Saint Petersburg

Day 1

The day after I arrived in Moscow, I left with Maddie and Mr. Chad to tour the city of St. Petersburg. We rode a 4 hour train to the city and then took a taxi to an appartment. I enjoyed looking out the window of the tain and seeing all of the gorgeous valleys and houses. When we got to the city I first noticed all of the beautiful architecture that composed each of the buildings. It was just how  I imagined a European city to look. When the taxi dropped us off at our appartment, I was very glad to be walking on the ground again. Russian city drivers are crazy! The area outside of our apartment door smelled like terrible cigarette smoke, but the interior of the apartment was beautiful. It had an awesome view of the buildings and the river that ran through the city.
After a long morning of traveling the three of us decided to eat lunch at an Italian restaurant. That restaurant is where I learned how Russians bring your food out immediately after making it. This seemed weird to me especially since Mr. Chad received his food almost 40 minutes after Maddie and I finished eating our pizza. When everyone is hungry, that becomes very unfortunate for the person who receives their food last. After lunch Maddie and I walked down a street called Nevsky Prospect. This road consists of many different shops and restaurants to visit. We went in a couple different stores and I was very surprised to find how many people speak English. After walking close to the end of Nevsky Prospect we ended up standing in front of the Hermitage Palace. I was so shocked at how beautiful the outside of the building was. Until that point I had never seen anything decorated in such gorgeous detail. In front of the Hermitage Palace was a bunch of flags from all the different countries in honor of St. Petersburg's birthday (May 27). However after spending a long time looking at the flags Maddie and I noticed they were missing Ukraine's flag. Poor Ukraine. By the time we got back to the apartment we were hungry for dinner. The three of us went to an Indian restaurant called Tandoor. I had never had Indian food so I thought it tasted really good. I found it funny that I ate Italian and Indian before I was able to try Russian, considering the fact that I was in Russia. I really enjoyed my first day in St. Petersburg and could not wait to continue touring the city.

                                    

     

Day 2

Mrs. Kris, Elena, and her friend Emma took a late train to St. Petersburg the night before and joined us at the apartment in the morning. The five of us went out into the city to tour various churches. We first visited St. Isaac's Cathedral. This church is the third largest domed cathedral in the world. I really enjoyed being able to go inside the church and see all of the beautiful structures. We also got the opportunity to climb to the top of the building and have a large overview of the city of St. Petersburg. It was so cool to be able to see such a unique view of the city. For lunch I was given the opportunity to taste Russian food. Before I left the States my parents told me I had to try borsch, so I did. It tasted better than I expected, but I don't know that I would voluntarily order it again. At least now I can say I tried it. We then visited the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood. "On the Spilled Blood" was added to the name of the church after Alexander the II was murdered there. The exterior of the church has many gorgeous onion domes with lots of different designs. At this point I think I am beginning to develop an obsession with onion domes. The inside walls of the church were also very impressive. They are filled with mosaic pictures of different people and events that make up the Bible. Every inch of the building was covered in beautiful glass artwork. After touring the different churches we went on a boat tour. I was very excited about this because I love going on boat rides! At the beginning of the boat tour, the tour guide asked which of us spoke English. After we looked up at him and rose our hands he yelled at us for talking too loud. I thought this was funny considering there was a group of Russians sitting right next to us who were also talking. We are living up to our stereotype. On the boat tour I was able to see a lot of different buildings in St. Petersburg, including the front side of the Hermitage. After the boat tour we had dinner at a Georgian restaurant called In Georgia. At first I was expecting to have barbecue, but then I realized there is a country called Georgia which is different than the state Georgia. I also thoroughly enjoyed this type of food. I think I am beginning to become culturally well rounded in the different foods I have tried. 

        

                                                              Saint Isaac's Cathedral

                                           

                                                  Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood 

         

Day 3

Today we planned to take a boat ride to the Peterhof Palace, which is also referred to as the Summer Palace. We got to the boat docks early, so we had time to walk around the Hermitage again. Maddie, 

Elena, Emma, and I had fun taking pictures of ourselves in front of the palace. Just as we were about to start heading back towards the boat, a group of Asians ran up to us and started taking pictures with us. It was not long before we had a giant crowd of paparazi wanting to get their picture taken next to us. The 4 of us were all having a great time and laughing really hard at this unexpected event. Who knew having light hair and skin could be so exciting! After our 5 minuets of fame we walked back to the boat docks so that we could go to the palace. The summer palace was very beautiful and is known for its gorgeous fountains. It was really fun to walk around and look at all of the different gardens. It was so beautiful. I also enjoyed being able to go inside the palace and see all of the different rooms. There were so many gold accents on a lot of the interior that made it look so beautiful. After we spent the afternoon looking at the fountains and gardens we went back to the Tandoor Indian Restaurant in St. Petersburg because Elena was craving Indian food. For dessert we then went to a really cool chocolate restauraunt that had a lot of different gourmet desserts. That was a nice treat to end our day. 

                                         

                                                          Peterhof Palace Gardens

         

      

Day 4 - Maddie's 18th Birthday! 

For our last day in St. Petersburg we planned to tour the interior of the Hermitage. The Hermitage is also considered the Winter Palace. The interior was just as gorgeous as that of the summer palace. My favorite room inside the Hermitage had a very intricate clock that had many different functions. The room was also beautifully decorated with chandeliers and gold accents. We spend about 2 hours looking at all the different rooms and art located in the Hermitage Museum. We ate lunch at a cafe, and I was able to order my meal completely in Russian thanks to Emma's help! After lunch we went to buy our tickets for a tour of the Faberge Eggs. We had to wait for a little while before the tour began, so we decided to sit at a coffee shop nearby. Maddie, Elena, and I ordered chocolate milkshakes, which apparently Russians take very literally. When we got our milkshakes, they tasted like milk with chocolate syrup mixed in the glass. This was very different from an American milkshake. During our Faberge Egg tour, we were able to look at many different products made by the Faberge company. It was really cool to be able to learn about the history behind each of the products the company produced. My favorite pieces to look at were the Faberge Easter Eggs. I enjoyed hearing about the significance that each individual egg had at the time it was created. When the tour was over we headed back to the apartment and started preparing to return to Moscow. I had an amazing time touring the city of St. Petersburg, and I hope to having the opportunity to go back someday. Thank you very much Fabers! I am really excited to being experiencing the city of Moscow!

        

        

        

- Hannah Petersen