St Petersburg (Russia) - yeah, it’s everything you’ve heard about and then some!!
We catch the ferry again and ask to keep the same cabin, so it was so much easier to check in. The ferry ride includes an overnight to St Petersburg, 2 days in St Petersburg, an overnight on the boat and 1 overnight back to Helsinki. The tickets cost around 250 euros for 2 people, for a cabin with 2 bunk beds, a toilet and a shower. It also includes the free tour (just a shuttle bus to town and back) and the Russian visa waiver for Russia. The ferry is very clean and it really reminds us of a simple but nice cruise ship, way cool!
We arrive in St Petersburg in the morning and after 2 bloody hours to clear immigration, we finally jump on the shuttle bus and make our way to town, which is absolutely breathtaking! We walk around a little bit, have lunch in a pretty authentic Russian cantina for about 12E for two including a large beer. The weather is very threatening, black clouds and windy and really cold for this time of the year, it must be a case of “Russian Summer”. We were going to visit The Hermitage tomorrow but decide to go in early to escape the wind and the freezing rain. The museum is absolutely fantastic, with art and history from all around the world, the exhibits are amazing and the museum complex is in itself an astonishing work of art. We spend all day visiting the museum, our feet are killing us, but who cares? It’s absolutely worth it! A quick tip… to avoid the huge lines to buy a ticket there are automated ticket machines which take credit cards and russian rubles, really easy yo use and once you have your tickets you just waltz all the wayto the front of the queue and go in!! When we leave the weather has cleared a bit and we go on to see the Church of the Spilled Blood of the Saviour, which is another incredible piece of architecture, well, to be honest, the entire city is an architectural masterpiece. Pretty much as it’s been described to us as “overwhelmingly beautiful”. After having dinner at a Russian restaurant - Pelmeni (meat filled dumplings) and a couple of delicious cold beers, we catch the shuttle back to the ferry, what an incredible day!
On the second day, yes, you have to clear immigration again, but much faster this time, we catch the shuttle bus again. The weather is good enough for us to walk around and explore this incredible city. We start by walking across the bridge, on our way to see the Peter and Paul Fortress, followed by the Mosque, go back to admire the facade of The Hermitage/Winter Palace just one more time and then head to a Russian fast food chain, Teremok (Blinis, Pelemenis and chicken soup with 2 cold beers -12 E for 2). We then check out St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Admiralty, and many other beautiful sights, just taking our time walking around to admire this magnificent city. Absolutely buzzing with tourists we realize that Russia is hosting the Confederation’s Cup football so that’s one reason why the city is pumping!! Then back to the ferry as the boat leaves at 6PM back to Helsinki overnight. Next stop, Tallinn, Estonia.
