Russia and Northern Europe Travel Note 2: City on the Water—St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia. The city was named after Peter the Great. For more than two hundred years after Peter I moved the capital here, it has been the political, economic and cultural center of Russia. I stayed at the General Secretary of St. Petersburg for no more than two days. From a fleeting glance, my impression of this city was that it was graceful, noble and elegant. The graceful charm of St. Petersburg comes from water. The famous Neva River passes through the city. Countless tributaries and artificial canals surround it like gentle arms, dividing the entire city into small islands. There are countless shapes between the small islands. Different bridges connect it, making the city smart and romantic. It has the title of "City on the Water" as famous as Venice and Amsterdam.

Along the Neva River, there are many classical buildings and sculptures with historical heritage. Those well-known or unnamed buildings have experienced the baptism of war and the influence of time for hundreds of years. After that, it still exudes a simple and elegant atmosphere; look at the sculptures standing by the city's rivers and bridges. They are either out-of-print works by famous artists or authentic cultural relics purchased from overseas. Each bottle is exquisite and priceless. , the whole city is like a huge museum. All these constitute the noble and charming temperament of a city.

Summer Palace Garden

On the afternoon of the day we arrived in St. Petersburg, we were not tired from the journey, and the bus took us straight to the Summer Palace of Peter I. I didn’t feel tired on the way from the airport to the summer palace, so I took pictures of the street scenes with my mobile phone. The car was traveling very fast and the weather was gloomy and cloudy, so the streets and figures in the photos were a little blurry, but they still looked real.

The Summer Palace is a summer palace built under the order of Peter the Great. It later became a place where emperors of all dynasties held court dances and large-scale celebrations. We visited the Summer Palace Garden and did not enter the palace. The Summer Palace Garden covers a large area, including spectacular waterfalls and fountains, exquisite statues, eye-catching green boulevards, wide lawns and flower beds.

The fountain group is the most exciting view of the Summer Palace. I really wanted to take a beautiful picture of the scenery. Unfortunately, in the sea of ??people, I couldn't find a suitable angle to show its beauty, so I had to take the best part of the scenery. I closed my eyes and took a few long shots. Q and I took a different route and strolled along the boulevard, wandering in the green and taking photos in various poses. After crossing the boulevard, a vast sea and sky suddenly opened up before our eyes. This is the Gulf of Finland. There are many locals on the bay who come here to relax and take wedding photos, just like the river beach in Wuhan. On the way back, we opened our first thousand-yuan ruble at a food sales point and bought something similar to a burrito. The filling was cold sausage, cucumber, cabbage and salad. The taste level was "edible". Spent a leisurely afternoon here.

Leave the summer palace and drive to the city to enjoy your first dinner in Russia. Dinner was Chinese food and the taste rating was "ok".

Room with a view

The only hotel we stayed in Russia was located on the banks of the Neva River. The room Q and I were assigned was great, with a beautiful view of the Neva River. What is even more praiseworthy is the design of the windows. Two large floor-to-ceiling bay windows are very suitable for enjoying the scenery. We were eating cherries and tasting the special red sausage in front of the bay window while admiring the scenery outside the window, which was very satisfying. For this reason, I expressed my grand gratitude to the girl in charge of the tour, thanking her for arranging such a wonderful room for us.

The next morning, Q and I got up early, braved the rain and went for a walk to the Neva River to experience in person this mother river that had been praised by literati. We walked across the nearest bridge and took photos of our hotel on the other side. The breakfast buffet in this hotel is good, the food is fresh and rich, and there is a lot of variety. The breakfast review was "not bad".

"Free Walk" in the Rain

The morning itinerary is to pay homage to the bronze statue of Peter the Great, the appearance of a famous church and the St. Petersburg City Hall. After seeing these slightly boring places, there was still some time before lunch, so the girl in charge let us go and let us wander around in what looked like a suburban town for an hour.

Q and I found a market, which is the kind of market that focuses on selling agricultural and sideline products, including fruits, vegetables, milk, fish products, various sauces, bread, etc. We walked through it with curiosity and inquiry, walking east and west, looking at the prices of fruits and what Russians' daily food looked like, and we never tired of it. A young shopkeeper greeted us in a friendly manner and made a "V" for me to take a photo.

The market is not big, and the shopping was finished in a short time. Q started to say: "Find a coffee shop to sit down!" After wandering around for a while, he didn't find a coffee shop, but found a fast food restaurant. We each ordered a hot drink and a side of fries. I didn’t expect that Russian French fries are really authentic, big in size, of high quality, cooked to perfection, and taste great. After tasting this delicious French fries, I feel like Uncle Mike and Grandpa "Kaifeng Cai" from the United States are weak.

After lunch, we went to visit the most famous Winter Palace in the afternoon. Before the Winter Palace, we braved the cold wind and rain to admire the Poseidon Pillar on the Neva River and overlook the Winter Palace on the other side of the river. I waited until four o'clock before queuing up at the entrance of the Winter Palace.

The Winter Palace filled with treasures

When we arrived at the entrance of the Winter Palace, we found that the queue was twisting and turning. The situation was similar to that of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The local companion said that this is the case all year round, so you need to make an appointment in advance to visit. We waited in line for about an hour in the rain and were finally summoned into the palace.

The Hermitage is part of the Hermitage Museum, which together with the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York is one of the four major museums in the world. The exterior architecture of the Winter Palace is majestic, the interior of the palace is magnificent, and the various sculptures and murals are majestic and beautiful. The overall momentum is quite shocking.

The palace has a large art collection, including ancient Roman sculptures, paintings by top European painters, Chinese porcelain, enamel, lacquerware, etc., as well as many rare treasures. In my opinion, each exhibition hall itself is a fine work of architectural art. The exquisite paintings on the dome, the carefully carved columns, and the beautiful lighting make me dizzy.

When we were visiting the oil painting, there was a commotion in front of the queue and there was a crowd of tourists. The tour guide said that it was Leonardo da Vinci’s oil painting "Virgin with Flowers". Although I didn’t know much about painting, I still yearned for it very much. I followed the crowd and crowded forward to admire the true appearance of this famous painting. Two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci are collected by the Hermitage, one is "Virgin Leda" and the other is "Virgin with Flowers". These two paintings have become the treasures of the Hermitage.

Got separated from the team

After visiting the Winter Palace, I followed the crowd and walked out. Unexpectedly, Q and I got separated and followed the other teams out the door. That was the back door of the Winter Palace. I stood at the back door waiting for a long time, but I didn't see a familiar figure. I was about to contact Q using WeChat and found that the mobile WIFI was on her body, so I called her, but no answer came after three calls. Is this a deliberate attempt to lose my rhythm? At this time, a compatriot from another team saw my anxious look and asked me what happened. I asked him if he could lend me his phone. I was worried that there was something wrong with my phone. He regretfully said that he did not have international roaming enabled. He quickly asked his tour guide for help. The male tour guide didn't even stop and said with an indifferent expression, "Go find the tour bus and have a look." I asked him where the tourist bus was parked, but he left in a hurry and said there were two parking lots, you can find it yourself. I suddenly remembered that I still had the team leader’s phone number. It's really useless, I won't be calm when something happens. In fact, even if the phone doesn't work, I still have another option, which is to go back inside and find the staff, who can help me contact them.

After the Hermitage trip, we visited a shopping spot, then went to the train station to take the night train to Moscow.