Saturday-Finally Back

So now we are home again and almost unpacked...

In the last day and a half in St Petersburg we counter balanced all of the opulence and grandeur of the palaces and churches with a trip to the museum describing the 900 day siege of the city in the 2nd world war

 

 

 and just walking around, watching the city at work and play.

 

There were fishing boats out on the river getting good catches of herring or something similar.

And a big crowd out tidying up the local park,



 

But you are never far from the water and pomp

 

But it is now all over. A great trip, and we have enjoyed all of it and learned a lot, particularly that while cities are interesting we can only do them in small doses.

 

All that is left is to plan where we will go next.

Thursday St Petersburg...2 days of seeing the sights and more snow.

Woke up today to snow again, so you will understand that this is really quite extreme sight seeing we are doing. We have walked about 30 km in the two days in the cold, and are feeling the strain.

The Hermitage , Peter and Paul Fortress, Churches of St Isaacs, Spilt Blood and Nikolsky, field of Mars, Nevsky street, Birzhevaya Place...We have seen them all, and it is clear that the Russians are masters at creating magnificent buildings and filing them full of beautiful things.

But probably the most impressive thing is that the city is here at all, given that in started as a huge swamp and the buildings are build on a foundation of logs.

One incredible coincidence is that we have bumped into two Australian ladies we met on Siberian train. They stopped in Yekaterinasburg, when we went to Moscow, and then we passes them on Nevsky Street and had a chat. Small world.

One more day...

Tuesday St Petersburg..... The Sea at Last,

Just had our last and fastest train ride (220km /hr) to get us back to the salty tang of the sea. Very refreshing.

The last days in Moscow were an eclectic combination of culture and commerce. We went to the State History Museum and the Gallery of 19th and 20th Century Art to see some great old and modern pictures,  as well as the GUM store (big old ex-communist building like a mammoth Braehead ) and a wander down the Arbat shopping street. It was snowy and cold so we did not bother with a trip to Gorky Park.

So a few photos'

Red Square, disappointingly grey and not very red at all!!!!!

Fiona in the GUM store (full of big brands and Fiona said she needed Paula as I was no help, we only bought chocolates)

John with another bear

Random street art you come across. It must be a famous story so who can tell me about the Russian in a boat with horses? Or is it an opera?

 

 

Still not bought a furry hat....

 

 

Finally, our hotel here is the best yet , with a free glass of wine when we arrived, and 10 pillows on the bed. A new record I think.

 

 

Off to do the sights tomorrow.