There is so much we would love to tell you about our wonderful 10-day trip to St. Petersburg, Russia at the end of May. Suffice it to say it was spectacular and probably the best trip we’ve ever taken. This is a trip Patty fantasized about due to many years of reading about Russian history, especially the years of Romanov tsarist rule prior to the 1917 revolution.



We responded to St. Petersburg so passionately because everything was grand and expansive, including:

- the amount of travel time it takes to get there – almost 18 hours with a long layover in Paris (St. Petersburg’s time zone is 11 hours ahead of California)
- a language that is intriguing to learn, and a different alphabet
- enormous palaces, grounds, and cathedrals with so much gold gilding it would blind you in bright sun
- unbelievable wealth that the ruling class once possessed
- artwork in the many museums with The Hermitage holding the grandest collection
- hundreds of 18th and 19th century building facades
- many canals and the Neva river out to the Gulf of Finland
- the length and breadth of the Nevsky Prospekt – the main street of St. P with of its enormous choice of shopping and restaurants
- the complexity of the Russian people, their main religion (Orthodox Christianity), and their culture. The Russians we encountered were not immediately outgoing but warmed to our interest in them and their city.

We structured our time split between private tours and time on our own. After much research we booked with a company Travel All Russia and stayed at the Pushka Inn Hotel on the Moika canal and were very satisfied with our experiences. Our small hotel (less than 30 rooms) was located just a 5 minute walk to The Hermitage so it was very convenient.

Even though we spent a long time focused in one city there was still more we wanted to see and explore. Saint Petersburg is sometimes called the “Venice of the North” but we also felt that it was reminiscent of Paris – lots of parks, cafes, and a rich history. This makes sense if you know the history, because Peter the Great fashioned his new capital after some of the great cities of Europe.

The only comment I would share with you in the category of "always room for improvement" is that we would have appreciated knowing that there were going to be celebrations of St. Petersburg city day over the weekend as we would have extended our trip by a few days to take part in these. However, we guess you might not have known something this detailed. It's really a minor thing because our trip was fantastic!