St Petersburg – Worth A Visit?

I’ve always fancied ‘Doing the Baltics’ and jumped at the chance to visit Russia, Estonia and the Scandinavian countries. As you know if you’ve read my last blog, I cruised on board the Magellan. But this blog is all about my experience and thoughts of St Petersburg.

I know very little about this city, or indeed Russia, only what I hear on the news regarding Putin, Syria, and that its very cold, and the people wear alot of fur……

I only wanted to have a taste of the city, so opted for a 4 hour coach trip to the main attraction sites of Church of the Spilled Blood (sounds gory..) Peter & Paul Fortress, St Nicholas’ Church and along the Neva River to see the Winter Palace & Faberge Museum, & The Bronze Horsemen.

What I didn’t know beforehand was that St Petersburg is known as the Venice of The North, with over 300 canals & waterways to explore. One of the most popular excursions is to cruise along the Neva River where you can see the ornate and majestic Palaces and Houses along its banks. Quite a few of the passengers opted to do this trip, and said it was very good value for money and informative. The weather was glorious too!

First things first, – get through Customs & Immigration. I duly presented myself to the Officer on duty, who glared and glowered at me whilst scrutinising my passport as if I was one of the ‘unwashed’. Charming! Not very welcoming. After what seemed an eternity she stamped my passport and waved me through. Cheerful lot! Lets see what the rest of the people are like, as this one was certainly living up to expectations!

We boarded our coach and was told by our Tour Guide that she had a ‘schedule’ to stick to so when she tells us to get back on the coach, we should do so without delay. (Another cheerful inhabitant……) So duly told, off we went. The journey into St Petersburg was a bit of an eye opener. The contrast between rich and poor was quite obscene, with the tower block apartments looking in a dreadful state, and in need of major repair.. Unkempt gardens, litter in the streets. Until low & behold we crossed over the Neva and it was like going from Black & White into Colour…..

We stopped off at the Bronze Horsemen first of all, together with a coach park full of other coaches and tourists, all clambering for ‘the shot’, after a brief 10 minute stop, ‘Everyone back on the bus now please!’ and onward to our next attraction. St Nicholas Cathedral, which was fabulous, ornate, beautifully kept. There was a service going on at the time, and I was surprised to see there are no seats. Traditionally in Orthodox Russia, people have to stand in front of the Altar to worship. My favourite was the Church of the Spilled Blood – interesting history. The inside of the Church is jaw-droppingly ornate and opulent, and a real monument of love from a son to his murdered father. Sad but lovely.

Church of the Spilled Blood

Part of the tour included a ‘comfort stop’ (which thankfully was ‘On The Schedule’) and coincidentally at a Tourist shop where after you had spent your ‘penny’ or ‘rouble’ you could browse the many shelves for the obligatory Russian Doll and Faberge Eggs.

This whistle-stop tour gave me a very good insight into the history of St Petersburg, which is an interesting and diverse city. I’m glad I went, but in no hurry to go back. However if you are interested in getting a more indepth history of the city, you can opt for a 2-day excursion. Again lots of passengers did this, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Here’s some photos I took of the trip.

View from the Neva River