Wednesday 23 September 2009

St Petersburg

St Petersburg 117We nearly cried for help and turned back on arriving in the in-hospitable suburban St Petersburg station we arrived in from Helsinki. Several signs helpfully pointed several different directions to the Metro but all of them lead to a dead end of barriers, cleaners and guards. Station staff eventually took pity and let us out but it was a while after that before we found the tube.

Finding our way round has been tricky, especially learning the Cyrillic alphabet as we go, but somehow we managed to find the Liverpool Bar, The Pickwick Pub and Anglo Tourismo Boat Tours, so we’re feeling pretty Russian now.St Petersburg 021

Actually, Anglo Tourismo didn’t have any boats left, so we joined a Russian speaking tour – St Petersburg is a beautiful place to look at, but we’ve no idea what any of it is.

Its a grand European style city with lots of colourful palaces and cathedrals but our favourite trip was to the Vodka museum. Not sure what we learnt but we had some nice vodka accompanied by herring, salted pickled cucumber and rolls of salted pig fat on rye bread.

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Food Pic #3: Salty pig fat.

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Our train to Moscow was amazing - complimentary slippers and a quadruple cognac each.

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7 comments:

  1. Prost!!! we see Iain's in fancy dress again.

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  2. Have you lost the slippers yet, Iain?

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  3. Wow, the fixtures and fittings of that train are sumptous! You two look positively scruffy.

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  4. Careful trots you'll look like that Russian doll soon if you develop a taste for vodka and fat. Loving the slippers and cognac touch - how civilised. What's next on the menu we are wondering? xxx

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  5. Trains got a lot less sumptous but we've got more scruffy.

    I've lost the slippers, lost (but found again) my sun glasses, lost my wallet (with help from a local pick pocket), lost (but found again) my cardigan and have just lost my nice new water flask. So business as usual.

    Next on the menu? Goat fat and fermented horse milk we think.

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  6. I must remember to follow you next time you go travelling - with such rich pickings I won't need to bring anything of my own!

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