Delightful Saint Petersburg

We arrived in St Petersburg painfully early in the morning and set off wandering the town for the next 12 hours. Moscow may have a cathedral that looks like a cake but St Petersburg is like the icing on the cake of our trip through Russia! The city is full of amazing old buildings, palaces, cathedrals and canals and is the most beautiful city we have visited so far. Particular highlights included the Hermitage (the Winter Palace), which has spectacularly adorned rooms and also houses a massive collection of art including masterpieces by Michaelangelo, Rembrant, Da Vinci and others, and the Romanesque Kazan cathedral dominating the main drag.

The banks of the River Neva

We were pretty excited to discover a jazz festival was on at the historic Saint Peter and Paul Fortress by the Neva River. Performers included the Marcus Miller band (US) who had the whole audience grooving and other international as well as local acts. The views of the Hermitage and other grand buildings across the canal as the sun set (around 11pm) added to the fantastic atmosphere.

The Hermitage (Winter Palace)

We also visited the informative Museum of Political History which included Lenin's old study and many items of propaganda and a museum on Russian theatre. Kate also went to see the Kirov Ballet at the famous Marinskii theatre which was built in the 1800s and was beautifully decorated, while Michael took in some more jazz - a cultural feast!

We head off now to Estonia after a thoroughly enjoyable few weeks in Russia.