The Zehrens Go Global

St. Petersburg ~ July 15

We woke up to construction noises as was our fear. Fortunately they didn’t start until 9:00 am. Stacy ran across the street to a 24 hour tiny market in search of breakfast for the family, a caffeinated beverage and bottled water ( drinking water out of tap here is a no no). Two large older Russian women greeted me but spoke no English. We used a lot of hand gestures and even made sounds like a pig to buy ham/bacon. It was quite an accomplishment.

We left the apartment on foot and to our pleasant surprise, we were about five minutes away from The Hermitage Museum. Our apartment location rocks!! The Hermitage is simply gorgeous and so old world and regal. The Hermitage was also the Winter Palace for the Tzar and his family. The decor inside is breathtakingly beautiful. So elegant! We all felt that although the Louvre in Paris has a more impressive collection of art and Versailles is stunning, the decor itself of the Hermitage tops the others. The ceilings are all painted with scenes or elaborate designs, the floors had beautiful wood inlays, the chandeliers were opulent, the curtains gorgeous and their furniture exquisite. It is vast and we got lost on several occasions. We saw works of many of the masters such as Degas, Picasso, Michelangelo, DiVinci, Monet, Renoir, Matisse and more. We spent a good 3 hours or more in there and could have easily stayed longer.

By this time it was 4:00 pm and we were hungry for lunch. We found a cute Russian place below ground. No one spoke English so after a lot of pointing we received our food. From there we went to go on one of the many canal rides in the area. It lasted about an hour. We started up top but then it started to rain so we went below. It was really lovely going through the canals and looking at the beautiful old buildings. The buildings look like they have been restored or well maintained. It reminded us of Paris but with canals. Unfortunately the narration given by the boat guide was only in Russian so we didn’t know what we were looking at.

It was still raining when we disembarked from our boat so we stayed awhile under their covered landing and spoke to a really sweet Russian lady (probably in her late 20’s or early 30’s). She told us life in Russia was not much better after the fall of the USSR. There is a lot of mafia and people only care about money now. She also said that they really weren’t communist before but rather socialists. They don’t see a lot of Americans especially traveling with their family. She also said many Russians have a stereotype about Americans that we are fat and do not dress well! She does not agree. Her extended family owns the canal boat operation where most of them work. They have 22 boats so it is quite the fleet. One of the boys working our boat looked like Justin Beiber with a Russian flair (not so feminine looking like Justin).

Once the rain stopped we walked over to The Church of the Savior’s Spilled Blood (yes this is a long name and a strange one). Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded in this church so they have an ornate large wood carved canopy over the spot where this occurred. The exterior is very similar to St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow but in different colors. It is really stunning and sits beside a canal on one side and a lovely park on the other. The park has a fence with intricate iron patterns in black and gold. The inside of the cathedral is stunning. It has many steeples but what sets this place apart from others is that every inch of the walls and ceiling are mosaic tiled biblical scenes and of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints. It is mind boggling how they accomplished this feat because the ceilings are really high! Gold again is a dominant color in their work. It is very majestic inside. We later learned from a street artist that the Germans in WW II dropped a bomb onto one of the steeples which failed to detonate. Also the Communists originally wanted to tear it down but did not ( Thank God!). He believes the church is mystical.

From here we walked down the popular Nevsky Prospect street and kept our eye out for a good dinner place. The kids picked a charming place right around the corner from the apartment. It had outdoor seating as well as a charming inside decor. We chose outdoors and was entertained by a man playing an accordion. Our waitress was adorable, spoke good English and kind. The food was good. The highlights was meeting the couple next to us who were in their early 60’s. She was English and he is Irish. They have two older children at home. We talked with them for a good hour. By the time we finished dinner and our talk with our new friends it was midnight! We said our goodbyes, stopped at the 24 hour mart for breakfast supplies and headed for bed. It wasn’t “black” outside at all. Just a twilight type feel.

Well today we had several people tell us that Zoe looks Russian at different times in the day. The Russians appear to be very nice and helpful people. They are also an attractive group on the whole with chiseled features. We have not felt unsafe at all while here. St. Petersburg is a gorgeous old world city with charming canals that run through it. It is a city that stays up late at night, at least in the summer because it stays light so late into the evening. The sun doesn’t set until after 10 pm. Things are not cheap here at all. The temperature highs have been in the mid to low 60s. It rains on and off suddenly and then the sun comes out.

All five of us have fallen in love with St. Petersburg. We highly recommend a visit if you can sometime!