Visiting Russia has long been on our list, so the Easter break offered the perfect opportunity to visit both St Petersburg and Moscow. We made Helsinki our starting point, flying in there first and spending a day walking around the city and visiting the island of Suomenlinna. The island was a short ferry ride leaving from the main wharf area. We walked around the fortified walls which had helped Finland defend itself for centuries, and then waited for the ferry in the local brewery where we sampled a delicious ale.
That evening we boarded a train bound for St Petersburg – an excellent way of getting between the two cities – and with our bread, cheese and wine, we had everything we needed. This high speed train is a highly efficient way of entering Russia, as the border officials work their way through the carriages checking your passports and visas. We had made sure all our documentation was in order, but there was still that sense that you might be offloaded somewhere in the snow-clad wilderness due to some communication difficulty.
Our first encounter with Russia was navigating the metro system in St Petersburg which we had heard so much about. Everything had a golden glow and the escalators took you so deep you thought you were traveling to the Earth’s core.
Easter Friday was spent walking through the palace gardens and past the Field of Mars, and along the canals. We stood at the base of the Church of the Saviour on Blood and stared in awe. It really is like some bizarre candy-striped fantastical structure, part music-box, part monument. It really looked like the decorated domes would spin and omit music, if only you could find the wind-up key. We then stumbled across a military band rehearsal taking place in Palace Square. The precision marching and drums booming out across the square made you stop and question what era you were in.
The next stop was Moscow, and in keeping with our overlanding theme, we took an overnight train from St Petersburg leaving. It wasn’t the best night’s sleep thanks to unloading of carriages part way through the trip, but there was the excitement in the morning of waking up, wondering what would be awaiting us in Moscow.
Moscow is much more sprawling than St Petersburg, but in some ways Red Square makes it feel more like it has a heart. The long rectangular square flanked with its impressive GUM department store on one side, and the Mausoleum and towering Kremlin on the other, with the St Basil’s standing strong and tall at the end. It truly does take your breath away when you first see it. In some ways it seems so out of place against the backdrop of industrial-style buildings and gray beyond the square. A visit to the Kremlin Museum revealed the stunning collection of royal jewels and carriages, and an extensive array of trays, goblets and armoury.
One of the other attractions in Russia of course is the vodka. Clean and strong, it seems to be stocked everywhere, in a range of flavours and strengths, and with such cold weather you quickly understand why it is the drink of choice. Tins of caviar are also available everywhere – unfortunately for any lovers of caviar, I have nothing to report on taste and quality, as being a vegetarian doesn’t extend itself to sampling this ‘black gold’. On the subject of being a vegetarian in Russia, well it’s not the easiest thing, especially as menus in English are few and far between. In most cases we visited delicatessens and supermarkets and ate while sight-seeing – we did however have a light and tasty meal at a pancake house, where you were spoilt for choice of fillings.
Russia felt a bit like organised chaos, with cars parked sideways on streets and challenging ticketing systems, but the grandeur of the buildings and every corner steeped in history makes it a truly fascinating place.
