It was cold on the train overnight so I borrowed the extra duvet from the upper bunk to keep warm, sleep better that way. Arriving in St Petersburg after nearly 24 hours travelling it was straight to the M-Hotel which was just back from Nevsky Avenue (the main part of the city) and then to a Georgian restaurant for an excellent meal. This meal was the most expensive of the trip at £15 and only because of the amount of food put on the table. Generally most meals cost me up to £6 which I though was very good considering the quality of the food.
The following morning I went to the Savior of Spilt Blood Church which has beautiful and large frescoes covering all of the internal walls. This church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander was fatally wounded by political nihilists in 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907 with the construction being funded by the Imperial Family. It is now a museum.
Then by metro to the Peter and Paul Fortress which is the original citadel of St Petersburg founded by Peter the Great in 1703.
That evening we were taken to a private flat for a pancake party. Because this was new Year’s Eve this was changed to a traditional Russian New Year meal of duck, turkey and goose meats; special salads, caviar, bread, pancakes, jams, wine and juices. I can’t say I like caviar very much!
The lady who owned the flat told us about it’s history, which I found fascinating. The building was built in 1903 by a local merchant. It has four floors and each floor originally had six rooms. The merchant and family lived on the second floor and he rented out the remaining flats. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the owner was told that the government would take the building into common ownership and he and his family could either leave or live in one room. Thus began the commune. Generally, each room became home to a family and all six families on the floor had to use the same kitchen bathroom. At times one room even had a family living in each corner. It was the idea of the Communists that people in the country should be moved into the cities and the richer classes had to move out to make room for them.
In 1932 this changed with the government offering the people the chance to buy their own flat or, if they had lived there a nominated period of time, they were given the flat for free. Sometime after that the lady we met was born in the room next to where we ate and subsequently she has been able to buy all the flats on her floor having completed the purchase two years ago. Since then she and her family have been slowly renovating the flat and although it will take them years to get it right it already looks good now.
Being New Years Eve a number of roads had been closed off so on our return to the hotel we saw in the New Year on the street with some fireworks going off and cars stopping with the drivers jumping out and yelling as the clocks struck midnight.
On 1 January 2019 the tour officially finished and although two of the others stayed an extra day I saw little of them. Most of the time I wandered about by myself looking at the different Christmas lights about the place. Although everything is lit up it’s not for the Christmas most people know as the Russian Christmas Day will be on 7 January. This is because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian calendar which has Christmas falling on 7 January. Christmas is considered a high holiday by the Russian Orthodox Church with there being several long services Christmas Eve.
Having booked on-line to avoid queuing, I visited the Peter the Great’s Hermitage or Winter Place. I arrived there at opening time so there was little waiting done. It was my intention not to take any photos as I wanted to see the Palace just for myself. The good intention went straight away for as soon as I saw the size and opulence of the rooms I had to take some photos of the more striking areas. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases so it’s no wonder I became lost when trying to find the cloakroom where I had left my coat on the way in. The were certainly 6000 hooks in three cloakroom that I know of and they were all in use with people waiting for those leaving to be able to hang up their coats. No external coats are allowed in the Palace.
There were crowds of people about on the Thursday with my finding out the on the first Thursday of the month Russians have free entry to the Hermitage, and by the look of it they certainly made the most of it especially as it’s a school holiday time now. Events happen in the Palace Square, a huge area in-front to the Palace.
The following morning I went to the Savior of Spilt Blood Church which has beautiful and large frescoes covering all of the internal walls. This church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander was fatally wounded by political nihilists in 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907 with the construction being funded by the Imperial Family. It is now a museum.
Then by metro to the Peter and Paul Fortress which is the original citadel of St Petersburg founded by Peter the Great in 1703.
That evening we were taken to a private flat for a pancake party. Because this was new Year’s Eve this was changed to a traditional Russian New Year meal of duck, turkey and goose meats; special salads, caviar, bread, pancakes, jams, wine and juices. I can’t say I like caviar very much!
The lady who owned the flat told us about it’s history, which I found fascinating. The building was built in 1903 by a local merchant. It has four floors and each floor originally had six rooms. The merchant and family lived on the second floor and he rented out the remaining flats. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the owner was told that the government would take the building into common ownership and he and his family could either leave or live in one room. Thus began the commune. Generally, each room became home to a family and all six families on the floor had to use the same kitchen bathroom. At times one room even had a family living in each corner. It was the idea of the Communists that people in the country should be moved into the cities and the richer classes had to move out to make room for them.
In 1932 this changed with the government offering the people the chance to buy their own flat or, if they had lived there a nominated period of time, they were given the flat for free. Sometime after that the lady we met was born in the room next to where we ate and subsequently she has been able to buy all the flats on her floor having completed the purchase two years ago. Since then she and her family have been slowly renovating the flat and although it will take them years to get it right it already looks good now.
Being New Years Eve a number of roads had been closed off so on our return to the hotel we saw in the New Year on the street with some fireworks going off and cars stopping with the drivers jumping out and yelling as the clocks struck midnight.
On 1 January 2019 the tour officially finished and although two of the others stayed an extra day I saw little of them. Most of the time I wandered about by myself looking at the different Christmas lights about the place. Although everything is lit up it’s not for the Christmas most people know as the Russian Christmas Day will be on 7 January. This is because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian calendar which has Christmas falling on 7 January. Christmas is considered a high holiday by the Russian Orthodox Church with there being several long services Christmas Eve.
Having booked on-line to avoid queuing, I visited the Peter the Great’s Hermitage or Winter Place. I arrived there at opening time so there was little waiting done. It was my intention not to take any photos as I wanted to see the Palace just for myself. The good intention went straight away for as soon as I saw the size and opulence of the rooms I had to take some photos of the more striking areas. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases so it’s no wonder I became lost when trying to find the cloakroom where I had left my coat on the way in. The were certainly 6000 hooks in three cloakroom that I know of and they were all in use with people waiting for those leaving to be able to hang up their coats. No external coats are allowed in the Palace.
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| The Winter Palace |
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| The ceiling through the chandelier |
There were crowds of people about on the Thursday with my finding out the on the first Thursday of the month Russians have free entry to the Hermitage, and by the look of it they certainly made the most of it especially as it’s a school holiday time now. Events happen in the Palace Square, a huge area in-front to the Palace.
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