Terri and Henrike on the train.
When we arrived in SPb, we hit the ground running. We stored our bags at the hotel and took advantage of their breakfast. Then, we took a short walk to the St. Issac’s Cathedral. Irina told us it’s the third largest cathedral in the world, so it was pretty big. I was actually really fascinated by the architecture and the art. The architecture was Italian, but inside the icons and decorations were definitely Russian. We got to go up to the top of the cathedral and look down on the city.
St. Issac's Cathedral
The Winter Palace is right above the trees on the left.
From the cathedral we started walking along the river. We saw the famous statue of Peter the Great, the founder of SPb. Eventually we ended up in front of the Winter Palace, which houses the State Hermitage Museum. After standing outside in line for almost an hour, we finally got in. Irina bought audio guides for us, and we split up to explore the famous Hermitage.
I was doubly impressed with the Hermitage. First, there was all the amazing artwork. I saw a sculpture by Michelangelo, a few paintings by El Greco, and a whole room devoted to Rembrandt. There was also a lot of Impressionist works, but somehow I missed those. Second, the rooms blew me away. I have a movie called “Russian Ark,” which tries to overview 300 years of Russian history while moving through the Hermitage. So I was really interested in seeing the rooms where parts of the movie take place.
Two rooms in the Winter Palace/ Hermitage. I forget the name of the first, the second is the main staircase.
After the Hermitage is where the trip really got miserable for me. We walked over to the Church on Spilled Blood, realized it was closed for the day, and tried to make a plan. Most of us wanted to go back to our hotel, take a shower, and go out to eat. But for some reason, we were marched across the river Neva to the Peter and Paul Fortress. At this point, I felt so sick and tired that I wasn’t even the least bit interested in this. Luckily, Irina hailed a car to take us back to our hotel soon after we got there.
I have to talk about our hotel- it was wonderful. It was called the Comfort Hotel, and it had this friendly European atmosphere. Our rooms were so comfortable- pillowtop twin beds, television, and a bathroom with a huge tub and a bidet! After we went out for dinner (at the cheapest restaurant with the tastiest food I’ve had since arriving), I came back to the hotel and took a long, relaxing bath.
Sunday was also a really bad day for me. We took a water taxi to Peterhof, which is a palace famous for its fountains. The weather was cold and rainy, and there was a nasty breeze coming off the sea. Even though I had my umbrella, my feet were soaked and my whole body was freezing. So I took some pictures, walked around for about 15 minutes, and then retreated to a little café until it was time to leave. Apparently they shut the fountains off for winter, so that Sunday was the day they closed. It was such a contrast to walk into the park and hear the water gushing and splashing and walk out of it in near-silence.
I didn't do a very good job of keeping either of us dry.
After we got back into SPb, we went back to the Church on Spilled Blood. This church was built on the exact spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. Inside, there is a shrine over the cobblestones where he was shot. This church and the Hermitage were the only 2 places I had really wanted to visit, because I remembered my Russian history professor at UC telling us the tale of Alexander II’s assassination (believe me, he was a good storyteller). It was really one of the last big churches built in Russia before the revolution.
The best part of the day came after all the touristy things. Four of us retreated to a little café on Nevsky Prospekt to warm up and dry off. Henrike called a friend of hers who was studying in the city and she joined us for dinner. It was so nice to be able to listen to people speaking in fluent German and actually understand them- unlike with my Russian. After a looong dinner, Lara offered to show us her dorm and give us a place to stay until we had to go to the train station. When we got to our compartment on the train, there was a Russian woman in our compartment who spoke English, but we realized that she was on the wrong carriage. She seemed really disappointed as she left, saying, “I was really looking forward to practicing my English.” The train home was not as new and comfortable as the first train, but I slept so soundly that I didn’t even care.
