The Winter Palace / The HermitageSaturday 25th April
Breakfast at the Dostoyevsky was hit and miss. We had been told here the restaurant was but when we found it the door was closed and we had to go around to another door. It was very busy and a lot of the people were very rude, pushing and shoving like little children. We managed to get a couple of pancakes and I got a cup of coffee but Alan couldn’t find any tea.
After breakfast we walked up Nevsky Prospekt towards the Winter Palace. Twice we witnessed two sailors and one soldier walking across the square together. Don’t know if that is normal, or were they just friends.
We had to queue to get into the Hermitage and each ticket cost 350 roubles, about £7.00 each.
We couldn’t find an information leaflet so bought a guide book but it was very confusing. The place is enormous and we spent 5 hours in the museum. At one point we were looking out of a window at the river Neva and noticed that there were small icebergs floating down. Unfortunately we hadn’t paid for a photographic pass so we couldn’t take a photo to prove it. In another part of the museum a group of school children were taking part in a performance. They were dancing to “Memories”. We could have stayed a lot longer but felt that we needed some fresh air. Outside in the square there were some wedding limousines. We saw quite a few wedding parties in the course of our walk. We took it that they all went to various parts of the city to have photos taken.
We crossed the river and walked towards the Peter and Paul Fortress. By this time we were tired and footsore and we had a long walk back to our hotel so we didn’t visit the fortress or the cruiser Aurora. Perhaps we may go back again tomorrow. We arrived back at the hotel exhausted and ready for a rest.
Breakfast at the Dostoyevsky was hit and miss. We had been told here the restaurant was but when we found it the door was closed and we had to go around to another door. It was very busy and a lot of the people were very rude, pushing and shoving like little children. We managed to get a couple of pancakes and I got a cup of coffee but Alan couldn’t find any tea.
After breakfast we walked up Nevsky Prospekt towards the Winter Palace. Twice we witnessed two sailors and one soldier walking across the square together. Don’t know if that is normal, or were they just friends.
We had to queue to get into the Hermitage and each ticket cost 350 roubles, about £7.00 each.
We couldn’t find an information leaflet so bought a guide book but it was very confusing. The place is enormous and we spent 5 hours in the museum. At one point we were looking out of a window at the river Neva and noticed that there were small icebergs floating down. Unfortunately we hadn’t paid for a photographic pass so we couldn’t take a photo to prove it. In another part of the museum a group of school children were taking part in a performance. They were dancing to “Memories”. We could have stayed a lot longer but felt that we needed some fresh air. Outside in the square there were some wedding limousines. We saw quite a few wedding parties in the course of our walk. We took it that they all went to various parts of the city to have photos taken.
We crossed the river and walked towards the Peter and Paul Fortress. By this time we were tired and footsore and we had a long walk back to our hotel so we didn’t visit the fortress or the cruiser Aurora. Perhaps we may go back again tomorrow. We arrived back at the hotel exhausted and ready for a rest.
Sunday 26th April
A brilliant sunny day and quite warm.
We had read that the Metro system was easy to use so we gave it a try. Vladimirskaya station was only a short walk away. We bought two tickets and got a coin each. They cost about 80 pence for both of us. The escalator was very long. I got told off for taking a photograph. We didn’t need to change lines which made it easy and in less than 15minutes we had arrived at the Finland Railway Station. This was the station where Lenin arrived in 1917 at the start of the Revolution. The famous engine was nowhere to be seen and Lenin’s monument outside was all covered up which was a bit disappointing.
We set off walking to find the Cruiser Aurora and were delighted to find that we could go aboard. On our way to the Peter and Paul Fortress we passed the museum that contains Peter 1st wooden palace. This was built in three days. It is now covered with a brick building to preserve it.
We went into the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress but not into the fortress itself.
Back across the river past the Rostrall Columns and into Palace Square. After lunch on Nevsky Prospekt we made our way to the Lutheran church of St Peter. The Methodist Bishop of St Petersburg had replied to Alan’s email and told us that there would be a Methodist service there at 5.00p.m. The man who we spoke to didn’t seem to have any knowledge of this. We said that we would return at 5.00.
Alan wanted to see the interior of St Isaacs Cathedral, so that was our next stop. It is now a museum and is very ornate. By this time we were again footsore and tired so we went straight back to our hotel instead of going to the Methodist service.
We still hadn’t received our laundry. When Alan checked we were told that it would cost €51.50 and had to be paid before we received it. The reception sorted it and we can pay with our bill when we leave. Communication isn’t very good in Russia.
