Today I returned from a short trip to Saint Petersburg which started last Monday when we departed from Helsinki on the Princess Maria ferry. The trip took about 14 hours and the cabin which I shared with three French exchange students smelled like old feet. I was a bit nervous before this trip, because I didn't really know anyone. The trip that had mostly students from my University on it was already booked out, so I went with Students from other Schools in Helsinki and Malmö. I was quite confused when everyone kept on asking whether I was from Metropolia. To myself I thought where on earth is Metropolia, thinking of a city till I realized it's the University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. Well...my three French roommates are all business students and did not seem to be able to make much of a German humanities student, so they more or less kept to themselves and preferred to speak their own language, I'm quite happy that I got a different room mate once we arrived in the hotel.
Saint Petersburg greeted us with cold wind and grey skies. We were told that this is 'typical SP weather'. On the next day we were blessed with one of the 30 days of sun in this city, which made for beautiful photos.
Before we could go to the Hotel we went on a city tour to Peter and Paul fortress, a fortress from the 18th century which is the origin and the historical center of Saint Petersburg. The fortress was founded by Peter the Great. In the crypt of the cathedral which gave Saint Petersburg its name, lie Peters descendants up until the last Emporer Nicholas II. Creepy.
Saint Petersburg greeted us with cold wind and grey skies. We were told that this is 'typical SP weather'. On the next day we were blessed with one of the 30 days of sun in this city, which made for beautiful photos.
Before we could go to the Hotel we went on a city tour to Peter and Paul fortress, a fortress from the 18th century which is the origin and the historical center of Saint Petersburg. The fortress was founded by Peter the Great. In the crypt of the cathedral which gave Saint Petersburg its name, lie Peters descendants up until the last Emporer Nicholas II. Creepy.
That evening we went to the Swan Lake Ballet in the Hermitage Theatre and watched skinny ballerinas perform the top performance of the Russian ballet theatre. It presents the love story between Prince Siegfried and Odette, a girl who was transformed by the evil magician Rothbart into the Swan Queen. The power of selfless love destroys the sorcery, the evil is conquered, and the rays of the rising sun bring life, love and happiness. Perfect fairy tale performance. Sadly, taking photos was forbidden. It was a beautiful show, but to be honest I always get really tired watching for so long, and the icy temperature in the room didn't help.
Catherine's Palace
The next day, like good tourist do, we went to Catherine's Palace. It seems that the people here had a thing for palaces. Or they simply had too much time on their hands which led them to building around 300 palaces over the years. For us tourists, it's a bit confusing, because you never really know which building is a palace or used to be one and which is not. They all look so imposing. Also, Katherine the Great (if I remember correctly) gave a palace to her boy toy who also helped to kill her husband. He had a gambling problem and lost the palace. So she had to buy it again, to officially present it to him again. How about being a taxpayer back then, huh?!
Katherine's palace served as summer home for the wife of Peter the Great, Katherine I and later became the favorite place to live for Katherine the Great. One of its attractions is the amber room, one of the wonders of the world, that you're only allowed to look at and not capture in photographs.
Katherine's palace served as summer home for the wife of Peter the Great, Katherine I and later became the favorite place to live for Katherine the Great. One of its attractions is the amber room, one of the wonders of the world, that you're only allowed to look at and not capture in photographs.
This palace is really easy to remember, just look at that color! According to our tour guide the original design intended a more subdued yellowish facade, but Kathy didn't like it. So she had it painted turquoise.
Inside, everything looked really fancy and kitschy but also impressive. The funny thing was, you see all those big rooms and golden walls and big mirrors, and then there's the tsar's bedroom, which really does not meet your expectations. The bed looks like someone took it out of my dormitory and put in in an oversized room. I mean, seriously?!
Inside, everything looked really fancy and kitschy but also impressive. The funny thing was, you see all those big rooms and golden walls and big mirrors, and then there's the tsar's bedroom, which really does not meet your expectations. The bed looks like someone took it out of my dormitory and put in in an oversized room. I mean, seriously?!
Maybe lack of sleep was why he was so grumpy and mean and let his subordinates wait in rooms with fake food in them and golden apples which caused some people to loose some teeth. What a dick!
Another really weird habit was that they had paintings of dead animals hanging in their dining room, and I don't thing they served to make people convert to vegetarianism. What else can I say about this sight? Well, if you're visiting St. Petersburg and get the chance to see it, do it! it, even if it means you'll have to wear these brown floor-protecting overshoes! |
You can't get enough of Katherine's Palace? Take a look at the Gallery!
Night Cruise on the Canals of St. Petersburg
To end this day perfectly, we went on a Cruise on a riverboat at night. The sight was beautiful. The night was lit up by flickering lights and all the buildings were illuminated. It was a sparkling spectacle with free champagne and party music. Also, I forgot my gloves and was freezing so I became a party pooper and went under deck to look at the city through the window. It's the perfect activity if you want to go partying in one of the night clubs afterwards. The bus gave those who wanted to party a ride to the night club and the rest of us to the hotel.
Last Day - Hermitage Museum & Cathedral Tour
When you go to Saint Petersburg, you should definitely go see the Hermitage Museum, but beware, you may never come out again! This thing is HUGE! I've heard different numbers from different people, one person said, if you want to look at every piece of art in this museum, and be it only for a second, you'd have to spend one year in there. Someone else said 8 years...but you get the idea.
You will notice from the pictures I have taken that I was more fascinated by the interior design, walls, ceilings and floors that the pieces which were exhibited...what can I say in my defense...they just looked so pretty! And I always wonder how long it must have taken to build this and that there were people back then who put so much money and effort into building such places...it's really amazing.
For those of you, who like numbers, the Hermitage Museum has a total area of 233 345 square meters. In it 651 931works of art are being exhibited. But that is only part of the 3 102 917 total items in the building. If I would start listing all the different exhibitions in the museum, this post would never end, so I suggest visiting their Homepage if you're interested.
You will notice from the pictures I have taken that I was more fascinated by the interior design, walls, ceilings and floors that the pieces which were exhibited...what can I say in my defense...they just looked so pretty! And I always wonder how long it must have taken to build this and that there were people back then who put so much money and effort into building such places...it's really amazing.
For those of you, who like numbers, the Hermitage Museum has a total area of 233 345 square meters. In it 651 931works of art are being exhibited. But that is only part of the 3 102 917 total items in the building. If I would start listing all the different exhibitions in the museum, this post would never end, so I suggest visiting their Homepage if you're interested.
The cathedral tour proved once again that the Russians truly valued interior design, or rather a decoration overload. It was incredible to see the architecture, but even more so the mosaics that cover almost every millimeter inside of some cathedrals. It's hard to describe, so see for yourselves:
All in all it was really a great trip and I would always advise people who don't speak Russian to go on a guided trip or tour when it's their first time in Saint Petersburg. It's a really beautiful city, but it can also be overwhelming, especially when there's this language barrier and every street sign just looks like gibberish. I don't know about you, but I would easily get lost and hardly dared to roam around in my free time, scared of getting lost. But when I did, it was totally worth it! My roomie and I found out that the Metro tickets aren't really tickets but coins that come out through the same slot as you change. Also the stations themselves are worth a look or two! So much more fancy than any station I've ever seen. Eventually, after some Metro rides, a path through a shabby door through a rear courtyard, another door and through a scarily wrecked stairwell, we reached this place with tons of different little design stores where jewelry and clothes and all sorts of products were being sold. I just remember that the name sounded like the word for Étagère, but here my memory fails. The cool thing next to those little shops was a room where I believe concerts take place, or something. Next to a little stage it had two swings in it. How wonderfully random that we found this place. Very urban and interesting!