After a long wait we crossed the Russian border without any problems as the problems come at the exit (I hope not :s) and after another 3 hours on the Marshrutka we arrived at St Petersburg or Peter as the Russians say.
Peter is one of those cities that inspire love at first sight – very pretty and very European, but plagued by tourists; you feel not as though you have entered Russia but somewhere else, where hordes of tourists come for a long weekend. I went to my hotel and came back to take a look at the city at night. The heart of the town is Nevsky Prospekt, where many places of interest can be found. Peter is a bit quieter but still beautiful at night.
As Russia is a hassle to travel in and in theory you have to register your visa in each city where you spend more than three days, I decided to be sneaky and stay a maximum of three days in each city, so that same night I went to buy a train ticket to go to Moscow 2 days later. It turned out to be an odyssey, of which Tanya had warned me, and after several failed attempts I managed to buy a third class ticket which would arrive in Moscow at 5am!!
The following day my priority was the Church of the Resurrection where I satisfied my great curiosity with the delight of seeing such a beautiful construction, with all its onion-shaped domes by the river. I couldn't believe my eyes, gazing at this amazing temple which we for whatever reason always associate with Russia.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around Peter, captivated by its slightly fast rhythm; listening to groups of annoying Russian teenagers revving their motor engines to the maximum; watching life go by. I went to a place called Peter and Paul Fortress and on the way I went to the Hermitage and was scared by its size, so I decided to postpone my visit as seeing every one of its galleries is a 24km walk. As I crossed the river I bumped into large numbers of newly married couples taking thousands of photos of themselves by every monument (especially the brides).
There was also a music band and a lot of alcohol. The girls were dressed really elegantly and the guys seemed more interested in the drink than in the company – it was a real spectacle.
When I arrived at the Peter and Paul Fortress I saw a large group of people who were sunbathing and improving their tans. Interestingly, that very place is the local 'sunbathing spot' in winter!! You can't be entirely sane if you wonder around in your underwear in the snow.
In the evening, as I got myself something to eat at a restaurant, I was invited to another table by a group of Russian couples who were curious about me. Only one woman from the whole table spoke a bit of English and they ended up declaring that in Russia you drink either vodka or beer, not water. Piva ili Vodka, nyet Vada. Then they carried on trying to chat to me until the translator's husband arrived and shook my hand with an unhappy look on his face. My self-conservation instinct told me that I should leave that table and it was a good move as when I said to the woman that I was going to my table she said: 'yes, that's better'.
The following day I decided to go to the Hermitage. It was time to immerse myself a bit in culture. I went with a Japanese guy called Hiroshi and we walked around the palace's enormous galleries together. I was only really interested in 19th Century French art but we ended up seeing a large part of the exhibition. We were really tired at the end but still went around the town a couple of times and then went back to the hostel where I picked up my bag and started my journey to Moscow.
While I ate with Hiroshi, he taught me to make an origami figure but I immediately forgot how to do it. Hiroshi was a bit quiet and his English didn't help him but it was still fun to spend the day with him.
One of the things that impressed me about Peter and Russia in general was the fact that women wear such high heels, even to go and buy bread, as a friend's girlfriend later demonstrated.
I had really never seen so many women in heels in one day.
The girls in Peter seemed to be very fashion-conscious and as they are always in such high heels it sometimes seemed as if I was watching a fashion show and not just walking in the street. Guys are also dressed immaculately with almost yuppie hairstyles, with raised shoes, some carrying a briefcase, and generally super serious (as if they are angry)
I arrived at the station. It was my first time on a night train so I was excited. As a good backpacker I travelled in the cheapest class, 3rd class or platskart. To buy a ticket you need to show your passport and also to get on the train. I found out that this was so that internal migration can be controlled.
I sat down in my place and waited patiently for the train to depart. Nobody prepared me for what was going to happen. A woman started talking to me – she was curious about this person who only knew three words in Russian and who came from so far away. Then a couple arrived and the fun started as they fought over getting to ask me questions – none of which I understood! When I took out the Russian-English dictionary things got even more fun as we could have conversations by pointing at specific words in the dictionary. It was a lot of fun. Whenever I understood something the man shook my hand and when I didn't understand – 99% of the time, he repeated himself in a different way. Somehow I understood some of what he was saying. Then a few friends (of the first woman) arrived and there were 5 people asking me questions. The fun faded when the infamous provadnitza arrived and had some kind of argument with the couple, I think about something to do with the sheets. I remember very well that the provadnitza had gold teeth, so she had an unforgettable smile.
At the end of the night I was mentally tired but had to sit through photos with explanations, one after the other, of a cruise that the three women went on. At 1am I went to bed with the hope of sleeping 4 hours but the lovely provadnitza woke us up at 4am (one hour before arrival) so that we would give her back the sheets.
I arrived in Moscow at 5am and waited for Gustavo (a friend of my aunt Maritza from university) who was my guide in my short stay in Moscow.
To check the pictures on the original post in spanish go here
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Peter is one of those cities that inspire love at first sight – very pretty and very European, but plagued by tourists; you feel not as though you have entered Russia but somewhere else, where hordes of tourists come for a long weekend. I went to my hotel and came back to take a look at the city at night. The heart of the town is Nevsky Prospekt, where many places of interest can be found. Peter is a bit quieter but still beautiful at night.
As Russia is a hassle to travel in and in theory you have to register your visa in each city where you spend more than three days, I decided to be sneaky and stay a maximum of three days in each city, so that same night I went to buy a train ticket to go to Moscow 2 days later. It turned out to be an odyssey, of which Tanya had warned me, and after several failed attempts I managed to buy a third class ticket which would arrive in Moscow at 5am!!
The following day my priority was the Church of the Resurrection where I satisfied my great curiosity with the delight of seeing such a beautiful construction, with all its onion-shaped domes by the river. I couldn't believe my eyes, gazing at this amazing temple which we for whatever reason always associate with Russia.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around Peter, captivated by its slightly fast rhythm; listening to groups of annoying Russian teenagers revving their motor engines to the maximum; watching life go by. I went to a place called Peter and Paul Fortress and on the way I went to the Hermitage and was scared by its size, so I decided to postpone my visit as seeing every one of its galleries is a 24km walk. As I crossed the river I bumped into large numbers of newly married couples taking thousands of photos of themselves by every monument (especially the brides).
There was also a music band and a lot of alcohol. The girls were dressed really elegantly and the guys seemed more interested in the drink than in the company – it was a real spectacle.
When I arrived at the Peter and Paul Fortress I saw a large group of people who were sunbathing and improving their tans. Interestingly, that very place is the local 'sunbathing spot' in winter!! You can't be entirely sane if you wonder around in your underwear in the snow.
In the evening, as I got myself something to eat at a restaurant, I was invited to another table by a group of Russian couples who were curious about me. Only one woman from the whole table spoke a bit of English and they ended up declaring that in Russia you drink either vodka or beer, not water. Piva ili Vodka, nyet Vada. Then they carried on trying to chat to me until the translator's husband arrived and shook my hand with an unhappy look on his face. My self-conservation instinct told me that I should leave that table and it was a good move as when I said to the woman that I was going to my table she said: 'yes, that's better'.
The following day I decided to go to the Hermitage. It was time to immerse myself a bit in culture. I went with a Japanese guy called Hiroshi and we walked around the palace's enormous galleries together. I was only really interested in 19th Century French art but we ended up seeing a large part of the exhibition. We were really tired at the end but still went around the town a couple of times and then went back to the hostel where I picked up my bag and started my journey to Moscow.
While I ate with Hiroshi, he taught me to make an origami figure but I immediately forgot how to do it. Hiroshi was a bit quiet and his English didn't help him but it was still fun to spend the day with him.
One of the things that impressed me about Peter and Russia in general was the fact that women wear such high heels, even to go and buy bread, as a friend's girlfriend later demonstrated.
I had really never seen so many women in heels in one day.
The girls in Peter seemed to be very fashion-conscious and as they are always in such high heels it sometimes seemed as if I was watching a fashion show and not just walking in the street. Guys are also dressed immaculately with almost yuppie hairstyles, with raised shoes, some carrying a briefcase, and generally super serious (as if they are angry)
I arrived at the station. It was my first time on a night train so I was excited. As a good backpacker I travelled in the cheapest class, 3rd class or platskart. To buy a ticket you need to show your passport and also to get on the train. I found out that this was so that internal migration can be controlled.
I sat down in my place and waited patiently for the train to depart. Nobody prepared me for what was going to happen. A woman started talking to me – she was curious about this person who only knew three words in Russian and who came from so far away. Then a couple arrived and the fun started as they fought over getting to ask me questions – none of which I understood! When I took out the Russian-English dictionary things got even more fun as we could have conversations by pointing at specific words in the dictionary. It was a lot of fun. Whenever I understood something the man shook my hand and when I didn't understand – 99% of the time, he repeated himself in a different way. Somehow I understood some of what he was saying. Then a few friends (of the first woman) arrived and there were 5 people asking me questions. The fun faded when the infamous provadnitza arrived and had some kind of argument with the couple, I think about something to do with the sheets. I remember very well that the provadnitza had gold teeth, so she had an unforgettable smile.
At the end of the night I was mentally tired but had to sit through photos with explanations, one after the other, of a cruise that the three women went on. At 1am I went to bed with the hope of sleeping 4 hours but the lovely provadnitza woke us up at 4am (one hour before arrival) so that we would give her back the sheets.
I arrived in Moscow at 5am and waited for Gustavo (a friend of my aunt Maritza from university) who was my guide in my short stay in Moscow.
To check the pictures on the original post in spanish go here
