St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is another city that I had wished I could have visited in 2006. Since I’d read Crime and Punishment that year I was excited by the idea of strolling up Nevsky Prospect, crossing the Neva to Vasilievsky Island, and seeing the Dostoevsky museum that’s set up in one of his old flats.
With the mandatory “tourist invitation” and visa in place, I managed to do all that on this trip. What was amazing was that there’s so much more to see and do which I didn’t really figure out until doing some proper research.
I will never profess to understand or be a lover of art. Regardless, The Hermitage was an amazing experience. I was quite taken by the quality of the exhibits and the breath of the collection. Being situated in the Winter Palace, even the exterior is photograph worthy.
St Isaac’s Cathedral was another great find which actually came about by chance. I was struggling to see or find anything with so much snow falling around the Armoury. Then a Hungarian bloke asked if I would mind taking his photo in front of the large, but otherwise innocuous, Church that I’d just spent a few minutes staring at.
All in all, St. Petersburg was not an easy place to visit. It’s damn expensive too. But on whole it was well worth the effort.
