Russia 5 St Petersburg

The Hermitage convinced me that I need to buy a chandelier.  If you see nothing else in St Petersburg, not even so much for what is in it, which is literally a million paintings and artefacts, but the rooms themselves, each one a pinnacle of opulence and extravagance and exquisite ceiling paintings.  Your eyes are ever lifted upwards towards the chandeliers.

The second memorable thing was a visit for pancakes and tea with a family living communally.  It was a large split level room shared by a husband and wife and their daughter, then a shared kitchen and bathroom with four other families.  I don’t believe they were living in poverty.  They owned their ‘apartment’ and the one next door which they rented out.  They had a dacha in the country with greenhouses, chickens, rabbits and a banya and a massive clutter of dolls and digger trucks all still in their boxes on display.  It was interesting.

Otherwise we walked in a big circle around the fortress, saw various churches and the Russian Museum which I also liked and ate extremely nice food.  Russians eat very healthily.

One interesting thing about museums is their free cloakrooms.  Everyone has to take off their coat and leave any large bag.

One final thought.  Don’t start in St Petersburg.  The architecture alone should make it the pinnacle of your trip.  Wrap up warm.