ST PETERSBURG

The Hermitage

Well St Petersburg is very different to Moscow ...the wealth is not so evident and the pace is much slower. The architecture is very gentile(Stalin's monolithic and grand buildings are not here) and with the rivers and canals it has a elegant and cultured feel.
We are just a 40 minute walk from the Hermitage in a lovely apartment which we have to ourselves as Marina the only other guest is at work all day... a real luxury to have so much space after the cramped conditions of hostels and trains.
The walking tour we did with Dimitri took us to the backstreets and his knowledge of the city was vast ...so we got our bearings on arrival rather than as we leave! Dimitri's grandfather lost his parents and 3 siblings in the Seige of Leningrad (the only brother to survive was at the front)...so the horror of that time was brought home to us....and the impact of the war was so great on Russia (20 million dead)that the bravery and resillience of it's people is treated with the respect and reverence it is due.

Dostoyevsky's window

Statues of writers are here in abundance and their museums (as in Moscow) ... Dostoyevsky and Akhmatova are the only 2 I have been able to fit in.....I must say the bright and comfortable flat of Dostoyevsky's was not the dark and depressing place I expected (obviously I read too many Russian novels).
The Hermitage was sumptuous and decadent( no wonder there was so much unrest) ...and it was great to be in a room of Van Goghs' and not have to jostle for a position as we would for any visiting exhibiton at home.
Today we are tackling the Metro to get to Catherine's Palace to meet with the restored Amber Room(the original was destroyed in the war after the Nazi's removed it).
Sorry the postcards have been absent but you have no idea how hard it is to find a post office here let alone find someone in the PO willing to sell you a stamp!!...so they shall be sent from London which is were we are heading tomorrow morning.....dasvidanya Kath et al xo