Tessendorf's Abroad

We're here. In Russia! After all the planning and paperwork and beaurocracy we are in. We have 3 weeks in this fascinating and enigmatic culture and I'm sure we will only scratch the surface of what makes this country tick.

We hike out of the train with all our backpacks and are greeted by taxi drivers touting their services. Our plan though, find wifi and get an Uber. Our host had sent us information on bus routes, fares and also Uber fares. However, in order to access the free wifi, you needed a Russian phone number. Foiled. So we approached a taxi driver and his offer to drive us into town was 10x that of an uber fare. No thanks mate! So off we walked. We only had to go a block and we found some free unsecured wifi. We ordered an uber and were on our way.

Our host was not able to meet us until 4pm, so we had about an hour to wait. Within a 100m radius of the apartment there were numerous restaurants, cafes and bars. We chose one at random to set up camp. We certainly caught the attention of everyone as we walked into Craft Brew Cafe with our big backpacks. A young waiter Victor showed us to a table and asked if we had just come out of the woods. No, sorry to disappoint Victor. We were super impressed with the large beer menu so took a few photos, and when Victor saw this, he asked if we were spies. Again, no, but we realised how strange we must have looked to a young Russian who has never left the country. Victor   turned out to be super friendly and looked after us for the hour and also when we returned later for dinner. He told us about some of the places that we will visit in Russia and also what to be careful of. We tipped him generously.

The apartment was in a great central location in the historic district. The majority of the sights were within a 1.5km walk and we were just 300m from the Winter Palace and  Palace Square. An older Russian lady, the mother of our Host, meets us and points out the key details with very limited English. So sweet!

For our first day, we decided to take in all the sights of our neighbourhood. Starting with Palace Square, a vast expanse of imperial grandeur and remnant of the Romanov dynasty. It is large and most certainly striking. In the centre is the Alexander Column to commemorate the 1812 victory over Napoleon. On one side of the square is the Winter Palace, a residence of tsars from 1762 to 1917. Again, a profusion of columns, windows and recesses, topped by larger-than-life statues. And curving around the other side of the square is the General Staff Building, an impressive 580m long. The two buildings are joined by a triumphal arch, topped by the Chariot of Glory, another monument to the Napoleonic wars. Bothe buildings now house branches of the Hermitage. 

It was then onto Kazan Cathedral, modelled on St Peter's in Rome, it was Tsar Paul's attempt to unite Christianity and Orthodoxy. 

Next up, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, or more commonly known as Church  of the Spilled Blood, which references the assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II in 1881. It is a stunning five-dome classic Russian Orthodox design with bucketloads of colour. We walked around and admired the outside but went back later that night (no people) to see the interior, which is decorated with 7000 square metres of mosaic artwork. Incredible! 

A quick lunch break and we were off to the bronze horseman statue and St Isaac's Cathedral.  Bevan prepared himself and made the journey to the viewing platform in the dome. Today, he braved a step closer to the edge for a photo and you can see the nervous expression on his face.  We ended the afternoon with a wander around the canals and viewing some of the gorgeous mansions that have been kept in impeccable condition. Peter the Great had the view that the city would be just like Amsterdam with it's canals and everyone would move around via boat. And today has the nickname 'Venice of the North.'

On day 2, we started by heading out on a canal cruise including a stretch of the Neva river. We were on one of the very few English language tours which meant there were not too many people on board.  It was super windy and quite chilly. Air temperature about 12 degrees and I'm sure wind chill of 5 degrees. Although beautiful, we were happy to disembark and find a hot meal and drink for lunch. 

After lunch, we took a long walk back to Palace Square, and over to the other side of the river. We spent the afternoon at the State Museum of Political History of Russia.  There were a number of audio tours to choose from, we went with the broad overview spanning the 20th century. So much information and learning! The audio tour and exhibits were really well put together though. 

We went to bed early but set the alarm for 12.30am. For what reason you may ask. Well   May to November is navigation season, which means that the bridges crossing the Neva river open between 1-5am. Each bridge has its own schedule and the bridge close to us, Palace Bridge opens at 1.10am. Supposedly quite a spectical and something you must see while in the city. We were skeptical but also did not want to feel like we had missed out. So off we trotted in the middle of the night. St Petersburg is truly the city-that-never-sleeps and there were just as many people out and about as the day time. The bridge opening was pretty, but nothing to write home about, but at least our expectations were in check. Time to go back to bed.

We started day three by going out for breakfast, a cute cafe a short walk from the  apartment. We are loving how much cheaper Russia is compared to Europe. Breakfast with a fresh juice, Italian style coffee and meal each = $25. Awesome! A quick stop by the gluten free food store to pick up supplies for Steph and then we were onto the Hermitage. The State Hermitage Museum is mainly set in the Winter Palace and fully lives up to the sterling reputation. The enormous collection, over 3 million pieces, with only a fraction on display in the 306 rooms is pretty much a comprehensive history of Western European art. And it's not just the artwork and sculptures etc that are pretty to look at - the interior of the Palace is also stunning! We spent s few hours wandering around and taking it in. By no means did we even scratch the surface of everything that is available to view. 

After lunch, we were off to learn about vodka at the Vodka Museum. We were then able to sample 3 vodkas. We also had vouchers for more vodka, that were given to us when we attempted to visit the museum the previous 2 days but were turned away as they were too busy. Na zdorovye! Cheers!  Dinner that night was a delicious meal at Jamie's Italian. 

The next morning, it was up early and to the train station. A 9am train to Moscow. We thoroughly enjoyed our first stop in Russia. So much beauty, history and culture. Let's see what the rest of this enormous country brings us.