RUSSIA
Saint Petersburg
24-28 January 2002

Even if for a short stay I have taken advantage of the possibility that presented to visit this angle of Russia and so I departed with my friend Stefano. 
Saint Petersburg for his channels and beautiful buildings is also called the Venice of the Baltic, during the winter with the snow and the frozen river it has a particular atmosphere that fascinated me. 

Between the things (unfortunately few) seen, I liked more: 

•  The Hermitage that for the one doesn't know it is one of the biggest and most important museums of the world, besides the beautiful collection and between the whole the Madonna Litta I liked a lot the rooms of the builinding; 

• Resurrection of Christ Church, note also as Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood that is the monument that liked me more with its particular domes and the beautiful insides; 

• The Nevskij Prospekt, that is the principal road of the city. 

My friend Stefano impressions: 

Hardly joints to Russia I was immediately stricken and captured from a different atmosphere from that I was accustomed. You immediately breathes a social condition with many problems, which it does contrast a natural inclination of the Russians to forget the problem with their cordiality. The architecture of a city as Saint Petersburg is unbelievable: enormous buildings with characteristic apartments with unique architectural solutions, so unusual to arouse hilarity in the mind of each of us. Everything is spartan, but facing the functionality and practicality, non negligible thing for the a few means of Russian people, whose social condition is permeated by a dichotomy: the rich ones, or better enriches, and the poor people. Alternative doesn't exist and we immediately realizes seeing for instance the cars: luxury cars from a part and wrech from the other that remain assembled for miracle, with the continuous maintenances by the owners with simple parts of fortune. As far as it concerns the monuments, this city is magnificent. The fact that is called “the Venice of the Baltic” it is exhaustive under each point of view. Magician evening will capture whoever has a spirit of observation and also the most distracted. Will be enough only also to walk along the Neva river to admire the Hermitage building and to become count than those tonalities crayon is very shining! To concern to this museum there is only a thing to say: it's huge! 16.000 paintings and 377 fabulous rooms will leave a sign in the mind of each visitor, even the wonderful sculptural work and archaeological parts; you need at least a day to see something!
The Resurrection of Christ Church is an example of that miracle on the sea that is Saint Petersburg. We have also to remember that is the biggest inhabited city to that latitude, with almost six million citizens, and besides that it is the only place where the phenomenon of the white nights, that finds the day to its apotheosis on June 21, is been repeated every year. In the daytime you can be turned wherever to enjoy and to be distracted: commercial centers furnished of every article, to the places where to taste some local dishes as famous and savory Russian soups. There are also many pubs on the Irish model and the omnipresent chains of fast food. And we arrive to what to spend the evenings. There is an infinity of places and club where to dance and to enters in contact with the vitality of the Russians, always ready to establish friendship with the foreigner, that always arouses interest; about local beauties I say only a thing: unbelievable!!! The mentality of this people is very different from ours and you are immediately captured from their way to forget the problems of daily life with the desire to enjoy. They involve really the foreigner also only for the taste to tighten friendships and to deepen the knowledge.  
Returning to the city, as not to denote the efficiency of the subway? A thing that leaves amazed also those people as us that they thought that city as Paris and London were contended the supremacy! Well is necessary to retract! 
And the climate? Certainly is cold, but the fact that the air is poor of damp makes bearable also a storm of snow with –18 °C that surprised me and Giuseppe during the visit to the cruiser Aurora, to the deep one in the frozen Neva! February is the month of the snow and the period in which the temperature is very low, to which the Russians also show a certain respect! 
The time to our disposition was a few and this has made me decide to return in the next month of March for one deepened visit of all the outskirtses, rich of monuments with an unbelievable history. 

СЧАСТЛИВOГО ПУТИ, ДЖYЗЕППЕ & СТΕФАНО!!!
(Have a good trip, Giuseppe & Stefano!!!)

PHOTOS

click the images to enlarge:

Winter Palace (Hermitage)	Resurrection of Christ Church		Nevskij Prospekt
Madonna Litta Leonardo	The kiss Canova	Imperial cart Stefano's photo	A "copy", really well done
Cruiser Aurora	Snow storm on the Neva	Walking on the water Stefano's photo	Peter and Paul Fortress on the icy river
Sunset on the icy sea Stefano's photo	The city in the "white"	The icy sea	The "really deep" escalator to the metro
	Me, Stefano & our friends

LINKS

Copyright © 2002 Giuseppe Ruperto. All rights reserved.