St. Petersburg, Russian Federation Travel Blogs

Nevskiy Prospekt and Beyond
Sep 20, 2008 (14 photos)

... by the numerous canals, but I found them lacking the intimacy and charm of those found in European cities. Instead, canals in St. Petersburg were broad promenades where the boats seemed to be on parade and the buildings stood as a backdrop ...

Peter and Paul Fortress
Sep 21, 2008 (6 photos)

We had the second day in St. Petersburg to ourselves, so Kathie and I decided to see the Peter and Paul Fortress.  We took the bus to the Hermitage and walked across two bridges over two branches of the Neva River to get to Hare's Island where the ...

St. Petersburg for White Nights
May 23, 2008 (9 photos)

... have to go back another time to see the Armory!  I get to to the airport, which is no easy task, and head to St. Petersburg a few hours late. Getting in very late, I find my hotel by around 10:30pm, but am confused because it is still so light ...

The Man Who Sold The World
Jul 15, 2006

... out flowers and champagne to all visitors, especially those from the Middle East... We had a pretty shitty overnight bus ride from Tallin to St Petersburg, made worse by the fact that my seat didn't have a lock on the hinge, so if I leant back I ended ...

Russian to St Petersburg
Mar 6, 2005 (3 photos)

... as seeing the main sights and learning some basic russian phrases, much easier than a phrase book!) All the attractions in st petersburg are close together and within walking distance during our guiuded tour we had most of them pointed out to us along ...

The Hermitage
Sep 20, 2008 (10 photos)

After we finished our lunch of meat-filled pastries, our tour guide Albina led us on to the second half of our day through the Hermitage.     The entrance to the Hermitage was at the Winter Palace building, from the side facing the ...

That is some Serious Art
Jan 24, 2006 (17 photos)

... bit lost, taking a wrong turn somewhere as we always seem to do. It was good though as we got to see a side of St Petersburg off the tourist strip. We also saw the statute of Nicholas I and once back on Nevsky Prospect, the statue of Catherine the Great ...

Living in a Squat
Jan 22, 2006 (12 photos)

... the train we wandered down Nevsky Prospect, past Admiralty Gardens and onto the famous Peter the Great, the Bronze Horseman statue. St Petersburg is definitely a beautiful city. We walked past St Isaac's Cathedral and along the frozen river. At this time ...

Russia - final thoughts
Jan 8, 2006 (6 photos)

... cultural, situational or both? Who knows... Anyway, I've waffled on enough but at the risk of regurgitating old cliches, Russian is a land of interesting contradiction and of dashed expectations. In a lot of cases that's not a bad thing, ...

It Begins!
Jan 20, 2006 (2 photos)

... and sound last night and on time. Got picked up from the airport and taken to our homestay not far from the centre of St Petersburg. Are staying with a widow called Irina who is very nice and cooks great food for us. Any attempt that we may have to ...

Update from St Petersburg with photos!
Jan 22, 2006 (7 photos)

... ) - narrowly avoided a major international incident when my towel fell off on the way to the shower! It feels a lot more genuine Russian experience than staying in one of the 5* hotels (yes I have to keep telliing Emma that!) Today is a lot warmer ( ...

From Russia With Love
Jul 19, 2006 (9 photos)

... because I like being purposely vague and also because our new found friends will be reading, I'll leave with some "Quotes from St Petersburg"..... "Australians eat their young" "If that woman gets up and dances on the table I'm going to be sick" "Just ...

The Benzodiapine haze
Sep 8, 2006 (5 photos)

... and hence tend to build up over a few days, especially if you are taking a couple too many. I remember bits of Saint Petersburg, a few nights out, a great walking tour, the amazing summer palace, I think I even went on a date with a Russian girl but ...

St Petersburg and Moscow
Aug 26, 2005 (12 photos)

An early morning start and we on our way by train from Helsinki to St Petersburg. Russian border control is as strict as ever and we eventually make it into St Petersburg 6 hours later. We are greeted by Marc's Russian friend, Dmitry, who he used to house ...

Catherine's Palace
Sep 22, 2008 (10 photos)

... taking snapshots and videos.    We almost didn't come here.  By the third day we felt our experience in St. Petersburg was complete, so we decided to visit one of the royal palaces located in the outlying areas.  Our first choice ...

Ballet and all in St. Petersburg
Jun 22, 2008 (63 photos)

... . We both loved it and I think Ryan is forever changed to enjoy ballet performances with live orchestra's going forward. Visiting St. Petersburg and seeing a classic ballet performed in the Hermitage Theatre is a dream come true and an absolute must for ...

The Curse Of St Petersburg
Jul 19, 2006

... had been paid for in a rather final and un refundable way that we realised we had also bought tickets to Moscow from St Petersburg - which we already had..... But under the circumstances we were still happy with the result. It may have taken four hours ...

Russia!...St Petersburg
Jul 15, 2006 (9 photos)

... turn when I came out of the metro! Just shows how friendly some Russians are really. When I was sitting having a beer that night a Russian guy asked to sit on the same table as me as there were no other tables available. He also spoke some English, and was ...

St Pete's - it's all a festive blur
Jan 7, 2006 (19 photos)

... structures, so much so that the Germans used the spire of the fortress as a sighting target during the seige of Leningrad (as St Petersburg was named back then). Still, it's an attractive building glowing gold in the gloaming. We couldn't get in to ...

In Soviet Russia..... Vodka drink you!
Jan 18, 2009 (5 photos)

... ! Last night we hung around in the restaurant we were eating in and the  bus station as we had a midnight bus to St Petersburg to catch. Although we very nearly missed it as we were looking at the wong bus and didn't realise ours was about to ...

Peter and Paul Fortress
Jan 23, 2006 (8 photos)

... the middle. The St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral was very ornate but we enjoyed the exhibition The History of St. Petersburg in the old Commandant's House After hours of wandering through the museum and being watched we walked across Troitsky Most ...

Russia
Aug 9, 2001 (6 photos)

... annd organised for a "Buddy" in each town to show us around. On the train from Helsinki to St Petersburg we had our first "Russian Experience"... Just before the border a foreign exchange trolley came along the train. Everybody was changing money, so ...

White nights continue
May 24, 2008 (19 photos)

... spot and meet up with Veronika, another couch surfing contact, who takes me to a museum exploring the scary history of St. Petersburg's founding and development.  The coolest part of our brief time together was the hall of mirrors.  We ...

Ra Ra Rasputin
May 28, 2006 (23 photos)

Well, Russia and more specifically St Petersburg. As I said in the previous entry, actually getting to Russia was something neither Kat nor I expected to achieve in our wildest dreams. To be honest until I crossed that border I didn't think we were going ...

Baffleopoly
Mar 3, 2004 (8 photos)

... great. We are currently in the Hermitage museum and feeling a bit exhausted from all the walking so are just taking a break. St. Petersburg is amazing so far. The whole place is just beautiful and there's basically sites on every corner. Far too much ...

More Russian than Russia itself
Feb 28, 2006 (23 photos)

... . Petersburg is a very different city from Moscow. Whereas Moscow is a dull, grey city with unimaginative structures, St. Petersburg is a fairy-tale city of incredible weathered architecture complete with canals, baroque palaces, cathedrals and buildings ...

'anging at the Ermitazh
Jan 6, 2006 (17 photos)

After a fast and furious Moscow visit, it was time to move onto a more cultured and sedate St Petersburg. In 1700, this area was still occupied by the Swedes, but Peter the Great had decided that a port and navy were essential to Russia's future, so by ...

Off To A Flying Start
May 31, 2005 (3 photos)

... . In St Petersburg it's Nika, who is only 18, I'd have never thought she was that young. She knows everything about St Petersburg and is able to answer any question that we have (Although I've probably already forgotten almost everything that she told us). ...

st petersburg and Moscow
Sep 2, 2004 (1 photos)

... guide and don't forget your passport. heike and i traveled in the same number 30 overnight kupe just in different carriages from st petersburg to Moscow bargain at 12 quid each. Almost forgot spent two night at the hostel all seasons next to a delightful ...

St Petersburg- Pancakes and panic
Sep 11, 2007

... (and still is) the home to so many artists, musicians and poets. For me, with my arts background, being in St Petersburg was a big responsibility. There were so many theaters to visit, music performances to see, art galleries to wander through (especially ...