... all of these you can find in one single place, if visiting it in the right season: St Petersburg. It was Zoli's old dream to visit this city, so we chose to spend a few days in Russia's second largest city in the beginning of June, during the legendary period of the
White Nights, when the sun never really disappereas from the horizon; at 5 a.m. we woke up on the brightest sunshine ever - believe it or not, first thing Zoli was asking for while still lying in the bed, were his sun glasses -, and at 10 p.m. we were still walking around with them. There was something magical about it... we walked down
the bank of the river Neva at after midnight to watch the raising of the bridges and the banks of the river were packed (with tourists, teenagers, families and yourng couples, all admiring the sunset). The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon, but the time between sunset and sunrise, around 2 a.m., looked like dusk and was very short.
Thus our days were also much longer and had plenty of time for sightseeing and St Petersburg had enough to offer for our relatively short, 4-day visit:
- The Church on the Spilled Blood, the city's most Russian-looking onion-domed cathedrals was one of our favorites with its interior decorated with 7500 square meter of exquisite mosaics.
- The Hermitage Museum, one of the largest museums in the world hosts a collection of more than three million works of art and artefacts of the world culture. The main architectural ensemble of the Hermitage situated in the centre of St Petersburg consists of the Winter Palace, the former state residence of the Russian emperors.
- Unbelievable, but true: the financial outlay of the St Isaac's Cathedral (the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral) with its richy decorated interior was more than six times that of the Winter Palace. It is decorated with fourteen kinds of marble, as well as frescoes and 600 sq. metres of mosaics, more than 400 kg of gold, 1000 tons of bronze and 16 tons of malachite...
- The illuminated Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress was glowing through the dusk at midnight. Under the shining Cathedral tower rest nearly all the czars of Russia, including Peter the Great, himself.
It is said that during the White Nights St Petersburg's residents become relaxed and charming, all enjoying the midnight sunlight and the festival atmosphere taking over the city, socializing and chatting with friends until late evening near a cup of coffee.
We don't really know if it was due to this special atmosphere of the White Nights, but it was a positive experience to find very friendly and helpful people everywhere ... it was quite challenging understanding their advice though as English is rarely spoken (not even among young people). However, the biggest drawback for tourism lies not in the language barrier and not even the entry tickets which were double as high everywehere as for locals, but the regime and state regulations - visa requirements, tourists having to register themselves at the local policy upon arrival, lengthy document and security control at the airport (we almost missed our flight, reaching the gate after well after scheduled departure time, even though we completed check-in well in advance). Despite the challenges though St Petersburg is still a very attractive tourist destination and has a lot to offer, which one may not find in any other place of the world.
You may check out here our entire
Album on St Petersburg:
(Photos and blog entry on the
Grand Palaces with follow soon...)
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