St. Petersburg

Approximately 8.5 years ago I read Crime and Punishment and approximately 8.4 years ago, I decided I had to visit St. Petersburg. And whether I would like to admit it or not, the main driver for the cruise was it gave me a chance to see the city that had captured my imagination for so many years. To make the experience even more memorable, I dedicated myself to re-reading the 600+ pages of the classic Russian novel while on the trip.

We arrived early Tuesday morning, made it past immigration and met up with our private guide, Natalia, the Russian bulldog, for a full day of sightseeing. We were immediately whisked out of St. Petersburg and to the countryside to visit the Peterhof palace, Peter the Great’s summer palace built to rival Versailles. Upon arrival and throughout the rest of the day we continuously encountered ridiculously long lines for each site, but thanks to Natalia and her bulldog nature, we pushed our way to the front of each and every line. We toured the inside of the palace first and then headed outside to see the famed gardens and fountains… true to form, we walked outside just in time for the rain to begin.

With our tight schedule to adhere to Natalia corralled us back into the van and we began our driving tour of city, with great commentary from Natalia about the history of St. Petersburg and the current culture of the city (including Natalia’s pride of the Metro system, unique as St. Petersburg is built on a marsh, and identified throughout the city by the letter M, or as Natalia described it, an upside down W in the English language). The highlight for me however, was driving down the narrow street that was the main stage in Crime and Punishment. The tour with Natalia came to a close with another long line at the Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum in the center of St. Petersburg. Exhausted from the day and lack of lunch, we were dropped off outside the ship, completely dazed from the whirlwind day.

Due to the excessive cost of the private tour, we decided to participate in a group tour for our second day in St. Petersburg, this time focusing on the canals of the city and the craft market (also referred to as a tourist trap) in front of the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. The tour was the best confirmation that group tours were not our style. Herded like cattle, we boarded the bus, then the boat, then the bus, let out to graze at the craft market and final hustled into an overpriced souvenir shop.

Overall, the city was impressive, however with the tourist limitations (we had to stay with a guide the whole time due to the lack of the extremely expensive tourist visa) I was disappointed in not being able to wander around the city, enjoy a beer in a random café or really experience the city outside of our tourist bubble (whether it was the bus, van or guided walks). I guess I will have to wait until my next visit to truly experience the Russian lifestyle.

Museums visited – 2, Churches visited – 0 (although we did have photo opportunities the outside of 4, admittance inside was additional Rubles)