Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg - July 23-25

Very Orderly arrival into the SP. Took out R 10,000 (about $ 200) but thought I'd Taken out only 1,000 so took out another 10,000R. Meant we used cash the whole time in the SP.
Used Their uber lookalike - Gett (British based) to order a taxi. Took a while to find him, but then a smooth one hour into our trip Airbnb with Artem and Lera.
Their place was in a very old building, up on the 4th floor - the lift. Artem was there to meet us. Very pleasant place in a great location close to everything in the Old Town.

Artem recommended, for something close, we go to Isaac's Cathedral - 10 minutes walk away. Climbed the 200 steps to the top of the dome to get a great view of the SP.

Then went to a restaurant Below our accommodation, That Artem recommended. The lady spoke English and the food was good - what more Could You Want.

We ended up eating there the next two nights as well. A meal with wine and beer, for the two of us, cost about $ 15!

Saturday July 24th
Caught a bus out of Peters Walk - Walking and Bicycle Tours.
Elenka was our guide for a 4 hour ride around all the sites of the SP. Fantastic, and for about $ 40 each.
We were with a couple from Czech, and a girl from Germany. Elenka kept us on quiet roads and back lanes and the traffic was no problem at all.

During the communist era, all the churches in Russia were banned. Below is a marriage of the house - like the registry office, but made up fancy it take the place of Churches.

and in

Outside the marriage house - opposite the German embassy

A very strong sculpture to all Political Refugees. Over the river from this was a DETENTION center.

Elenka, our tour guide, and she set a pretty mean pace on the bike.

A mosque

Our group then found a restaurant for lunch - but it was about 4pm!

Sunday July 24th

Headed off to the Hermitage Museum, Which was the Winter Palace 1 During Peter and Catherine the Great's reign. Unbelievable Opulence.

This is a clock !! - A Golden Pheasant.

Then decided on a tour of some of the stations of the underground. The underground is UNBELIEVABLY deep - Necessary to find solid ground to build it on.

Finished off the day with a ride on the waterways.

Some of the bridges we went under were very low!

Found a little bar for a drink on the way back to the BnB. Could not believe the beer - look closely, made in Russia though.

Monday 25 July.
Checked out the Russian Museum before heading back out to Pultova airport.

Dermot doing an impression of the guy behind

Tolstoy

Russian skiers

On the way out of the airport -

Farewell to the SP. Quite Different to what I expected. I felt incredibly safe all the time - Even went out to the shops on my own at 10pm - lots of other people out walking Their dogs, or just walking. The people were friendly and helpful, the food was good, the transport system was excellent, everything was so cheap. A very worthwhile visit.

Arrived back at ouVidha and Bala fed us another Indian meal.