From Russia with Love: Nevsky Prospect, Nyet to Rice, and Festival of the White Nights

After the long and painful process to acquire tourist visas, getting though customs was fairly anticlimactic. I feel a congratulations should be awarded upon entering the country as a testament of will to endure the nightmare procedure. However, the welcome received at the Hermitage Hotel made us feel as if we were in a James Bond movie (hence the title). Complementary drinks were brought to us at the front desk and a bellhop escorted us to our room. He spent (at least) ten minutes explaining the various features of our temporary abode. While we are technologically savvy, we were not prepared for the toilet; it had an armrest - actually, it was a gluteal hygienic control center (complete with a seat warming selection). For the remainder of the evening we explored the various features of the television. There was a souvenir store, an interactive map of Saint Petersburg, and detailed information about the sites (accompanied with pictures); in fact, we didn't have to leave our room to go sightseeing.

The Hermitage Hotel Harpist

Reward after obtaining our Russian Tourist Visas

Alexandrindsky Theatre

The following morning we started our day at the Metro, where our first challenge of the day presented itself. Ideally, we would have liked to purchase a 72-hour (unlimited use) pass, but the ticket machine(s) would not cooperate. We went to the service window, but neither of the two employees spoke English; asking for help was not an option. With a series of hand gestures and pointing, our international charades proved successful in garnering ten tokens. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at our destination, Gostinyy dvor, a Metro stop along Nevsky Prospect - arguably Saint Petersburg's most famous promenade.

Elisseeff (Eliseyev) Emporium

Expensive wines, cheeses, and caviar

Armenian Church of Saint Catherine

We started our tour by heading to the Catherine the Great statue, the Russian National Library, and later redirected ourselves once we reached Anichkov Bridge. Walking back in the direction we came, a "Pancake House" acted as a beacon for our hungry stomachs. Conveniently, there was a piece of paper that translated the menu in English given our ability to decipher Cyrillic is nonexistent. Most of the pancake dishes were meat based crepes, but we agreed mixed berries sounded more appetizing. Once satiated, we returned to Nevsky Prospect and continued west towards Elisseeff (Eliseyev) Emporium.

Catholic Church of Saint Catherine

Saint Michael's Castle

Peter the Great Monument

We entered the retail establishment that has been a mainstay on Nevsky Prospect since 1903. Although the historic store underwent reconstruction and updates, the vintage charm still resides within. We transiently window shopped the fine wines, cheeses, and caviar before continuing our tour. The next stop was unplanned, but the colorful building facade was enough to spurn interest. The Rossiyskaya Eparkhiya Armyanskoy apostolskoy tserkvi or simply, the Armenian Apostolic Church of Saint Catherine was a pleasant church somewhat off the main street. The next stop, another church (a common theme for the day), the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine, the oldest Catholic church in all of Russia (founded in the early 1700's).

Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood

View from bridge on Griboedov Canal

Onion Domes

Taking a break from religious sites we set our course for Mikhaylovskiy skver. We walked through the small park and later continued our direction east to a castle of a phonetically similar name, the Mikhailovsky (or Saint Michael's Castle). Emperor Paul I, son of Catherine the Great had the fortification built to mollify fears of potential assassination attempts from guards and nobility alike. The paranoid recluse of an Emperor sadly had accurate suspicions; after forty days in his new fortress he was slain by his own guards - stabbed, strangled, and trampled (a loud, unfortunate, and inefficient way to go). The demise of Emperor Paul needed some lightening up, thus we headed for greener pastures through the historic garden adjacent the Mikhailovsky.

Hooray, someone took our picture

Bobov Rossky painting

Ornate inside of church

Once we passed through the garden, we were at the base of our favorite site/sight in all Saint Petersburg, the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. Unfortunately, the historical significance of the church is also rooted in assassination. Emperor Alexander II thrice cheated attempts on his life, but the fourth time was inescapable, and the church is built on the location of his untimely death. The inside is heavily decorated with mosaic tiles from floor to ceiling, a very impressive sight and worth the price of admission. As we ventured away from the church, we found a gentleman on a pedestrian bridge painting the Onion Domed marvel. The painting was incomplete, but we had started attempts to bargain for the artwork. He said he would finish around sunset, but the sun doesn't set until (approximately) 23:00; sadly, we would not cross paths with the artist during the remainder of our visit. Before proceeding with our tour of (mostly) religious buildings, we foraged for lunch near the Bank Bridge (Bankovskiy Most), an area that offers a great vantage point of the canal, Kazan Cathedral, and Spilled Blood in the distance.

That is a lot of mosaic tiles

Ohhhh... pretty

Iconostasis

Following lunch, we returned to Nevsky Prospect to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, a building that was intentionally designed to resemble Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Our Lady of Kazan is an icon of the utmost importance in the Russian Orthodox faith and the respect for the figure was overtly identifiable with the long line waiting to see the relic. Moving on, we continued to the last church of the day, Saint Issac's Cathedral. Before entering, we sat on the the park benches outside to observe the gilded dome of the major landmark. Saint Issac's is now a museum with a beautiful interior and visitors can climb a stairwell to the dome for a city-wide panoramic view. This concluded our day of sightseeing, but we still had one more event to attend.

Bank Bridge, Kazan Cathedral, and Spilled Blood

Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan

Kazan Dome

Lady of Kazan relic

Coincidentally, our trip to Saint Petersburg was scheduled in the middle of the Music Festival Stars of the White Nights. Taking advantage of the opportunity, we purchased tickets to a performance each night. Unfortunately, after the busy day we were limited to finding a restaurant where we could get a quick meal due to time constraints. Our concierge suggested an Uzbekistani restaurant near the venue, Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. The dinner turned into quite the fiasco, there were pictures on the menu, but Cyrillic still stymied us. Our waiter helped us order, but we soon realized we needed to add rice and naan to our (apparently "a la carte") meals. The waiter stopped by our table and we politely asked if we could add to the order, but he shook his head and sternly said, "Nyet," then scurried away (only the third time he came to our table in an empty restaurant). Conceding to the fact that rice would not be part of our dinner, we made our way to the Concert Hall.

Saint Issac's Cathedral

Dome fresco

Tall Jesus

Iconostasis and sanctuary

Jesus, this guy is everywhere

More religious stuff

The entertainment for the evening was Artis Sonus, a group we knew nothing about, but Julie claimed she secured great seats. Turns out, she was even surprised with our location; somehow landing us in the front row. Based on the groups reactions to the crowd, it appeared to be the largest venue they sang and were overjoyed with the audience's outpouring adoration. The Polish ensemble performed an eclectic mix of songs; ranging from traditional classics to covering Adele and Eric Clapton. However, the undeniable crowd-pleaser was certainly Gioachino Rossini's Duetto buffo di due gatti, also known as the cat's duet where the only lyrics are "meow." We left the theater close to 22:00 and the sun was still shinning brightly, hence, the White Nights. Luckily, our hotel had blackout curtains and we were able to rest up for another busy day of sightseeing.