Dispatches from the East suggest that the goodly folk of Saint Petersburg are friendly and hospitable. The River Neva flows, despite some icy patches; snow flurries quickly turn to slush and vodka top-ups and generous afternoon tea treats keep the cockles warm.
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| Destination Saint Petersburg.... |
Peter’s legacy
So Sally and Maggie arrived safely and admired the sights of Saint Petersburg, formerly named Petrograd and Leningrad at points in the 20th Century. Peter the Great (all 6 foot 8 inches of him) founded the city to prove his global, Enlightenment credentials and tourist highlights now include the Hermitage Museum, St Isaac’s Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theatre.
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| Highlights of Saint Petersburg... |
Birthday in Moscow {Москва}
Somewhere between St Petersburg and Moscow Maggie celebrated her birthday and St Basil’s Cathedral (Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed) and Red Square had to be visited by the English travellers….
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| Happy Red Square Birthday to Maggie.... |
Underground Overground
Sally and Maggie then took a guided tour of the extravagant architecture and urban art of the Moscow underground. Translation might be difficult, but the top left image below shows a young Colombian: “our guide Mario touching the rooster…” I expect a more detailed explanation when Sally returns. The bottom right image, of course, shows the moment of destiny: Train 4 Moscow-Beijing 23:55…. Signals and networks will be patchy over the next seven days but the map in the previous blog shows the route: Nizhni Novgorod – Kazan – Perm – Yekaterinburg – Omsk – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk and the extraordinary Lake Baikal and Ulan-Ude before heading south into Mongolia….
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