My Morning Touring Russia

I went to Russia for a weekend (3-days) in February of 2013 for a dear friend’s wedding.  I arrived around 5:30 p.m. the day before the nuptials and had a return flight for 12:30 p.m. the day after.  The ceremony was set to begin at 4:00 p.m. and would last the remainder of the day, so my only time frames for seeing the city were the night before the wedding and the morning of it – considering the time needed to get dressed for the festivities.

I had a sweet treat while we walked around – it was like a crepe with a delicious filling.

The evening I arrived my friend’s sister came to pick me up from the airport and took me on a walk around St. Petersburg near the hotel I was staying at.  We casually checked out the amazing architecture of the buildings as well as the cool monuments, before stopping to get something to eat.  Not long after the time difference set in and I was struggling to keep my eyes open.  Before bringing me back to my hotel she suggested I get a personal tour guide for the morning.  I had Googled some before we arrived and told her I was planning to try to arrange one but she suggested we stop by a local booth which provided tours.

The night felt magical because of all the lights.

The person in the booth did not speak English, and despite my best efforts I was not able to speak any Russian, so she spoke to him in Russian and translate everything he said to me.  Ultimately he was able to get an English and Russian speaking tour guide for me who I made final arrangements with for the tour the next morning.  In addition, the guide explained that I would need to have cash to cover entrance fees which would be about $30 depending on how far we could get in the time provided.  The person in the booth offered a much lower rate (less than $30 an hour) for the tour than the people I found searching online (who spoke English) so I was able to save money by having my Russian-speaking friend with me.

Between being excited and having a completely  thrown off internal clock – way beyond Jetlag – I couldn’t fall asleep when I arrived at my hotel room and only dozed off at 8:00 a.m. when my tour was set to start at 9:00 a.m.  Luckily for me, my tour guide rang my door bell and woke me up, so that I could quickly get ready and head out with her.

The cats are loved because they killed the mice who were eating the food during the food shortage.  Can you see the small cat statue by the Carl’s Jr. sign?

Our tour started on foot.  We went to a nearby market, where I was able to try many different types of locally made honey. Since our time was limited my tour guide picked locations to see that were close in range and walking distance from each other.  I learned the history of various parts of the monuments churches, and cat statues that were seen all over.  Some of the stops included the the statue of Alexander Pushkin, Church on Spilt Blood and St. Isacc’s Cathedral.  My last stop was to the Hermitage museum we were running out of time so we had to walk through very quickly and I didn’t get to enjoy it.  I did however see Madonna and Child by Leonardo da Vinci and “The Crouching Boy” a statue by MichaelAngelo.

My tour guide managed to get me on the Russian subway for a quick ride (one stop) just so I could see how beautifully designed they are.  I honestly felt like I was in a museum.  My tour guide was nervous about me taking pictures and rushed my photos hoping no one noticed.  I’m not sure what she was worried about though because I don’t think I stood out, being the only black person in sight.

train station/museum

After the quick train ride we took a bus a few stops so I could see how locals get around.  Russia is the only place I’ve ever been where you get on the bus and someone walks around and collects your pay.  I’m used to dropping the coins in a machine near the driver.

My guide told stories as we walked which were educational and quite exciting/interesting.  One of the stories was about Alexander Puskin’s influence on Russian being spoken in Russia because it had previously been more admired to speak French.  In addition, she told me that he died in a duel with a man who wanted his wife, but that the man was in fact gay and only pretended to want his wife so that no one would find out about him.  I also learned about Catherine the Great and how she became the ruler of Russia by having her husband unseated.

Alexander Pushkin

When my tour was over I felt like I just had the best history lesson on Russian I had ever had in my life.  I learned so much, and the lessons had  far more impact because of how I learned them.

Catherine the Great, and all the men she kept around 🙂