Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
08.12 доброе утро (Dobroye utro), good morning from St Petersburg. Outside the sun is shining and now I heard a sound from a car. It is happy to be unlocked. It is time for a new day in this amazing city. We shall try to be as efficient as possible because we are travelling on tomorrow.
09.32 We are back after a breakfast under the rooftops here at the Empire Park Hotel. It was OK but the coffee, which, incidentally, is not called kava in Russian (as in several other Slavic languages), is not good. If you want to have coffee you say кофе. The pronunciation is quite similar to coffee. 10.17 I don't know if we have the day under control or not. We have to get out to find out about it. 10.57 After having bought a token each, we´ve been checked by the security people, passed a turnstile and gone by a long escalator to a metro in yet another city and country. I think that this is the 27th country that we "tube" in. I am referring to my and Christer's "documented travels. We went of course with the metro already in 1994. We have stepped down in the underworld at the Lenin square station, Площадь Ленина. 11.24 We went for a while on line 1. We got off at the Narvskaya station. Here, we have reached the surface and are looking at the green triumphal arch Нарвские Триумфальные Ворота (Narvskie Triumfalnye Vorota). It was erected to honour those who defeated Napoleon and his soldiers.
The green arch outside Narvskaya metro station.
The Swedish child book character Karlsson is popular in Russia.
Christer is going into the underground.
Outside the "Moscow station" (Moskovskiy Vokzal).
We will make a stop at Starbucks Coffee.
Nevsky Prospekt, a 4½ kilometers long shopping street through Saint Petersburg.
11.30 On the way back to the metro we discovered a poster for Karlsson on the roof. He is a character in children books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. I don't know if it was a play, ballet or what? Ever since the Soviet time Karlsson has been big in this country. It is said that someone made a joke about it with the former Swedish prime minister Ingvar Carlsson when he was on a visit here. They wondered where he had his propeller.
12.00 A new metro ride took us to the Moskovskiy station, the railway station we shall depart from tomorrow when we are leaving Saint Petersburg. Down in the underworld, we saw yet another one of those escalator guards we've seen in previous trips in the former Soviet Union. Now we will find out which is north, understand about direction and check the map for our further walk. 12.12 We have wandered around and finally found a park bench in the park Nekrasovskiy Sad. Now the day is organised and we will soon have a coffee or a lunch. 12.45 We are about to get a hang on where we are, where we are going and the city in general. It is time to get to more central parts of Saint Petersburg. 13.17 Outside the window Nevsky Prospekt is spanning itself out to the right and the left. It is an over four kilometres long avenue and St. Petersburg's most famous street. Once upon a time it was thought that it would continue all the way to Moscow. We are on the trips second Starbucks Coffee. It also means a new Starbucks country. We have now visited Starbucks in 29 countries. Now it is soon an anniversary! Maybe we will celebrate it with a coffee? 13.52 The coffee is finished. We walk along the city's main artery, the mighty Nevsky Prospekt. There are beautiful houses along the street and also along the side streets and side canals (is it called that?). 14.16 We have seen a familiar building, Gostiniy Dvor, a department store which we visited in 1994. The service there was the worst we´ve experienced. We remember a closed grocery store where people looked angrily at us when we shopped instead of telling us that it was closed and a lady in a photography shop, who ran and hid when Christer was speaking English. Hope it is better now. Further down along the Nevsky Prospekt, we found the magnificent Kazan cathedral. The outside was not so impressive. It is possible that it is beautiful on the inside. The one who, unlike us, have been there know for sure. We are looking right now on a poor Asian man who lost his umbrella in the water. It is now bobbing stern of a boat. Several others have joined him, but they find no solution to the problem.
Boats on the Fontanka.
Some Asian tourists think about how they can rescue a lost umbrella.
The Kazan Cathedral.
Saint Isaac´s Cathedral.
Christer is walking towards the Winter Palace.
The tsar´s Winter Palace is Saint Petersburg´s main attraction.
14.53 Our discovery tour through Saint Petersburg continues. We are now near the St. Isaac's cathedral (Исаакиевский cобор). It is St. Petersburg's largest church, the largest orthodox basilica in the world and the roof is covered with real gold leaf. It was built in 1818-1858, and got its name from the fact that Peter the Great was born on the day that is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia.
15.04 We are in the Alexandrovsky Park. Out in the grass is a rock. On the rock is a horse. The man on the horse is no less than Peter the Great, St. Petersburg's founder. The statue is called the Bronze horseman. There is a legend from the 1800s that says that as long as the Bronze horseman stands in the middle of St. Petersburg no enemy troops will be able to take the city. During the 900 days long siege of Leningrad during the Second World War (Leningrad was the city's name from 1924-1991), the statue remained here, but covered with sandbags and wood protection products. The protection served so well that the bronze horseman survived the 900 days of bombing and artillery fire, more or less, undamaged. The legend was correct; Saint Petersburg has never been conquered. (Source: Wikipedia) 15.25 Things carry on. We are now on the Palace Square. In front of us are the Winter Palace and the Hermitage. I know it is a very beautiful and powerful inside. We visited it in 1994. Today, there is no time or perhaps even inclination for a return visit. We would rather see completely new things here in the city. 15.40 Under us slips boats on the Neva. To the right are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace. In front of us is the Peter & Paul fortress with its cathedral and to the left two brown pillars which we remember from the stay in 1994. They had, if I do not remember completely wrong, something to do with Poseidon/Neptune. 16.25 We walked a short while on the Vasilyevsky island, passed a large wooden ship with among other things a restaurant. Behind me is a winding queue. They are queuing to enter the Peter & Paul cathedral. There are most of the tsars since Peter the great buried. We are, therefore, on Zayachy Island, and inside the Peter & Paul fortress area where we looked around and even visited a toilet. The hunt for a lunch has not gone that well. We have opted out of certain places for their simplicity (a fast food kiosk), and others because of the amount of guests. Food is needed though, sooner or later.
Glavnyy shtab (Главный штаб), is the big yellow building behind the Winter Palace.
Alexander Column on Palace Square.
Children are entertained outside the Winter Palace.
The Winter Palace and Neva.
The red pillars on Vasilyevsky Island.
Saint Petersburg, a city with lots of water.
17.06 We have just made a stop in our walking. We are thinking about when and where we should eat. Will it be an extremely late lunch, a snack or an early dinner?
17.20 Sure, you can try a new one, but we are a bit boring and have returned to our blueberry restaurant Chernika (http://restchernika.ru). It is, after all, along the way to the hotel. A Chinese woman with a face mask just got into the restaurant. No, she turns and there she is out again. Someone who is inside is however Andrei, he is our, and certainly others, waiter. 18.50 Once again we were served delicious food and the restaurant's own beer. Now, it will be nice to rest the toes, feet, legs and the rest of the bodies. We have walked considerable many kilometres today. 20.45 Now the bodies have got to rest for a while. These walking of 7-8 kilometres a day is tough for a lazy man. Now it is time to go and buy something for the evening, possible support breakfast and/or snacks. 21.28 Our small backpacks were tired after the long day so they got to stay in the room. Now we have bought some for later, tomorrow morning and beyond. 22.33 The evening's purchased beers are from Russia and the Czech Republic. The Czech beer is, however, brewed here in Saint Petersburg. This day has no more to offer. Now we need to sleep, and look forward to move on to the next Russian metropolis tomorrow.
Inside this ship there is a restaurant but also a fitness center.
The Peter & Paul Cathedral.
Velikoknyazheskaya usypalnitsa, a museum behind the cathedral.
When can I start drinking?
08.12 A new Russian morning is here. Our time in yet another city is coming to an end. Today we will travel to yet another capital city.
09.35 The breakfast is this hotel's Achilles heel and weakness. It is not much to choose from and the coffee is. as mentioned, not good. This was the last breakfast at the Empire Park Hotel. 11.15 Now it is time to hang on our backpacks. New rails and a new city await us. First we'll walk to the nearest metro station. Then we´ll continue below ground until we reach the right railway station. We have tried to find out if our backpacks require a special ticket on the metro but we may be lucky and get by with a regular. 11.54 I am now on one of the platforms at the Moskovskiy station. Before we came here, there was a security control where the backpacks were x-rayed. They are very strict with security here in Saint Petersburg. There is a check every time you ride the metro or train. Now we are waiting to wait. Christer is currently doing an ocular inspection of the area. There are a lot of people and a lack of seats here. 12.15 Information regarding our means of transport came in the speakers. We had to move to a new track. It was a new security check before we were allowed to enter the platform with the express train to Moscow. Now we are waiting to board. The ticket has conveniently already been purchased on the internet at home in Sweden, very smooth. You can choose car, seat and also read other passengers' reviews about the various trains here in Russia. They rate cleanliness, the air conditioning and toilets. We have bought our tickets from a travel agent named Tutu Travel. 12.31 The passports and the tickets were checked by a young man with white gloves. He looked at Christer's Swedish passport and said to Christer where he would sit. The information was in Russian. 13.03 Our travel just reached a new phase. From now on it will just be new cities for us. We had to a certain extent already seen Vyborg and St Petersburg before. 13.58 The train called "Sapsan" keep a speed of around 200 km/h. I've just been and bought coffee in the bistro.
The train Sapsan which will take us from Saint Petersburg to Moscow.
Outside the Leningrad station we can see the nearby Kazan station.
View from our hotel room.
Christer´s foot and our room at Hotel Avita Krasnye Vorota.
15.06 Now the train has really got up to speed, 218 km/h. I have never travelled this fast with a train before.
15.48 Now, the speed is 0 km/h. The train has stopped. People are walking around on the platform at the station in Tver, one of the two stops that the train makes. On the way here we reached 219 km/h. Now we continue. It is just over an hour left to travel before we reach Moscow. 16.42 St. Petersburg is getting further and further away. There are more and more buildings around us. We will soon reach the Russian capital. 16.57 It is more than packed with people on the railway station, Leningradskiy Vokzal. The Sapsan train is really long and there are lots of people getting off. It is just so that all fit on the platform. Many passengers are tourists, we even heard Swedish onboard. Some are travelling on their own as we do, but there are also whole groups of tourists, including Americans. Now we will get out in the city buzz. 17.06 On the other side of the street there is another rail station, Kazanskiy station. It is where we are going to depart from Moscow on Sunday. If that's not enough with two stations in a small space there is actually a third a little further away, Yaroslavsky station. 17.30 There are cars everywhere. The wait for the green man takes some time. We are finally at the hotel door or steel gate. Whatever it is, we will use the intercom. There are construction works around the whole building where our hotel is located. It is neither easy to physically get around or to know which is the right door to use.
Chaotic streets outside of our hotel.
Christer and the architect Le Corbusier.
Countdown.
17.53 There was no response in the intercom. We looked for another way in but found none. Back at the steel door we tried to call again, but no response. Suddenly a girl who did not respond when spoken to turned up. However, she let us into the house. Soon we stood at a new steel gate and a new intercom. This time we were more successful with our conversation. The door opened, and we soon took an elevator to the fourth floor. At check-in the thin haired man in the reception wanted to know where we've been, see the entry documents and the train ticket here. The conversation was sometimes in English, sometimes in Russian. We are now in room 403 and wait to be recorded. The guy has our passports. Tomorrow morning they will bring our breakfasts to the room at 09.10. Avita Krasnye Vorota is the name of our new home in this new capital. Now we have only three capitals left to visit in Europe. Our room has a refrigerator and microwave. This is one of the many "mini hotels" in Russia. It is usually one floor in a larger house that has become a hotel but the space is not enough to have a restaurant. Breakfast is served in the rooms.
19.14 The passports are returned to us and a WiFi code for the internet is fixed. Having updated ourselves about the outside world and, on the contrary, it is probably now time to go out. However, we must first learn to come in again. 19.46 We asked about the door code, and got it. We took the elevator down to the bottom floor. Christer went out to try the code. The door did not open. Luckily I was inside and could let him in. Even with me as code man the door remained closed. We went up to ask again. The result of it all, a language confusion. The guy in the reception went down with us and showed. We had the right code. The error we made was to not wait long enough after that we tapped in the code. Now the area around us is about to be learned about. 20.25 There was not a lot of interest in the surrounding area, mostly wide streets and much traffic. We have, however, found the restaurant Nа мельнице, Na Melnitse (http://www.namelnitse.ru). It is a homely restaurant, whose name means, "At the mill". Inside the restaurant it is a lovely lavish atmosphere, with open fires, a water-powered mill, and other things that will bring the thoughts to the Russian farmer life. 21.59 It was delicious but a little expensive. Christer grilled lamb cost US$16. Then came the cost for beverage and more to that. Moscow is an expensive city. On the way home we found a small corner store right outside the hotel. The fact is that it is in the same house. The code worked great and we came in again. Now tomorrow is planned and I'll wash. In the evening we have, among other things, invested in a roll of toilet paper á 9 rubles. They can be good to have on night trains later in the trip.
Christer is waiting for the dinner.
This evening´s dinner will be consumed on the opposite side of our home street, at the restaurant На мельнице (Na Melnitse).
The food was not cheap but still worth every ruble.
08.34 We have once again spent a night in a capital city. I seem to recall that we, during the trips, now have slept in 84 capitals. Our hotel Avita is situated at the metro station Krasnye Vorota metro station, which in turn got its name from the Red gate (Krasnye Vorota). It was a triumphal arch that was built here in Moscow, originally to celebrate the victory over Sweden at Poltava in 1709. It was rebuilt in several rounds for different purposes, but was demolished ago in the 1920s on the basis of a reconstruction of this part of the city.
08.59 Now, there's a knock on our door. I will open it. 09.20 Outside the door stood a lady with a tray. On it was juice, bread, butter, spreadable cheese, jam, yogurt, buckwheat porridge and a small piece of chocolate each. Not a bad breakfast. We have consumed it in our room. It is luxury, breakfast in the room. The downside is that we don't have any really good table to eat at. 10.05 Emergency vehicles and other vehicles can be heard from outside. We are starting to get ready to see more of Moscow. Yesterday we saw only the two nearest streets. In today's schedule are a few important points. We shall pick up our next train from Russia to Mongolia, we might go with a round tour bus and we'll definitely walk. 10.20 We're wondering if we should think again. Everything is depending on the weather. Both today and tomorrow, it is expected to rain. Will it be comfortable to ride with a tour bus? The point of these is to sit under the open sky on the roof for the best possible view.
Breakfast has arrived.
Peter in front of one of the metal doors we need to pass to enter our hotel.
A small lake in the middle of Moscow.
The Kotelnicheskaya building, a 176 metres high Stalinist creation from 1952.
Another lightblue orthodox church. This one is called Troitsy v Serebryannikakh.
Interesting traffic situation.
10.30 Now we are going to get outdoors and to further familiarize ourselves with Moscow. It will be a real long walk to begin with.
10.47 It seems and looks like as we will move forward our planned bus tour till tomorrow. Now we just have to find out where we are going. Right now we are taking a bench break. A gentleman is sitting statue on a chair a bit away. 11.16 Things are being built both here and there along our way. It is most road/street work, new coating for sidewalks and other things. It'll probably be fine before the World Cup next year. It will be good for the visitors then, but for us right now, it is hard to take us forward on foot. There are many obstacles and detours that make our walk will take extra long time. 11.26 We continue our difficult walk along the Pokrovskiy Boulevard. In the middle of it are lovely walkways among lush trees, but it is not always we can go there because of all the street works. A little light drizzle hangs in the air but so far we are dry. 11.44 We are now on a bridge that goes over the Moskva River, Bolshoy Ustyinskiy Bridge. A short distance away, beyond the equivalent side of the bridge we see Moscow's most classic view. We see the Kremlin's red walls and onion domes of St. Basil's cathedral. We are looking in the other direction and see a huge building, a 32 storey big house of Stalin's time. We have seen buildings in that style before, in Riga and Warsaw. This colossus is called Kotelnicheskaya building. 12.08 When we finally started approaching our first planned stop heaven's gates were opened. Add to that the icy winds. We fled from the rain over a bridge and in under a roof.
View from the Bolshoy Ustyinskiy bridge.
Dark clouds over the Kremlin.
The Moskva river and the Kotelnicheskaya building.
Christer is escaping from the rain.
Christer is having a coffee stop at Coffee Bean.
It´s time to collect our train tickets.
12.18 We moved on, back over the little bridge Chugunniy Most and into a portal that leads to the office where the tickets will be collected. However, we do not want to look like drowned cats when we visit there. We took aim at a café in a street corner a short distance away. Just as the attack on the cafe would take place, we noticed the coffee chain The Coffee Bean is located right next to where we stood. We went into the long awaited warmth. When I ordered, I was asked if I wanted to bring the coffee with me. At the time of ordering we heard Rihanna's "Under my umbrella". The sky is very grey, how should this go?
12.51 Coffee Bean (https://www.coffeebean.ru) was a really nice acquaintance, good coffee, good pastries, and pleasant staff. However, it was rather expensive but as said, Moscow is expensive. We went outside as the cups and bodies were dry. Gone were the worst of the clouds and the sun shone on the wet asphalt. We are now inside of the travel agency Go to Russia's office and have arranged with the ordered train tickets from Ulan Ude in Russia to Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator) in Mongolia. We were greeted by a friendly woman who spoke excellent English and explained everything we need to know about the upcoming train ride. The reason that we brought these tickets here is that domestic tickets could be delivered in electronic form on the internet. Foreign tickets are to be fetched in paper form. Mission one is now accomplished. 13.16 We are now, after first having walked wrong, at a perfect spot for photography. From here we have a perfect view towards the Kremlin, St. Basil's cathedral and other worth of preserving. We are on a bulge of the Bolshoy Moskvoretskiy Bridge. 14.09 Our thought to wander around in Красная Площадь (Red Square) with its surroundings didn't go well. The square was cordoned off for an event with the Silk Way Rally. We have in all cases seen the square and taken a few photos. We also passed by the department store GUM which did not have to change the name when it was privatised. In Russian, the acronym worked with a new name. Now we have a bench break along the pedestrian street Kuznetsky Most and think ahead while the rain falls again. 14.24 Just now we were in front of the famous Bolshoi theatre (Big theatre). In front of it, it was a bridal couple that got wet from the rain. We walk along. We don't want rain on us. 14.51 It doesn't go well to find a lunch restaurant that will suit both our wallets and taste. We have been in the most expensive part of the city and intend to take us to the other blocks before we eat something. We try to remember what are offered close to where we live. 15.01 We seem to remember seeing a hamburger place during yesterdays evening little hike. We take aim for it unless something else pops up along the way.
The rain is gone and the sun shines on Pyatnitskaya street.
The Moskva river runs through the Russian capital.
Kremlin with its cathedral and presidential palace.
Christer has Putin´s palace on his left shoulder.
The red walls and towers around Kremlin, the very center of Moscow and Russia.
Храм Христа Спасителя (Christ The Saviour´s Cathedral), Moscow.
15.22 We are back in the home area. The proposed hamburger place (not McDonalds), got cancelled. Instead, we have walked to, well what does it say? It is difficult Cyrillic letters. It can start on D and end with O. It is at least a restaurant.
15.36 We might have, via the WiFi connection, figured out the name of the restaurant. It is something that, with the reservation for spelling, is called Ded Pikhto. It is quiet in here, the chairs are comfortable and the unfiltered beer is good. The entire restaurant has a special interior. It reminds more of someone's private home sooner than a restaurant. 16.28 The restaurant is called Ded Pikhto (http://dedpihto.com) and can be roughly translated to "the Grandfather Pikhto". Now I have also tried Russian beetroot soup, borscht. It was how good whatsoever. Now we have come home to Hotel Avita again. It was close to home from the restaurant. 16.35 There is a man in a helmet outside our window here on the fourth floor. He has been riding the construction elevator. Look, there are two helmet guys out there. 16.47 Silk Way Rally runs between Moscow and Xian in China. The start is at 19.00 tonight. If all goes well, we will perhaps be at Red Square tomorrow. 19.00 Now the rally has begun. I wonder who are in it. Perhaps we should follow it? 20.21 We have been thinking about where we should go to dine tonight. According to the web, we seem to have gone past some possible restaurants earlier, without having taken note of it. Now, there's a knock on the door here. I will come back.
The beautiful Храм Василия Блаженного (Saint Basil´s Cathedral) by the Red Square.
The department store GUM has been around since the Soviet years.
Nikolskaya Street outside GUM Department Store.
The Red Square was closed off today.
The Kazan Cathedral from 1993 is a copy of the one Stalin destroyed in 1936.
The state historical museum in Moscow.
20.26 It was the man in the reception who knocked on the door. He came with our registration papers. Our visas are thus registered; we are officially visitors in Moscow. It is important that we have papers on where we have been. I also took the opportunity to order breakfast at the same time and place as today for tomorrow.
20.48 Now we are on our way to dinner. We have some ideas on where we can go. Unfortunately it's raining heavily out there. 21.53 What a fiasco it was! It was crammed with people where we intended to go (the restaurant Uryuk), in addition, downpour, wet on the ground and no other good restaurant nearby. Now we have bought sausages and bread slices in our shop instead. It is fortunate that there is a microwave oven in the room. Rather poor dinner with dry clothes than to be drenched in a restaurant further away. 22.38 First we got to peel off the plastic layer that surrounded the sausages. When it was clear, we did four at a time in the microwave and ate sausages and bread with good appetite. 23.19 A new night in Moscow is ahead of us. Tomorrow we hope for new experiences.
The pedestrian street Kuznetskiy Most.
The Bolshoi theatre, famous for ballet and opera.
The restaurant Ded Pikhto (Дед Пихто).
The interior of Ded Pikhto restaurant.
Tonight´s primitive sausage dinner. Some nights are like this.
You can see 88 photos from July 5 in this photoalbum.
You can see 17 photos from July 6 in this photoalbum.
You can see 95 photos from July 7 in this photoalbum.