy and cosy.
Another cool thing to see is the separation of the bridges. Because Piter is mainly surrounded by water, there are lots and
lots of bridges all over town. Of course some big cargo boats do not fit
through the bridges, so at night-time, some bridges get separated in order for
the boats to come through. It is a beautiful and a rather romantic sight!
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| State of Heritage Museum |
4. Visit the State of
Heritage Museum
If you love history and art, this place is for you. Build by
Catherine The Great in 1764 , a part of the museum use to serve as the winter
palace residence for the royals. Now the palace hosts the most magnificent
collection of art- there are over 2.7 million exhibits in it! You need a few
good days to explore the museum. I suggest hiring a tour-guide for this one,
because trust me, unless you are a history buff it is hard to understand what’s
what.
5. Visit
Peterhof(Petrodvoretz)
One of the highlights of my trip to Piter was visiting
Peterhof. Petehof is often referred to as the “Russian Versailles” and the
Palace Of Versailles was what inspired Peter the Great to build it in the 18th
century. Peterhof is about an hour out of Piter and its grounds are
spectacular, and just the sight of all of these gorgeous fountains should be
enough to lure you in! We got an excursion of the palace where everything is
still preserved as it stood during the Imperial Russia days(the palace was
actually restored in 1947 after the Germans bombed in during the World Word 2.).
You get to see the massive gold dining room, portraits of the royals in their
rooms, and their impressive bedrooms. It was a magnificent excursion and I
would gladly visit there again!
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| View of Piter from St. Isaacs Cathedral |
Of
course there is a lot more to see in St.Petersburg such as the Palace Square,
Saint Isaacs Cathedral and you can even take a tour of the city on the roofs-
but I have so much time here to explain
everything.
Where to stay
A popular way of vacationing in Russia(especially during the
summer) is hiring out a “suburban” flat or a room. It is a lot cheaper than a
hotel , and the advertisements for this sort of accommodations are available in
newspapers. It might seem dodge, but this is how the Russians do it, especially
because so many of them leave the city for the summer to travel to their
“dacha”- an out-of-town holiday house and this is a way for them to make some
extra cash. Even renting a room is not scary, most of the lenders are old
“babushkas(grannies)” who just want to make some money. Babushkas are all over
Piter and they are sweet little grannies usually trying to sell some fresh
vegetables from their home gardens. If you are ever in Piter please support
one!
However if you prefer to stay at hotel I would recommend the Petro Palace
Hotel(about R800 a night, hotels are not cheap there) my parents stayed there
when they first moved over and were very impressed by the service.
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| Kazanski Sobor with my grannies |
Where to eat
There are so many delicious foods that you have to try in
Russia! I love Russian food and whenever I go over I do not restrict myself
with anything!
Have tea at the Cafe
Signer - My parents lived right by this massive book shop called The House of
the Book which also holds a great little cafe inside it. Russians are known for
their love of tea, and we are not talking plain old Five Roses and Rooibos
here. Think blackcurrant and cream, violets and smoked wood and peaches and
mango. Russian tea is delicious and you have to try it!
If you are a vegetarian you have to visit “Idiot” named after Fedor Dostoevsky
famous book and it is also locate right by the Mariinsky Theatre(another great
attraction for the people who love theatre). And for some tradition food such
as Borz and pancakes visit Demidov Restaurant.
Now I know that Borz is technically a Ukrainian dish but it has somewhat been adapted
in Russia as well. Borz is beetroot soup, and don’t tell me it sounds gross
because it is delicious. Perfect if you are visiting in winter because this
soup is served steaming hot with a side of sourcream.Yummy!
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| Peterhof Fountains |
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| Peterhof |
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| Peterhof Gardens |
Russia also has a couple of delish franchise restaurants- “Coffee House” and “Chocoladtiza”are known for their scrumptious coffees and desserts. They also serve yummy breakfasts and business lunches for under R75, so it’s perfect if you don’t want to spend too much. Also don’t right off fast-food restaurants such as MacDonald’s because they have plenty of “Russianized” food there. The cherry pie and the “Beef- ala-Russ” are my favourites with the latter being served on brown rye bread, with a bacon patty and caviar.
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Have a great and wonderful day! And enjoy your day off tomorrow as it's Public Holiday over here in SA!
