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St. Petersburg - From Russia With Love August, 2008 |
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Met at the train station by a representative of our tour group, she led us to our home stay in the suburbs, a private room in a local family apartment, a cost effective solution to the high cost of lodging in this prior capital. Not sure what to expect, we gritted our teeth as she took us through the bland, concrete Soviet style high rise apartment blocks towards our destination, past graffiti sprayed walls and characterless buildings. Finally leading us up a dingy entranceway, we called the owner, got buzzed in and proceeded up to the 11th floor on this ancient Flintstone freight elevator which buckled and groaned while grudgingly ascending, all the while wondering if this was its last trip up. Alex, the friendly owner, met us and led us through his three locked doors, into his small but charming apartment, and showed us to our room. Initially taken aback, we warmed to the accommodations over the next few days, and it turned out to be not as bad as we initially feared. After Moscow, St. Petersburg
has the look and feel of a European city, with its classical skyline of
French colonial buildings bordering the river, Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great on the mouth of the Neva River, the population runs around 5 million people with much of the architecture influenced by a many Italian designers and architects. Originally the capital of Russia until 1918 when it moved inland to Moscow, it later was renamed Leningrad (1924) and during World War II was under siege by Hitler’s advancing armies for 900 days. One million people starved to death during this epic holdout, yet the city held and ultimately cost Germany the war. Renaming itself St. Petersburg in the 1980’s, the city itself consists of many islands as it occupies a strategic position on the wind swept Gulf of Finland.
As far as the art, there’s a room of Reuben’s, another of Rembrandts, two of the five Leonardo Da Vinci’s on display to the public, twenty or thirty Gauguin’s, an equal number of Matisse – we were completely overwhelmed by the breath and depth of the art on display. Name a painter and it’s likely there’s one on display here (or close by in storage as they rotate pieces). And not just paintings, with ancient marbled sculptures occupying a number of rooms, fine old porcelain objects, a remarkable collection of Egyptian artifacts (including an unwrapped mummy), exquisite textiles and some of the most amazing detailed wood cabinetry you’ll ever see. To avoid the long lines, we
bought a two day pass for $52 which allowed us to walk to the front of
the line each day. As it developed, we spent Although the star attraction, the Hermitage is not the only beautiful structure in St. Petersburg, as many colonial buildings line the streets, especially the main drag of Nevsky Prospekt. It’s certainly a more affordable city than Moscow, as there are street vendors where one can eat cheaply in addition to bargain rate cafes here and there. Our homestay accommodation turned out to be ok, although it would have been nicer to be one subway stop closer to town as there wasn’t really any place to walk to out where we were – it was essentially a residential area – yet the price was right. Alex the owner was very nice, and we got to spend five days in this unique city, although I never once was able to get into the place using the four supplied keys, Alex always waited up for us.
Being this far north is certainly challenging weather wise, as it’s very cold even in the dead of summer, perhaps 70 degrees to them constitutes a heat wave. From here, we’re arranging transport over to the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – those little irrepressible rascals that escaped from the clutches of big brother Russia, to see how things are developing in their newfound capitalist and freedom loving environments. Then on to Poland and wherever cheap transportation takes us, as our cost structure has escalated dramatically since crossing the Urals from Asia into Europe.
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When
we started this trip, there were three things I really looked forward to
– the ruins at Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China and the Hermitage
Museum in St. Petersburg. Arriving in this northerly city on a brand new
spiffy overnight train from Moscow (maybe the best train we’ve been on
so far), we were greeted with wintry blasts of cold wind from the Gulf
of Finland, despite being the middle of summer. Here it was the
beginning of summer with light until 11:30 in the evening and everyone
was walking around in winter coats.
with
murky canals ribboning through downtown and ornate bridges spanning the
waterways while statues of all shapes and designs dot the landscape.
It’s really quite a contrast coming from Moscow, as it definitely feels
European and cultured and classical and middle class as opposed to
Moscow which has a feel of raw power and intimidation and grittiness and
I don’t know – more Russian – plus you don’t see so many people walking
around with alcohol here.
Certainly
the number one reason to visit St. Petersburg is the Hermitage Museum, a
former palace now packed to the rafters with a cache of fine art to
rival the Louvre (an alleged 3,000,000 objects to view). The Louvre may
have a more impressive collection, but remove the art from both museums
and people would still flock to the Hermitage. Without the art, the
Hermitage remains an impressive work of exquisite craftsmanship, each
room jaw dropping and inspiring, perfectly complementing the paintings,
with murals on the ceiling, mosaics and marble everywhere, a chandelier
hung room etched in gold – everything beautifully rendered and composed.
And when you tire of viewing the art, redirect your gaze through the
oversized windows and admire the colorful classical skyline or the river
and canals snaking alongside.
most
of the first day on just the second floor, there’s just so much art and
as you walk from one elaborate room to the next, it gets a little
confusing – I found it easiest to use the map and cross out the numbered
rooms as we left them – you can’t just wander on a whim. Every art lover
should make a pilgrimage to this wonderful destination, although I
wondered where the heck did the Russians get all of this art from. 
One
night we went to a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet at the
Alexandrinsky Theatre (thanks Brock), since we really wanted to attend
the Bolshoi in Moscow which was regrettably closed for repairs. We sat
in balcony box seats for around $38 each, not so bad when you consider
the theatre itself was rather small and rather well known and historic.
And the ballet wasn’t so shabby either, although we had the choice of
seeing Swan Lake and I would have probably preferred that. 
