Sankt Peterburg: an intriguing entry in Russia

I got in at 8am and immediately had a tough decision to make whilst tired and hungry: navigate the metro system or negotiate "best price" with a taxi driver. The traffic was a nightmare (went for the taxi), and it turns out, I probably could have walked in half the time, and not risked my life on the roads of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg (the capital of the Russian Empire prior to the end of WW1 when Lenin moved it back to Moscow for defence reasons) was built based on Venice, but with the added attraction of even more spectacular architecture.

Due to its latitude of nearly approx 60°N, St. Petersburg often enjoys beautiful "White Nights" from mid June to mid July - the views are quite spectacular, so much so that at 5am after clubbing I felt I had to capture it on camera, so ran to the hotel and then to the Fontanka Canal for some awesome views.

I walked along Nevsky Prospect (the main street) crossing the two canals (Fontanka and Griboedova) and the River Moyka seeing the usual sights, including the bling Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood (which is also Twister ice-cream style domed), then up towards and crossing the Neva River where you see the splendid Peter and Paul Fortress. If you want a walking route, just follow the order of the photos up to the Hermitage. I was taken back by the amazing, grand scale of the buildings, and how many there were!





I left the visit inside the Hermitage and Winter Palace for another day, so I could spend proper time there. And it was worth every second spent. In fact, if you're an art lover, it might even be worth getting the 2-day pass. Everything about it was striking - and you wouldn't let Delboy near the chandeliers! The collection of art must rival any collection in the world.



St. Petersburg had a constant buzz about it, but especially at night. I went out both nights I was in town, Rossi's Club on Friday and Lubovic on Saturday. Both were great fun, although finding anyone who spoke or wanted to speak any English was a real challenge. The other challenge was staying up until the next morning, as these clubs didn't really kick off until well past midnight.

I haven't quite figured out what I think of the young female population - these girls didn't have a care in the world, except feeling the need to look good! A few remarks however. Most of them are very tall (vs 5ft6") and very attractive; many smoke; they drink like fishes (saw many start their nights off with flamin' sambucas); and dress to kill - lavish dresses, huge big belts, high heels (even for sightseeing) and oversized shades. But the funniest thing of all is that they love posing for photos of themselves - this was evident when I went to Peterhof, where I thought I was seeing a film shoot for a Bollywood movie.

Peterhof is a beautiful town outside St Petersburg, and has an amazing palace, which can be visited by bus, taxi or boat. I opted for the boat.

The palace was well worth the visit - beautiful gardens, fountains around every corner and it even had a beach. I spent 4hrs there, but one could easily spend more time.

However, the journey to and from Peterhof was ridiculous, and almost put a real dampener on the trip.

I only had RUB600 (£15). None of the nearby ATMs liked any of my cards, so I thought I would pay for the boat ride by card - wrong, they didn't accept plastic. Return trip was RUB700 and one-way was RUB400, so I had to get the latter. Everything looking good, cool boat ride too.

But just as I get off the boat, they ask me for RUB300 entry into the palace (guidebooks suggest you can go for free)! I then try to pay in euros or pounds, but no good, and finally try to exchange my foreign currency for roubles, but no takers (even at a favourable FX rate to them). I couldn't get into the bloody place nor get back to St. Petersburg - I was screwed!

I then decided to see if I can get in as a student, ticket RUB150 ... using my driving licence. The lady at the counter tried her best to make out what the card was, but really had no idea - job done, I was in, just!

I had 4hr to see the palace, and to find some roubles. No ATM in sight and the ice cream vendors didn't want my euros either. Finally I was directed to an ATM - 3rd card worked (the most expensive), but I didn't care, I had money and even though everyone else did too, I felt the best for it!

With money, the return journey was going to be much simpler. Final boat back was at 6pm, so I got to the pier at 4:45pm to buy a ticket. But, oh no, they close the ticket counter for no good reason! The Russian tourists were going ballistic. After an hour waiting in the baking heat, they begin selling tickets and getting people off the pier and back to St. Petersburg - complete comedy!

St. Petersburg didn't feel like the most hospitable of places. I hope it's simply down to large city syndrome and language differences. Having said that, it (and maybe Russia) didn't seem to be particularly interested in attracting outside tourism: getting a visa is difficult (part explaining the lack of foreign tourists (most were from other parts of Russia), Russians tolerance of non-Russian speakers is nil and the service especially at the major attractions was surprisingly appalling (as experienced in Peterhof).

I partly overcame the language issue by liberally using the concierge services at the Grand Hotel Europe (even though I wasn't staying there) to arrange tours, check transport times etc. Thankfully they were happy to help.

All in all though, definitely one of my favourite cities and I will certainly go back. Magnificent in summer, but I'm sure it would be equally special in the winter, although in a different way and a whole lot colder.