The Forgotten Capital

September 12th 2017

We had a bit of a longer lie than planned but it was definitely needed....

We headed down to breakfast; it seems to be a bit like the last hotel but everything is fresher and it appears that a little more care has gone into the preparation. I made the usual toastie but with cheese and tomato, for a change! There is also a TV and they switched it straight to English so we could understand it; I think they like us here as there are also a group of Chinese tourists staying at the hotel, but they are super loud!

After breakfast, we head out to find the bus stop for the city tour. As we start walking down Nevsky Prospect, police cars and dump trucks start blocking the roads.....is Mr Putin following us? Sadly not, it is a procession to celebrate the Russian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, this also means that our bus is delayed and will not leave for another hour. We decide to walk towards St Isaacs Cathedral instead...

After 30 minutes, we make it to the Cathedral. We initially decide just to climb up the 262 steps to the top but after doing so, decide to visit the church too. It is 400 roubles (£5.30) to do both and the inside is spectacular. The viewing platforms of the church are also the only place to see a panoramic view of the city.

Just after 1pm, we take the tour bus from St Isaacs, down Nevsky Prospect then across the Trinity Bridge (there is a twin one in Paris). We get off at the Peter and Paul Fortress; there is a little bridge to walk over to get you onto the island. There are various things to do including museums and temporary exhibitions but we are really just here to finish the Romanov story and see where they were eventually laid to rest. The SS Peter and Paul Cathedral is the burial place for all royalty from Peter the Great onwards. It was not until 1998 that the Romanovs remains were actually transferred from Yekaterinburg to be reburied here. It is a grand cathedral, with the Romanovs buried in an antechamber to the right side of the Cathedral. It feels a little too touristy but I am sure they would prefer to be here, in their ancestral burial place. We actually bought a ticket to include 5 different museums but we only used it to see the Cathedral and the Commendants House which is now a museum. There were other things that we wanted to do but you had to pay separately (not mentioned on arrival!). We tried to get into a couple of the things our ticket allowed but we were shooed away at each entrance as we had to get a "real" ticket for each thing at a separate booth prior to entering. Iain was not happy and said many sweary words. I personally thought the Fortress was a bit of a rip off.

The Romanovs and servants are buried here

Peter the Great

The Fortress

While we were there, we decided to have a quick snack at one of the many stands; I ordered a hot dog and Iain a burger; we ended up with one hot dog and 2 lamb hot dog type things....don't ask! We ate them anyway!

We planned to take the sightseeing bus back across the bridge but decided to walk it instead (mainly because we had no idea what time it was due!).  The Field of Mars and the Eternal Flame are just across the bridge so we stopped off there for some pictures. As you can see, the bride and groom were taking pictures; it is a tradition in Russia to visit a place like this on your wedding day for good luck.

We then took a short walk to the Church of the Resurrection; we had planned to go in but were too late. It is also shut the next day (Wednesday) so I will just have to Google some images! We took a few more photos from the outside as it is covered in mosaics and is very beautiful.

It was definitely time for a drink; my feet were killing me! We wandered back down Nevsky Prospect and sat in a cafe across from Kazan Cathedral before deciding to head towards the hotel. We stopped off at a Russian Pub on the way and I had a Russian champagne. When we were on the bus tour earlier in the day, we passed a restaurant called Palkins; this had been there since the 18th century. There was a huge sign saying Beer Family Restaurant so we headed there too....I had a cherry beer and we ordered some "beer snacks" to keep us going as we decided not to bother with dinner. We had some garlic bread sticks with rye bread and pastry sticks; just what we needed.

After an hour or so there, and having planned out our last day in St Petersburg, we went back to the hotel to rest our weary feet! One thing to note about St Petersburg, there are boy racers and motorbikes all down Nevsky Prospect; the best we saw was a camouflage coloured Porsche...really inconspicuous, right?

As an aside, you may wonder why I called this post "The Forgotten Capital." St Petersburg, although a beautiful city, is very much in need of restoration. The state has already given the city millions but having been ignored for so long, much more money needs to be thrown at it.

When I first contemplated travelling to Russia, I was convinced St Petersburg would be my favourite city and so did everyone else; I am afraid I am going to be controversial! I liked St Petersburg very much, but I loved Moscow! I feel St Petersburgers are a bit jealous of Moscow and wish it was still the capital; if it were, then maybe my opinion would be different!