Rushing to Russia

Our second day in Helsinki was another chilly but sunny affair. We visited the Suomenlinna sea fortress in the morning (thanks to Helen and Alex) which was pretty impressive – lots of powerful-looking battlements and huge cannons! They also had a U-Boat there which seemed a bit strange – it turns out that the Finnish weren’t completely neutral in the second World War; the U-Boat on display had famously torpedoed a Russian ship.

Finnish U-Boat – not really that big but still scary looking

Cannon banter

 

Pea soup – a delightful Finnish delicacy (!)

The following day we departed for St. Petersburg bright and early on a 6 hour marathon train journey (though just a drop in the ocean compared to the Trans Mongolian). The usual sights of snow and trees (they’re quite a fan of this combo in Scandinavia and Russia!) were gradually joined by wood huts (called Dachas), scary looking signs  in Russian Cyrillic script and a noticeable increase in the number of Ladas on the road! We arrived on time at St. Petersburg’s Helsinki station and went about navigating the Metro. We’d been spoiled so far with English-speaking countries so Russia involved digging out the phrase-book and lots of gesturing which was good fun! The Metro stations were pretty impressive – lots of chandeliers and ornate stonework. The St. Petersburg metro is also the deepest in the world (designed to act as a bomb shelter network) and it literally took 5 minutes to get down one of the escalators!

Bright and early in Helsinki

Not sure if this would pass a structural survey in the UK?!

First of many Ladas – what a beauty!

Speeding through the catchily-named Zelenogorsk

St. Petersburg is described as the Venice of the North. Our initial impression of the city was far from majestic – the atmosphere was thick with exhaust fumes and dust kicked up by the non-stop speeding Porsche Cayennes and Range Rovers of the Oligarchs and the souped up Ladas, plus if you spotted a smile amongst the hoards of miserable people you must have been mistaken. The city however did grow on us over the next few days; the architecture is impressive and the views by the river serene. Our favourite bit was sitting down in the big square outside the Winter Palace, watching the world go by on roller blades, bikes, stilts and an incredible quantity of insanely high heeled stilettos! We also walked down by the river and saw a limo with a Russian wedding party going for photos by the water. And then another. And another. And literally about another hundred or so brides and grooms each posing to the max and releasing two doves as part of the ritual. A bizarre scene but kind of cool as well. We walked around the battlements of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the river which were pretty, however upon rounding one corner we were greeted by the not-so-pretty sight of some ‘more mature’ Russian ladies and gents standing with backs against the 30ft walls in their undies making the most of the winter sun! Whilst the sun was indeed out, it was still about 2 degrees so unless they were covered in Deep Heat I’m not sure how they were doing it. Made a great photo anyway!

Wedding party number 1 crossing a main road the equivalent of the M25!

Wedding party numbers 89 and 90, and a wedding dove / pigeon

Strike a pose!

Rich with naked pensioners tanning behind him

Russia is dominated by ornate churches and St. Petersburg is no exception. The Church of the Spilled Blood (Alexander III was shot here) is a beautiful example and looked great against a vivid blue sky!

 

One thing we started to notice in St. Petersburg is that Russians absolutely love taking photos of each other. I don’t know what they do with the hundreds shots of them pouting like Zoolander in front of various monuments but it was certainly amusing watching them strike their very best Vogue poses. We decided that we’d do some equally serious poses of our own – see below (and in Moscow)…

I call this one 8 o’clock news

This is Slightly Skewiff Obelisk

We managed to find some fresh air the following day by heading out to Yelagin Park to the North of the city. Unfortunately it was too warm to go ice skating (the ice was just starting to melt) but too cold for boating. We were happy just strolling around the park with hundreds of other St. Petersburgers – catching sight of a quadruple scull rowing boat out for a Sunday paddle which was nice. Later on we headed back to the centre and boarded our overnight train to Moscow – the Red Arrow. It departs (along with 3 other trains) at just before midnight, to the sound of the Russian national anthem blaring out of the station tannoy! The carriages were pretty plush compared to what we’re used to (and what’s to come!) and we both made the most of it by going straight to sleep!

Slightly ropey rowers

Fran and the Red Arrow

Beardy and Fran about to board the train

Our rather swish carriage

Our brief stay in Moscow was action-packed as always – Red Square, The Kremlin and the other usual touristy sights were all pretty impressive. There was a general air of anxiousness in light of recent events and security was particularly high around the Kremlin and Lenin’s mausoleum.

Special guest writer Fran now continues the commentary: Moscow surprised and impressed me. I expected cold, stark and functionalist buildings and very few western influences. The centre of Moscow was quite the opposite. The Kremlin is majestic and colourful. The walls surrounding the Kremlin are a deep red and the towers at each corner have green and gold decoration. It helps that St Basil’s Cathedral adds plenty of colour (and bling) to the Red Square. Surrounding the Kremlin were multiple busy wide streets with western shops and the largest bill boards I have ever seen. One spanned the entire side of a building advertising the latest Audi. Moscow has certainly embraced capitalism!

   

Part of the Kremlin

St Basil’s Cathedral

Judging by the vast shopping centres (though some were hidden underground), some Muscovites are extremely wealthy. Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Max Mara were just a few of the retailers in the expansive GUM shopping centre (formerly the State Department Store). Rich and I did not venture in (Rich feared what I would do to our budget if let loose) but we did enjoy a delicious cup of coffee each on the Red Square (thanks Martin) and (a little later!) some Vodkas (thanks Luc & George) as we went passed The Kremlin on the river boat cruise (thanks again Martin).

 

Enjoying our coffees at the Kremlin

Paddington took in the views at the Red Square

   Cherry vodka on the river cruise

Although we initially planned to avoid the Metro it was impossible to get around the city without using it. I am glad we did as it is a museum in itself. Some of the stations had chandeliers and marble columns, others bronze lettering and ornate stone carvings showing scenes from Russian history. It was quite difficult to take time to view the stations as Moscow’s rush hour never seems to end and you daren’t stop walking with a stern looking Russians coming at you from every angle.

Kropotkinskaya tube station

Another pretty tube station!

The river cruise revealed that once out of the main centre there remained in the city echoes of the soviet era. Large grey and uniform blocks are still the homes of some Russians and there is an industrial feel to parts of the city.

Views from the river cruise

A soviet-esque Mercedes office block

As with London there were some beggars on the streets but it was not until we travelled out of Moscow on the Trans-Mongolian train that we saw that poverty is still a problem in Russia. Many people’s houses are little more than shacks. Some of the clusters of shacks barely resemble a village and must be a horrendous existence in the depths of winter. 

Overall, I liked Moscow, the people are not exactly friendly but I gather that is the Russian way. I will definitely come again, once we have earned our riches as Moscow could bankrupt you in a weekend!