Pushkin, Cathedral and Sphinx
Trip Start
Jan 26, 2008
1
12
36
Trip End
Feb 29, 2008
St Petersburg,
Russia
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
We promised Olga, our hostess at the Zimmer Nice Hostel, that we would vacate our room by 10:00am. Olga was very glad of this because, despite the season, the Hostel was unexpectedly full tonight and she needed to put some newcomers in our room at 12:00pm. We therefore got up a bit earlier than we had been, got our belongings organised, packed up our freshly laundered clothes (thanks to Olga), sat down to breakfast and then, vacating out room but leaving our luggage at the Hostel, we set out into the fresh morning air.
We headed to the Russian Museum to see their amazing collection of Russian art from the sixteenth century through to the twentieth century
Beer Anyone?
. There were also a series of temporary exhibitions being held, including an exhibition of Soviet era art as well as an exhibition of over 200 hundred of Arkhip Kuindzhl's works. Kuindzhl was a famous landscape artist who has a few very well known pieces but we saw the Russian Museum's own collection of his works which is very extensive and some of the pieces were on exhibit for the very first time. He produced some amazing night landscapes that really captured your attention and held you mesmerised. At the Russian Museum you do not have to pay extra to use your camera in the regular exhibits, you cannot take photos of the temporary exhibitions. We were a little disappointed that the ticket lady's computer had gone down and she couldn't print us off the nice coloured tickets, instead we ended up with some black and white hand written thing - it got us in to see the museum but does not make quite such a nice memento. Parts of the Russian Museum are housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, and while it cannot compete with the grandeur of the Hermitage, it does make for a very grand setting for the excellent Russian art we saw. We went through the vast majority of the museum taking about three and a half hours.
After the museum we went to see one of the last main cathedrals that we had not yet visited in St Petersburg - the Kazan Cathedral
Pushkin
. On the way to the Kazan Cathedral, however, we came across St Petersburg's version of the outdoor art market. This was not quite on the same scale as the one we had found opposite Gorky Park in Moscow but the art was a again of high quality and there are just as many highly inspiring sights around St Petersburg to provide inspiration for as many artists who care to pick up a brush. We resisted temptation again and walked away empty handed.The Kazan Cathedral was partly inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Rome, it will be interesting to compare the two when we visit the Vatican latter next week. We went inside and were impressed by the rich decoration throughout and the enormous dome. The cathedral is a functioning Russian Orthodox Church and there were many believers inside performing their devotions. There are two services held each day in the cathedral but not at the time we were there.
After the Kazan Cathedral we decided to look for somewhere to have a late lunch although we were both thinking that we really wanted to see the sphinxes of St Petersburg. We knew they were situated somewhere were you got a view of the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood (the church is built on the site where Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881) and the Kazan Cathedral. As we were leaving the Kazan cathedral we did happen to spot something gold in the distance and, following a hunch, we headed in that direction and low and behold there were the Sphinxes. We got our photos and then it really was time for lunch. We tried Gostiny Dvor but there we could only find numerous exclusives shops and no food, so we crossed to the other side of Nevsky Prospect and ended up in Sbarro's, an American Pizza chain. Not exactly immersing ourselves in the local cuisine but the price was right
Fur Hats in St Petersburg - esp. for John
. After lunch we just wandered Nevsky Prospect looking at this and that for a while before heading back to the Zimmer Nice Hostel to refresh ourselves before grabbing our luggage and heading our in search of Vitbesky Railway Staion from where our train to Riga was scheduled to leave. We took a trip on a trolley bus from our hostel to the Mayakovskaya Metro Station and caught a Metro train to Pushkinskaya Metro Station which is adjacent the Vitbesky Railway Station. We arrive just before 7pm, thinking our train was leaving at 8:08pm. We looked for the platforms and after some searching did manage to find them. There was a big electronic sign board that said 'train #37', 'Riga', and 'departing 22:08'. Eight o'clock was drawing closer and we were getting a little nervous as there was no train in sight and the electronic board did not tell us which platform to go to. In desperation we asked at one of the ticket booths and the kindly cashier told us that the platform details would come up on the electronic board closer to the departure time. It was at this point that the penny dropped 22:08 is 10:08pm, not 8:08pm. I think I mentioned before that 24 hour time is used here and we had managed to confuse ourselves into thinking that the train was departing just after eight not just after ten. Somewhat relieved although we now had a two hour wait, we found somewhere to sit in the 'Waiting Hall' and waited. About 50 minutes before the train was due to depart the platform details appeared on the signboard and about 40 minutes before the departure tine the train itself appeared
Girl with dog (friends) (Russian Museum)
. We boarded the train at about 9:40pm and the train left promptly at 10:08 pm. We are now heading west towards Latvia. We are yet to pass through any sought of customs clearance but presumably some Russian and Latvian Customs officers will board the train at some point and scrutinise our passports.St Petersburg was probably friendlier than Moscow, not that we found Moscow unfriendly. In Moscow there was someone selling something just about everywhere you went, there was muchlkess of that in St Petersburg although there were some little stalls around. There is probably more English spoken in St Petersburg but you still need to have at least a rudimentary grasp of the Russian alphabet and know some key words: 'thank you' - 'spasiba', 'ticket' - 'bilyet', 'toilet' - 'tualyet'. Also, learning to count in Russian would be helpful, although most stall holders have a calculator which they will use to show you the price of whatever you have bought. We both want to return to Russia, preferably during the late summer or early autumn to see the fountains and green trees and flowering gardens. About the only complaint I have is that when I had my shower this morning all the hot water had run out so I had a shower using breathtakingly cold water - wakes you up I guess. Our next major task is to get from the train station in Lativia to the Latvian International Airport, we should have about three hours form when the train arrives in the morning to when checkin opens for our 1:00pm flight to Berlin. All being well I will write again from Berlin and let you know how we got on.
