After ten action packed days in Moscow, living off dodgy
mass-produced sandwiches and putting questions to some of the world’s best
athletes, it was time to switch off from the sport and to unwind. What better
way to achieve this than to travel 700 kilometres away from the capital,
northwest to the picturesque city of Saint Petersburg, for four eventful days
in the ‘Venice of the North’. My journey initially was planned to be a solo
voyage, but with a fellow Irish athletics journalist earning a welcome fortune
on the final day of the championships, thanks largely to the dominant display
of Kenyan 1500 metre runner Asbel Kiprop, he made the whacky but completely
inspired decision to change his flights at the last minute, stay in the country
for another week of banter, and to join me in Russia’s second city. Why not!
The city of Saint Petersburg was a direct result of the
Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden in the early 18th
century. Led by Tsar Peter the Great, Russia sought to claim a strip of land by
the Baltic Sea off the Swedish, as up to that point, the empire lacked a
sufficient port which was in close proximity to the other maritime nations in
Europe, and which could be operated all year round. Once victorious, Peter made
arrangements for a brand new city to be built by the newly acclaimed sea presence,
conscripted peasants from all over Russia, along with Swedish prisoners of war,
to help with its construction, and within ten years moved the capital from its
historical base in Moscow to this new forward thinking metropolis, where it
would remain until the Russian Revolution in 1917. Peter never made a secret of
his disdain for Moscow, the Kremlin, and traditional Russian culture and
customs, which he claimed to be backward. Having travelled around Europe, under
a different name in a forlorn attempt to hide his identity, to places such as
Germany, Netherlands, England, France and Austria, the Tsar picked up a wide
range of European ideas with regards industry, architecture, methods of work
and so on and so forth. On his return, he had a vision to bring Russia into the
18th century, and closer to Europe. That vision was Saint
Petersburg.
Our odyssey began with a train journey from Moscow. Not
particularly keen on taking the standard eight hour grind between the cities,
we instead opted for the recently formed Sapsan, a high speed rail service.
Formed in 2009, and similar in concept to the bullet trains in Japan, this
service cuts the usual travel time between Russia’s top two cities in half,
reaching maximum speeds of a blistering 250 kilometres per hour. It wasn't long
before we took the customary journey down to ‘Carriage 5’ a.k.a. the location
of the on-board public house. There we befriended a gentleman from Arklow, Ireland
of all places. Having jetted off from the Emereld Isle during the recession of
the 1980s to live initially in China, he has since been residing in Saint
Petersburg for over 20 years and manages two hotels. Fascinating stories were
exchanged about the Russian way of life and the outrageous levels of
bureaucracy and red tape that exists almost everywhere in the nation, and he generously
provided us with express passes to the Hermitage museum. Before we knew it,
four rounds of somewhat cold alcoholic beverages had vanished. There’s
certainly worse ways to pass a few hours!
The city of Saint Petersburg proved to be well worth the
journey and expense. It truly is outrageously beautiful and it really was a no-brainer that UNESCO deemed it worthy of inscription onto its World Heritage
list, an honour it received in 1991. It is built around Nevsky Prospect, the
main avenue of the city, a bustling thoroughfare decorated with an array of
restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, bridges and churches, architecturally designed
with jaw-dropping splendour. To walk it takes roughly half a day, not because
it is particularly long or physically demanding, but because the magnificence
of each building repeatedly stops you in your tracks. It is a good thing that
we live in an era of digital photography; otherwise I’d have gone through ten
rolls of film within a couple of hours and spent a fortune getting them
developed!
Sprawling out from this main street like the creepy legs of
a huntsman spider are several winding, and at times narrow, canals, with
gorgeous 18th century buildings, each one a different colour to its
neighbour, hugging these man made treasures. We took a short boat ride along
these waterways to discover the continental charm the place has to offer. In
general, the city has an evidently European feel to it, a fulfillment of Peter
the Great’s vision from three hundred years ago. The design of Saint Petersburg
could be described as Russia’s interpretation of the continent which it is
geographically apart of, but culturally forever on the periphery. Elements of
Italy and the Netherlands are visible in the prominent presence of canals, with
comparisons regularly made to Venice and Amsterdam. The architecture is also
very Italian in style, but with the differing colours of each building, which
is more commonly seen in Germany and Denmark. The grand palaces are inspired by
none other than the French, and there are sprinklings of British influence seen
throughout the historical centre also.
The one building which sticks out as truly Russian in style,
is the rather out of place, overbearing, slightly haunting, but incredibly
captivating Church of the Spilt Blood. This traditional domed cathedral, with dozens
of detailed paintings on its exterior, was constructed in the late 19th
Century on the site of Tsar Alexander II’s assassination. While perhaps it
would be more at home in Moscow, the fact this place of worship is architecturally
so far removed from all around it, gives it extra charisma, a kind of reminder
that, despite the country’s move closer to the West, it is still Russia, and
will always be separate and have its own very unique identity.
Arguably the most endearing attribute of Saint Petersburg is
the number of exquisite palaces which it possesses. Right in the centre of the
city, situated at the calming Palace Square, is the world renowned Hermitage
Museum, consisting of the turquoise coloured Winter Palace, the official
residence of the Russian monarchy for almost 200 years. The museum contains over
three million pieces of art, and includes the largest collection of paintings
in the world. While the artwork was very impressive, the real charm of this
construction was the immense beauty of its interior décor, with countless
outlandish chandeliers comfortably at ease in the presence of the many walls
and ceilings, of varying colours and designs, decorated generously with golden
ornaments.
Slightly further afield, situated roughly 45 minutes from
the city by boat, is Peterhof Palace, a series of palaces and gardens designed
at the orders of Peter the Great. Known as the “Russian Versailles”, the main
palace, a light shade of brown in colour, is protected by the Grand Cascade, an
array of awe-inspiring golden statues and natural spring fountains, a setting
full of the European splendour which Saint Petersburg’s founder had envisaged. Almost
as spectacular is Catherine’s Palace, situated in Pushkin, 25 kilometres
south-east of the city centre. A striking sky blue in colour, this majestic
piece of architecture served as the summer residence of the Russian Tsar, and
consists of gardens as mighty as what Peterhof has to offer.
While available nationwide, and not something unique to
Saint Petersburg, during my time in this magnificent city, I indulged in one of
Russia’s most peculiar traditions, the banya. To put it simply, this is Russia’s
equivalent of a spa. Inside this facility is what was described to me as the “Russian
Sauna”, something so nauseatingly sizzling that the regular variety feels like
a mild Melbourne winter morning in comparison. Once inside, you have the option
of a Russian massage. This must take place in the scorching heat of the aforementioned
sauna, and involves a man of little words (Russian, English or otherwise) proceeding
to smack each and every part of the human flesh with birch branches. Once
completed the protocol is to exit the banya and relax in one of the many TV
rooms with more non English speaking strangers, where one has the opportunity
to indulge in beer, for hydration purposes, and traditional Russian cuisine
(consisting of pieces of beef wrapped in barely cooked pasta dough and drowned
in sour cream, a truly regrettable choice!). Once satisfied, the entire process
is repeated. To brand this practice as unusual would be an understatement, but
it was quite refreshing to be the only non-local in the entire facility and to
engage in a genuine Russian experience.
Saint Petersburg is a truly captivating place with no
shortage of things to do, places to see, and handsome architecture to marvel at.
But does it top Moscow? I don’t think there is much doubt that, as a whole,
Russia’s second city is more aesthetically beautiful than the capital. However,
it is also more familiar, containing many characteristics you could effortlessly
find in the easily visited, and on the beaten track European tourist meccas of
Amsterdam, Venice and Paris, among others. Part of Moscow’s appeal is that it
is so different to other places, providing a more alienated feeling which Saint
Petersburg can’t match. The reality is that these two cities are complete opposites
of each other and possess their own unique charms. They really cannot be
compared and shouldn't be ranked against each other. If you want to see Russia
you will simply have to visit both. It’s a tough life isn't it!
