Small snakey canals and cobble stone streets; St Petersburg

Arriving at Moscow train station at about 11pm it was absolutely buzzing with all sorts of colourful characters! Our train finally departing at 12:50 am and we were pleased to leave behind the mush of army men and police gazing at us. The four birth cabins were the cleanest and most comfortable we had come across, sharing our room with an older Russian lady who’s only communication was “shut” referring to close the door so she could change. A soundly sleep and we were woken at half 8 to the banging of our door by the train attendant letting us know toilets were to be locked soon (half hour before entering a stations and again after departure). A little before 9 we had arrived in St Petersburg, collecting our paper bag of freebies to get us through the day containing a slap up breaky, yoghurt, water and some fruit, we headed in what we thought was the right direction to our hostel. Looking at a screen shot of google street view we were out the front, however the apple hostel was no where to be seen and our packs on our backs were making it all the more confusing. Irritable, annoyed and an hour later we decided to grab a super strong but overpriced coffee from a chain shop with wifi. Back on our feet and walking in a new direction we found that the old address was incorrect and in fact the exact opposite way from the train station. Arriving hot and bothered we were unable to check in for another 2 hours so we decided to back track along the high street we had just walked for a browse of the shops. We were in such a prime location; just one block parallel from nevskie prospect! 

It was a beautiful area, st Petersburg itself has such a European feel about it, the buildings are beautiful; rich in architectural detail dating back hundreds of years and still in good form. There was no shiny high rises to intimidate the uniqueness of the cobble street stone city. Small canals snaked throughout the wide streets lined with cafes and darkness almost never doomed. I fell in love with its charm and warmth. Finally checking in just after 1, we slept a little of the afternoon away to be woken by a few of the boys from our tour who had checked in days before. Splitting our separate ways for the eve chloe went on a date never to topped with Fabio, involving a little river cruise to watch the bridges open, shisha and a Swiss man “that was a good one” (he commonly phrased).. Whilst Eric and I went to meet a friend of Sophia’s that had also showed her around the city when she came here last year. With brief contact via Facebook Eric and I waited anxiously under the giant red tower on nevsky…it was like a blind date! However so pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the beautiful Helen, an exceptionally dressed lovely lady we have decided to marry Eric’s brother chris. Moving on from there, Helen led us through the back streets of St Petersburg to some university dorm rooms where we met all of her American exchange friends. Investing in a few bottles of vodka and beers we devoured them before heading onto a karaoke bar full of a bizarre mix of characters. Making friends with one group who invited us in with a giant cake! We then headed to a club blaring tacky dance tunes, hours later sweaty and still smiling we ran into Dave (from our tour) and his date…and areron (also from our tour)?!? Making a sneaky exit we headed for a cheap and tasty feed of subway…still light outside I washed shocked to find we stumbled home a little after 5am. 

With just a few hours sleep Eric and I returned to our meeting spot under the red tower at 12 noon to find Helen, who took us on the metro north to a flea market. I was in heaven, absolutely blown away by the extensive range of everything you could image. Prices ranging from 30 to 200 ($1-8). I filled three bags in one short hour covering only about one kilometre of tables stacked meters high with hidden treasures. Treating ourselves to a deliciously cheap soup/pancake/tea combo we returned to the hostel to collect chloe and drop off our goods. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city, collecting postcards and most importantly purchasing swan lake tickets to see the Russian ballet for the following night. 

A leisurely eve of delicious sushi was spent with corn d and Jane who had just arrived from Moscow on the fast train, then Helen led us to a strange underground bar down an overlooked side street…a mix of grunge/punk boys raved like it had been a few days since they slept, which enticed us to a few long island iced teas as we found a quiet table in another room. Before too long we were all exhausted and retired back to the hostel. The next morning we packed up our life yet again and moved to another hostel that some boys from Chile had told us about. Lesson learnt…Eric can not be trusted with a map…we headed in the wrong direction for quite some time before turning back to almost where we stated finally reaching our destination; the red house hostel. The staff were super friendly, it was only three weeks old so it still smelt of fresh paint and was super clean, We were lucky enough to even score a 10 bed dorm to ourselves. 

Back on the streets of St Petersburg it’s the kind of city you can walk around for hours and always find Something to steal your eye, with no real direction we walked the afternoon away then made our way to St Peters Cathedral with Helen to climb to the top with 360 degree panoramic breathtaking views. Almost late for our date we ran home to get ready for the ballet and meet the others again at the delicious sushi restaurant for dinner. obviously limited by our backpacks…we suited and booted as best we could from our strange selection of travel clothes to see the Russian ballet. The theatre was beautiful, quite small and intimate but each room in the foyer was decorated exquisedly . We had booked the cheapest seats on the wings but luckily the show didn’t sell out so as soon as the curtains were up we were able to move to really good seats up top. Swan lake was beautiful, the dancing was incredible and the story flowed like the fairy tale it is. Not ready to call it a night when the show finished we headed to the W hotel to use and abuse the room top bar…wrapped in complementary blankets enjoying an incredible view of the city lights and st petersburg, sipping delicious ginger and lemon rum cocktails…it was a little bit of luxury in our day to day dorm life. 

With only two days left we decided to spend a good part of the day at the hermitage museum and palace; one of the first in europe of its kind. I was so impressed with its extensive range of over 3 million historical and contemporary artifacts and artworks of world history. Extraordinary pieces ranging from Leonardo de Vinci Madonna and child to Kandinsky’s winter landscape. I was captivated with their incredible collection, much of who we had studied in our senior years of school. Finishing there in the afternoon we wandered around with Helen to see the Beatles tribute lane, and a few other strange alley art corners, pointed in the direction of one when Helen left, we soon enough found ourselves lost in a old wear house like grounds with a bunch of bikers. Making a quick escape we headed to meet Claire, and panda (from our tour) to say our goodbyes but I know I will see them again after building a beautiful friendship with them (having shared the majority of my train time in their cabin). Heading off for a 9:30pm dinner, Helen had made us a reservation with her american friends at a local Mexican restaurant called chainiydom which was Frieda Carlo inspired. Several cocktails, excessive tortillas and a flavorsome shisha later we headed home after a fantastic night. With just one day left of our incredible transibeiran journey we finally decided to slow down, a late start to the day took us straight to a great art cafe (where we were sent the day before but failed to find). Writing postcards, spooning the most delicious and cheap borsch (meet and beetroot soup) and sipping a strong cappuccino…the day passively tamed us as we reflected on what we had accomplished in the past 6 weeks. Before too long the eve fell and we decided to return to same cafe for dinner with corn d and Jane, wine glasses clanged as we celebrated the friendships and the memories we had made. We made a short stop off at a chilled bar by the water on route home to have one final dance and drink before saying goodnight. The next morning we chaotically squeezed our belongings back into our rucksacks (why did I go vintage shopping?) feeling tighter and heavier than ever we were on route to the airport with Helen. With not much time to spare we left our newest and lovely Friend behind and jumped on our skandanavian airline flight to London.