Welcome to the final leg of our epic trip to the world’s largest country – Russia. In this part, we’ll be heading off to St Petersburg, known as the city built on bones because of all the slaves who died building it! Luckily, the city has so much more to offer us than this rather bleak phase of its history, like the world’s fourth largest cathedral, the world’s second largest museum, the world’s most expensive eggs and Russia’s answer to the Palais de Versailles. So let’s get cracking!
Settling in
After arriving in St Petersburg, we start by finding our hotel. A city landmark since 1912, Hotel Astoria has hosted many eminent guests, including dancer Isadora Duncan, poet Sergei Yesenin and now us! Situated directly across from St Isaac’s Cathedral and a short walk from The Hermitage Museum, this five-star hotel is well-placed to explore some of the best of St Petersburg, so grab a drink from the bar, enjoy feeling like royalty as you ascend that grand staircase, pick a suite and settle in. Mine’s the Tsar’s suite!
St Isaac’s Cathedral
Just across the street happens to be the fourth largest cathedral in the world, so let’s head inside for a quick look-see and stand beneath that glorious dome, also one of the world’s largest. Look up and you’ll see at its very centre a white dove flying overhead, which symbolises the Holy Spirit and reminds worshippers that God is watching over Russia. St Isaac’s was commissioned by Catherine the Great and took the italian architect 40 years to get right!
The Winter Palace
First stop on our itinerary is just a short walk from St Isaac’s – the world famous Hermitage Museum, which houses the breathtaking Winter Palace, once the summer residence of the Tsar and his family. With over 3 million permanent exhibits, The Hermitage is Russia’s most famous museum, and the second largest in the world after the Louvre. When Catherine the Great became Empress, after conveniently depositing her husband in prison, she needed somewhere to read and write in peace, so she ordered that a small palace be built. She called it “l’Ermitage”, or hideaway, which later became the name of the whole complex – The Hermitage. Catherine was big on education, literature, and the arts and became the first Russian ruler to start collecting works of art. She even ordered 80 Russian painters to study the Raphael rooms at the Vatican for 3 years, so that they could reproduce them in a hall at the palace!
Just to warn you, it’s been calculated that if you took just one minute per item and spent 8 hours in the Hermitage every day, it would take you nearly 15 years to view all of the museum’s exhibits, so we probably won’t see it all! We have to start with this whistle-stop tour through the Winter Palace, though. Pace yourself climbing the magnificent Jordanian staircase as we’re about to embark on a journey through unparalleled splendour and a veritable treasure trove of delights. The word opulent doesn’t even begin to cover it with this place!
There’s just so much to see. We can explore the exhibits on this museum tour complete with map [click on the 🛈 to learn about each room you’re in] or, if you’re feeling particularly hardy, we can take the five-hour tour, with something a little different! It’s up to you.
Getting around
Let’s take a break from all that walking now and park our bums on some public transport. We have a choice of trolley buses or the metro, which incidentally, is the deepest metro in the world! To take a quick ride on a trolley bus get those roubles ready for your ticket and hop on here or take a quick tour of some of the more extravagantly decorated metro stations here.
The State Russian Museum
Ok, now you’ve got your second wind, we can have a nose around one of the world’s best galleries of Russian art – The State Russian Museum. Here we find all kinds of art from icons dating back to the 12th century, to art from the 19th century. I’ve got us a ticket for a phenomenal tour that allows us to access all the highlights of the gallery with information about each of the exhibits. You might want to start with the maps, as it’s easy to get lost. [To view an exhibit in more detail, click on the white square below the painting or sculpture and then click on the “i” at the bottom-right of your screen.] You’ll find Wassily Kandinsky in the Benois Wing.
Church of the Spilled Blood
A short walk away is the iconic Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, built in memory of Tsar Alexander II. An elaborate shrine, in the form of a ciborium, was built at the end of the church opposite the altar, on the exact place of Alexander’s assassination. It’s decorated with topaz, lazurite and other gems. We can’t visit St Petersburg without at least a quick peek inside the church, which is now a secular museum and one of the city’s major tourist attractions. [remember to expand to full screen to get the full impact of the place] It really is awe-inspiring.
Peterhoff Palace and Gardens
Next stop – the fancy pants Peterhoff Fountain Park, commissioned by Peter the Great in answer to Louis XIV’s Palais de Versailles. It’s full of statues and over 150 fountains including the world’s tallest natural fountain – Peterhoff’s Grand Cascade – another world record for Russia! We can take an aerial tour to see the park and get spectacular views of the River Neva and the Baltic Sea [or click here to see the Grand Cascade in all its glory in real time!].
During World War II, there was only enough time to hide some of the statues in the grounds before invasion. The four statues of Samson, Neva, Volkhov and Triton were stolen by the Nazis and the Grand Cascade was reduced to rubble. But in 1956, restorers managed to rebuild the fountain and the sculptures were completely recreated bringing the record-breaking cascade back to life and now each year spring has not properly sprung in St Petersburg until the fountains are turned on at Peterhoff!
To find out more about the history of the palace and its inhabitants and even build your own Russian palace, there is an interactive timeline [click on the button at the top left “РУС” for English version, then drag the timeline across the screen to see the palace magically transform through time before your very eyes!] Can you find the funky figurine of the foo dog?See how the palace would have been viewed by tourists throughout history with the Palace Ticket or take a tour inside the palace while at the same time discovering which Peterhoff hero you are, which is a fun way to explore! And if you somehow managed to miss that impressive glittering ballroom, take a peek here.
World’s most expensive Easter eggs
These gorgeous jewelled eggs were created by the House of Fabergé, here in St Petersburg in Imperial Russia. It’s believed as many as 69 were produced, between 1885 and 1917, of which only 57 survive today. The Fabergé Museum now houses the largest collection of Fabergé eggs in the world with a total of 11 that were created for the families of the last two Russian Tsars as elaborate Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. In case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about over a simple egg, a Fabergé egg once owned by Russian royals could set you back hundreds of millions of dollars, as each egg, decorated with gold, diamonds, pearls and gems, took the royal jeweller, Karl Fabergé, a whole year to create!
Now we know what we’re looking at, let’s discover the secrets inside these eggsquisite works of art…
Did you see the Coronation Egg with a little golden carriage hidden inside and the Pink Lily of the Valley Egg with portraits of Nickolas and his daughters, secreted inside? I don’t know about you but Kinder surprise just doesn’t seem to do it for me any more!
To see the layout of the museum, use this map. There’s also a complete exhibit index you can refer to as you visit the collection room by room and listen to the audio guide [you’ll just need a soundcloud account to access it].
Boat cruise
It’s time for another sit down folks, this time on a boat, as we join our guide, Sergey Baklykov, to explore this city of rivers, bridges and embankments. We will cruise along the Neva River, the Fontanka River, the Krukov Canal, the Griboedov Canal and the Moyka River and learn more about some of St Petersburg’s attractions along the way. Mind your head as we go under those bridges.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The boat drops us right outside our next stop. A cabinet of curiosities, the Kunstkamera (Art Chamber) was Russia’s first ever museum and was founded by Peter the Great to show the world how modern and scientific Russia was. Peter collected all sorts of things from works of art to scientific instruments and even human specimens. Inside can be found his 300-year-old collection of human body parts and the Gottorb Globe, which was the world’s first planetarium. The museum even had a living exhibit, Peter’s assistant Nikolei Bourgeois, who was 7 feet 2 inches tall, and can still be seen here now albeit in his skeletal form! Can you find him?
Let’s experience some of the curiosities in store for ourselves with this fabulous Kunstkamera tour. [click on the earphones to hear an introduction by our English guide]
More galleries and museums
If you’re not all museumed out by now, there are still many more to see. For something a little more modern there’s the Erarta Museum – you can take a tour of this contemporary art gallery here. Or you can delve into the collections of the Pushkin Literary Museum with this tour here.
A culinary interlude
It’s definitely time to eat after all that lot, so let’s tuck in to a big dish of that Russian favourite – Stroganoff. Here’s the recipe…
You’ll need: 2 tsp sunflower oil, 1 large onion, finely chopped, 225g chestnut mushrooms, sliced and halved, 3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 1 tsp), 1-2 tsp paprika, 500g or so sirloin or rump steaks, trimmed and cut into small bite-sized pieces, 325 ml beef stock, 50 ml brandy, 100g soured cream, fresh parsley, 1tbsp tomato puree, salt to taste (1/2 tsp), pepper to taste (1/4 tsp).
Recipe: Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 mins, stirring regularly, until it starts to soften. Add the mushrooms, sage and paprika and continue to cook for 5 mins until they begin to wilt. Tip into a medium bowl and set aside. Return the frying pan to a high heat with the remaining teaspoon of oil and fry the steak pieces for 2-3 mins, or until they’re brown on both sides. Tip them into the bowl with the mushroom mix. Reduce to a lower heat and add the stock and brandy. Scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and mix in to add flavour. Season with salt and pepper, leave the liquid to simmer and reduce for about 3-4 mins. Reduce the heat to medium and return the mushroom and meat mixture. Then, add salt, pepper and tomato puree and mix in. Simmer for 2-3 mins to heat through, add the soured cream and cook for a further minute, stirring. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve. Then feast away!
The Mariinksy Theatre
Finally, let’s take a trip to the Mariinsky Theatre. We can have an explore around the inside and even climb onto the stage. Check out those curtains! And look out for the Emperor’s Box, which is decorated with a giant golden crown.
While we’re here it would be rude not to see a ballet, so I’ve got three for us to choose from: Romeo and Juliet , Swan Lake or Nutcracker I don’t want to sway you in any particular direction but Swan Lake was actually created at this theatre. Whatever you choose, let’s find our seats, settle down and unwind with our premium vodka and beluga caviar to enjoy the show.
Alternatively, experience a concert at the Mariinksy Theatre Concert Hall here.
I hope whatever you chose, you had a great time. Sadly, we say goodbye to Russia now but join me for more adventures very soon…
