Although it is now some time ago, I went to St. Petersburg.
We'd heard a lot about the Russians before heading out there, that they would be unfriendly to English speakers and that they would quite happily push you out of the way if you were in their's.
Far from it.
The city is beautiful, the streets vast and so too the buildings. Anyone we met, even if they couldn't speak English tried their best to speak English...even if that was still in Russian. An odd experience but quite funny too.
Myself, a fellow Brit and an Italian organised the trip ourselves so that we could go at the same time as our other friends who were going with ESN (Erasmus Student Network) and the Aussie, who was going with her mum (who is BRILLIANT!). We stayed in a rather dodgy looking area, it seemed to be the only place which was made of red brick - and was called the red brick territory - but the hostel was actually very nice. We bunked in a 12 bed dorm and were told the sights we should see and how we should go about seeing them by one of the hostel workers.
Cathedrals and Palaces are abound in St. Petersburg, even if they don't much look like them yet there is one feature which links them all...gold. My word it is everywhere!
So we did all the sights we should see and I also saw Swan Lake at the Mariinsky theatre. The lead was a Bolshoi dancer and the evening was fantastic - finishing with a few sparkling wines and then getting locked out of the hostel but that was all soon resolved.
One of the places we visited was the Hermitage and you could go to St. Petersburg just for it. The museum is vast, a 3 story Palace which has a vast array of everything. To put it in numbers only 5% of the exhibits are on show at any one point, I was there for 4 hours and didn't see everything. My friends were there close to 6 hours and I saw things that they didn't. If you were to look at every exhibit without a break it would take 3 years! The place was truly amazing and I got to see Seurat, Sisley, Monet, Matisse, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Reynolds and Picasso...I somehow missed the da Vinci.
I had a brilliant time there and I thoroughly recommend it as a place to visit. I would certainly like to go back or maybe further in to see what 'real' Russia is like, considering are Russian friends said it was very European.
It was a whistle stop tour of the city however, as we can only be there for 3 days visa free so it was back on the long ferry trip back to Helsinki and to work.
That work is suddenly piling up. I have just, at this moment, finished my Finnish Literature essay - although I am awaiting some feedback as it undoubtedly needs improvement. I have one more essay to write on Australian literature and its portrayal of Aboriginals, four exams (two of which are next week...on the same day) and two presentations. I will however be finished by the time my friends back in Nottingham have returned from their Easter break, as it is only an extended weekend here in Finland.
Tonight we will see Via Crucis, a promenade performance which culminates in the crucifixion of Christ infront of the Senate Sq. Cathedral. By the looks of photos and experience of Finnish-ness I imagine it will be excellent and quite graphic, what is more who cares if it is in Finnish as I know the story well enough to narrate it to myself - perfect!
Mum and Dad are in the midst of planning their trip over at the beginning of May, I must admit that I got quite excited when telling Mum what we could go and see. I'm also excited to show Dad the liquorice chocolate which is the best chocolate I have ever tasted, much to everyone else's amusement and confusion. It is a saddening thought that they will be coming though as it marks the last part of my time here in Helsinki. When Mum leaves on the 9th I will have only 10 days left in this city which I have already grown to love; I guess it is bittersweet however as it also signals the start of my interrailing home. My procrastination yesterday involved working out a plan and so I plan to visit: Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovenia and Italy with a hope to be back in England for a World Cup game or two and possibly a cheeky night out at Crisis.
There will probably be one more update, a final update, before my laptop is passed over to my mother to take home but until then I'll leave you with photos of St. Petersburg and love to all you guys reading who I miss ever so!
We'd heard a lot about the Russians before heading out there, that they would be unfriendly to English speakers and that they would quite happily push you out of the way if you were in their's.
Far from it.
The city is beautiful, the streets vast and so too the buildings. Anyone we met, even if they couldn't speak English tried their best to speak English...even if that was still in Russian. An odd experience but quite funny too.
Myself, a fellow Brit and an Italian organised the trip ourselves so that we could go at the same time as our other friends who were going with ESN (Erasmus Student Network) and the Aussie, who was going with her mum (who is BRILLIANT!). We stayed in a rather dodgy looking area, it seemed to be the only place which was made of red brick - and was called the red brick territory - but the hostel was actually very nice. We bunked in a 12 bed dorm and were told the sights we should see and how we should go about seeing them by one of the hostel workers.
Cathedrals and Palaces are abound in St. Petersburg, even if they don't much look like them yet there is one feature which links them all...gold. My word it is everywhere!
So we did all the sights we should see and I also saw Swan Lake at the Mariinsky theatre. The lead was a Bolshoi dancer and the evening was fantastic - finishing with a few sparkling wines and then getting locked out of the hostel but that was all soon resolved.
One of the places we visited was the Hermitage and you could go to St. Petersburg just for it. The museum is vast, a 3 story Palace which has a vast array of everything. To put it in numbers only 5% of the exhibits are on show at any one point, I was there for 4 hours and didn't see everything. My friends were there close to 6 hours and I saw things that they didn't. If you were to look at every exhibit without a break it would take 3 years! The place was truly amazing and I got to see Seurat, Sisley, Monet, Matisse, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Reynolds and Picasso...I somehow missed the da Vinci.
I had a brilliant time there and I thoroughly recommend it as a place to visit. I would certainly like to go back or maybe further in to see what 'real' Russia is like, considering are Russian friends said it was very European.
It was a whistle stop tour of the city however, as we can only be there for 3 days visa free so it was back on the long ferry trip back to Helsinki and to work.
That work is suddenly piling up. I have just, at this moment, finished my Finnish Literature essay - although I am awaiting some feedback as it undoubtedly needs improvement. I have one more essay to write on Australian literature and its portrayal of Aboriginals, four exams (two of which are next week...on the same day) and two presentations. I will however be finished by the time my friends back in Nottingham have returned from their Easter break, as it is only an extended weekend here in Finland.
Tonight we will see Via Crucis, a promenade performance which culminates in the crucifixion of Christ infront of the Senate Sq. Cathedral. By the looks of photos and experience of Finnish-ness I imagine it will be excellent and quite graphic, what is more who cares if it is in Finnish as I know the story well enough to narrate it to myself - perfect!
Mum and Dad are in the midst of planning their trip over at the beginning of May, I must admit that I got quite excited when telling Mum what we could go and see. I'm also excited to show Dad the liquorice chocolate which is the best chocolate I have ever tasted, much to everyone else's amusement and confusion. It is a saddening thought that they will be coming though as it marks the last part of my time here in Helsinki. When Mum leaves on the 9th I will have only 10 days left in this city which I have already grown to love; I guess it is bittersweet however as it also signals the start of my interrailing home. My procrastination yesterday involved working out a plan and so I plan to visit: Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovenia and Italy with a hope to be back in England for a World Cup game or two and possibly a cheeky night out at Crisis.
There will probably be one more update, a final update, before my laptop is passed over to my mother to take home but until then I'll leave you with photos of St. Petersburg and love to all you guys reading who I miss ever so!
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| St. Isaac's, Patron Saint of Peter the Great |
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| Inside the Cathedral on Spilt Blood (best name ever) which is all mosaic |
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| The beautiful exterior of the Cathedral on Spilt Blood |
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| As with any city, especially those with waterways, it looks so much better when sunny! |
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| I have no idea what this is but damn look at it! |
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| The Hermitage, opposite the above 'damn look at it' structure. |
