36 Hours in St Petersburg

As soon as we found out we were going to Russia we knew we had to visit St. Petersburg. I hadn’t been in 16 years since I had lived there as an exchange student and I wanted to see it again as an adult. Randy had never been and he didn’t want to miss out.

Randy couldn’t take any time off while in Russia so we decided to take a fast train early Saturday morning and come back on the overnight train Sunday night. This would mean we would have to cram a whole lot of sightseeing into 36 hours with an overtired baby who would have to nap on the go. To quote Randy ‘It’s good for Adam to see how his life will be as an Ali early on’.

So off we went.

We were up at 5 am in order to get ready and catch our 7 am train. We were advised to get there 45 minutes to clear security…it took us three minutes to walk past the guard by the door and get onto the train. But at least we didn’t miss our train.

We all managed to catch a little snooze on the train.

In days past, before having a baby we would have slept the entire train ride, but Adam wanted to make sure we were up and enjoying the train for the second half. Thanks Adam 🙂

Our train pulled into the St Petersburg train station at 11 and here is where our 36 hours begins!

We lost a half an hour negotiating a taxi that wouldn’t rip us off, but I think that half hour was well spent considering we saved twenty bucks. We headed to our hotel, the W. This hotel was amazing. It was located five minutes from the Hermitage and had the most comfy bed.

After a quick outfit change we were off to lunch at Jeromes, which was delicious.
Then we decided that since we had already had a train ride it was time for a boat ride. We took a 45 minute boat ride to Petrogof, Peter the Great’s Summer house.

Just a small summer cottage Peter the Great built to get away from the summer heat in St. Petersburg. A couple of small fountains and a couple of extra rooms.

Adam thought it was way too small!

The trip there and back and the walk we took around the grounds took three hours but it was definitely a great choice. Seeing St. Petersburg from the boat was great and it was so hot out it would have been hard to walk around all day.

After we got back some of us got to take a nap….

…while others decided to do a walking tour of the main sights in St Petersburg and hit up the souvenir market.

After our walk it was back to the hotel for a much needed shower before dinner.

Adam even got a bathrobe in his size!

We had a great dinner overlooking all of St Petersburg…but we forgot our camera so you’ll have to just trust us- the view was amazing. Adam even made it all the way to the end with a big smile on his face! After dinner we all headed home and collapsed into our beds and slept until nine the next morning.

The next morning Randy had to do a little bit of work so we all relaxed and had some room service for breakfast.

At noon we met Polina who had been my exchange student all those years ago in St Petersburg. She has an adorable four and a half year old daughter named Maria. We went for a walk in the Summer Gardens, which I remember walking in with Polina 16 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been 16 years since I’ve seen her and that we both have children. It seems like just a short time ago we were staying up late in her room to talk about everything.

Adam is looking down in all of these pictures at Masha’s awesome hair. We were all distracted enough during this picture that he was able to grab a fistful. Masha was not pleased.

After our walk it was time for lunch.

Me- pull hair?? Never!

After lunch, we said goodbye to Polina and Masha and it was time for a visit to the Hermitage. The Hermitage is one of the largestand oldest museums of the world. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise nearly 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.

We got there at 4 and since it closes at 6 that gave us two hours to see as much as we could. That ended up being a lot.

Crouching Boy by Michelangelo

One of the many Van Goghs

Adam by Fotini & Randy 🙂

Adam’s first time in the Ergo reversed. He seemed to like it but it was odd not being able to see what he was up to and he’s up to a lot these days.

One of many, many Matisses

MJ – this one is for you- its called The ‘Two Sisters’ by Picasso.

A five minute break by the window. It was a SUPER HOT DAY and the Hermitage is surprisingly not air conditioned….

After the Hermitage we went for dinner at Terrasa, another restaurant with another beautiful view. We had our camera this time!

After a long meal we headed to the train station for our overnight train home. No pics were taken because we all went right to bed! Adam and I shared a bed which was tight to say the least but we got home to our apartment around 6am and both of us slept until 11 (thanks Adam!!).

St Petersburg was worth the trip and we could have done with another couple days there. There is so much to see and it is a beautiful city. At times you feel like you’re in France, at times Italy and at times Eastern Europe. It’s much more relaxed than Moscow and has an old city charm. It’s even more beautiful than I remember.

–Fotini

4 thoughts on “36 Hours in St Petersburg”

I'm the one on the left! hahaCan't believe you guys did this with a baby. We did 12 hours in St. Petersburg when I was in Moscow and the overnight train was brutal! Polina looks great!

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