Things to do in St. Petersburg-Russia

Hermitage Museum—the biggest, most beautiful, and impressive museum.

A boat trip on the Neva River and the canals. When all the ice disappears you'll see boats everywhere. Just go to one and buy a ticket (if possible); if not, bargain the price. :)

Wander around the city during the White Nights (in June).

Visit Pavlovsk, 40 minutes outside Petersburg, and my favorite palace and park. Great for a picnic. (Peterhof is actually best known of all parks and palaces, and is also referred to as the Russian Versailles).

Quick Tips:

Look out for pickpockets in the metro, gypsy look-alikes on Nevsky (the main avenue), and drunk Russian guys/policmen/soldiers.

Best Way To Get Around:

By foot or metro. Of course, if you plan to go out during the night, taxis are your thing. Just hold out your hand, hail any cab, open the door, say "dvesti," meaning 200 rubles, and that should be sufficient to go anywhere within the city center.

Trendy beer restaurant for some good sausages and German sauerkraut. But the beer they brew here themselves is the main point of getting in here. Great start actually for one of those long nights!

Great place! I got invited by my friends' parents and that was good, because it was a bit above my budget. The food though—wow! Supposedly there's a Belgian cook working here.

The atmosphere was great, because it has the feeling of a bar or pub, but gives you this food—anyway, try it. I ended up at the bar, flirting with the waitresses.

This is simply the best. You'll meet lots of foreigners here, but even more talkative Russians. Once in here, try to get out! Impossible. Although it's only for those who like a little grungy place, very small and no coat check! Cheap. Check out Fidel right next door, just a little cleaner.

Well, I don't really have addresses, but it's so easy. Just pick up one of these guides—St. Petersburg In Your Pocket is probably the best there is in this city—and check out what's going on in summer. In 2006 these beach clubs were just crowded with beautiful young people. The fact that in June the sun stays out late (the so-called white nights) means that partying goes on all night. During the day, you can be sure to find a clean beach and good service. Swimming, though, is not the best idea in the somewhat polluted Finnish Gulf.

This bar was not here when I visited St. Petersburg last year. It's a good little new place to visit though. I think the owners are American, but there's lots of great Russians who like to hang out here. I actually met 2 guys I got to know last summer here. I've been coming here a lot since I arrived, because it also serves OK food for good prices.

The tradition of ice fishing is for many Russians a way to survive winter, selling the caught fish on markets and along highways. Want some catching of you own, here’s what you do. Buy an iron hand drill, a wire and some bait and some vodka, put on your warmest clothes, and head out on the Neva River, the Ladoga Lake or the Finnish Gulf and look for the other fishermen. It’s a men’s game, for women are said to bring bad luck.

With the Finnish Gulf frozen, the St. Petersburg Off Road and 4x4 Club organizes it’s traditional yearly ice-racing. Professionals as well as amateurs can race behind the Pribaltiiskaya Hotel on Vasilevsky Island. If you don’t have a car, just ask some Russian if you can join him for a ride. Most fun you will have of course driving a car with adjusted tires, but slipping away while turning your steer every possible way is also a lot of fun. Wear warm clothes and bring your photo camera!

We were a little nervous. Cautiously my friend and I entered this unknown land of Russian tradition, to be confronted by naked men and ladies...lots of them. Having paid 50Rbl to use the banya, reputedly frequented by Rasputin in its younger days, we reluctantly stripped off, gradually realizing as we looked around us that we had none of the necessary provisions: no towels, soap, or slippers. Returning approximately six times to the charming, yet bemused, banya assistant to hire the necessary items, we noted the sign crossly informing that underwear is "categorically prohibited", dropped our towels, and entered the main bathroom.

The banya is more than just a "bathhouse" to Russians. Although those with no hot water at home use the facilities out of necessity, many visit because they believe that only the highest level of cleanliness can be achieved here. The banya usually consists of a sauna, parilka, (furnace-heated steam room) and cold pool. Although there are established traditions, people also develop their own routines and the banya experience is meant to be a personal cleaning ritual. Lingering by the showers clutching our veniki, (bundles of dried birch leaves that are used to "beat" out toxins) a tiny Russian lady took pity on us and introduced us to banya etiquette.

First, we took a standard shower and poured buckets of water over ourselves, before soaking our veniki in hot water for 10 minutes and entering the intensely hot parilka. Our attendant periodically disappeared to drink beer and, leaving us unsupervised at this moment, it all got tricky. Perched on "Metro" newspapers on the wooden parilka benches (yes, you could read the headlines on our rear ends) with our wet hair sizzling and frying (everyone else, of course, sensibly had hats on), we smothered ourselves in honey and hit ourselves with veniki. A second round was a must according to everyone surrounding us. We first dried off, working our way up the benches which grow hotter higher up, then manically beat ourselves to the cries of "Harder! Harder!" from our new Russian friends. Jumping into the basseyin (icy pool) came last, along with an unintentional shriek. Heartier banya-goers dash out into the snow at this point, but it was our first time after all.

Banyas

Kazachie Banya Kazachy per. 11, M Pushkinskaya – Showers, steam room, and cold bath. Open 24 hours. Men: Sun, Mon, Wed, & Fri (pm). Women: Tues, Thurs, & Sat. Admission 50 Rbl except Thurs & Sat, 100Rbl. Tel. 315 07 34

Put on your brightest clothes, take your sunglasses and a wallet with rubles. Skiing in Russia is hot and many places are crowded with cool Russians wearing the latest winter fashion. The gear you can rent is of good quality, but taking your own is also possible. Don’t expect Swiss mountains, it’s all quite innocent, but the atmosphere around these places is great. For many it’s a day out of the city; first there is the exercise, and then there is the sauna with lots of drinks. Most parks feature ‘baby lifts’, instructors, snowboard rental, and cross-country skiing possibilities. Hiking through the forest in a real troika (horse drawn carriage) is also great fun. Enjoy!

Own Transport
To get to these ski-parks yourself on your own or by a rented car, think of the following. Buy a good map of the region, and carrying a compass can be a great help. Signs are not always available and the further away you get from St. Petersburg, the less signs are written in Latin letters. Make sure your car has special winter tires; you don’t want to get stuck in the middle of endless forests. An extra can of gasoline wouldn’t hurt too. Otherwise enjoy the ride through small villages, along frozen lakes, and over bumpy roads.

Krasnoe Ozero
The red lake as it is called knows the longest descent (1,100 meters) of all parks surrounding Petersburg. It’s also the furthest away from town, approximately a 1½-hour drive. There are six different ways to get down, varying in difficulty. You can rent everything you need, except the clothes, but including snowboards. Instructors are ready to help you. Small children can be taken care of. There are cottages for rent (2/4/6/8 persons), some of which have their own sauna. The bar is open till 4:00 during the weekends. Near Krasnoe Ozero you can find also two other ski parks: Snezhny and Zolotaya Dolina.
www.krasnoeozero.ru

HOW TO GET THERE: BY BUS (only during the season) On the weekends and on holidays a St. Petersburg-Krasnoe Ozero bus leaves at 10am. For seats call: 329 79 42. BY CAR Leave the city by shosse Skandinavia towards the village of Ogonki, then follow the road to Pervomaiskoe, Podgore, Korobitsino where you will see a big sign leading to the ski park.

Leningradskaya Oblast, Priozerski rayon, village of Korobitsino, tel/fax 987 50 50
Office in St. Petersburg, ul. Furshtatskaya 33/2, tel. 329 79 42

To practice my Russian I translated some article I found—it's quite fun, actually. Hope you like it.

Fifteen peculiarities about Petersburg

1 St. Petersburg is located at 651 kilometers from Moscow and 159 from the Finnish border at 59-56’ altitude and 30-18’ longitude. Petersburg is the most northern of the big cities and the biggest of the northern cities. The 60 degree parallel, on which Petersburg is situated, goes through Chukotka, Alaska, Greenland, Magadan and Oslo. More northern than Petersburg are Reykjavik, Moermansk, Petrozavodsk, Archangeldsk, Vokruta, Norilsk, Yakutsk, Ankoridge, Helsinki. Nearby the 30 degree line are Kiev, Odessa, Cairo, Chartum and Pretoria.

2 Although the River Neva is 74 kilometers long, it only assembles water from over a territory a bit smaller than Italy. The Neva delta includes Ladoga lake, Onega, Saima, Ilmyen, Svir, Volchov and Vuyoksa. The world knows only one hydro system a like the Neva, that is the territory of the Big Lakes in the USA. The Neva brings along as much water as the rivers Don and Dnyepr together.

3 In the 5th century BC the Neva took its form and course to the Finnish Gulf. The Neva river and Ladoga lake used to be named as a whole, the Swedish called it Nyu and the Finnish Aldea. Different names were given only in 1264.

4 Petersburg is the biggest ‘second’ city in Europe. It’s bigger than Barcelona, Krakow, Birmingham, Munchen, Milan, Charkov. In the beginning of the 19th century Petersburg was the fourth biggest city by population in Europe, and it still is. Paris: 9,8 million. Moscow: 9,3 million. London: 6,8 million. Petersburg: 4,6 million.

5 White Nights. 22nd of June in Petersburg lasts for 18 hours and 50 minutes. From the 26th of May until the 16th of July the depth of the setting of the sun doesn’t come higher than 7 degrees.

6 Champion of palaces. Only the palaces that were owned by the imperial family count in Petersburg to 20, Winter, Summer, Michailovski, Novomichailovski, Zapasnoi, Yelagin, Kamennoostrovski, Marble, Anichkov, Aleksey Aleksandrovich, Nikolay Nikolaevich, Mariinsky, Aleksandr Michailovich, Leichtenbergski, Sergey Aleksandrovich, Michail Aleksandrovich, Vladimir Aleksandrovich, Oldenburgski, Mecklenburg-Strelinski (Karlovy).

7 European Champion of Bridges, Vice Champion of Canals and Islands. In Petersburg there are 48 canals and rivers, 160 kilometer of embankments, 800 bridges. In Venice they have more canals (157) and islands (118) but less bridges (378).

8 Feniks bird. On Petersburg over the past 100 years twice a neutron bomb fell, during the civil war and during the blockade. In 1917 in Petersburg lived 2,5 million people, in 1920, 0,6. In 1941: 3,4 million, 1943: 0,6.

9 Deepest metro in the world. Because Petersburg is build on swamps the metro lines had to be built under those swamps. The metro rides 70-80 meters underground. This didn’t prevail the bursting of one tunnel in 1995.

10 Capital of trams. The city streets have more than 600 kilometers of tramline. This is written down in the Guinness Book of Records.

11 Four times renamed. Petersburg until 1914, Petrograd until 1924, Leningrad until 1991 and again Petersburg in 1991.

12 Dangerous city. Czarevich Aleksey Petrovich, three imperators (Peter III, Pavel I and Aleksandr II), two ministers of Domestic Affairs, three famous princes were killed in this city. It also saw four revolutions and five times change of rule. Nine leaders of communist organizations were shot, one of them (Kirov) under suspicious circumstances. The first mayor of the city (Sobchak) had to flee the city and hide for 1 ½ years in Paris. In the city center the vice-mayor Manevich was killed as well as state deputy Starovoitova. Not anyone who headed the city since 1917 could make a political career in Moscow.

13 Without elephants. Petersburg is the only big city in the Europe with a zoo without elephants. The last one, Bobo, came in 1957 from Rotterdam, but was sold to Tashkent in 1975, but soon after arrival in the Uzbekistan capital, died. The scull of Bobo can be seen in the Zoological Institute. Also the city lacks a hippodrome, aqua park, ring road and under the main city street there are only two underground pedestrian crossings.

14 The biggest piece of Malachite in the world is in possession of the Mine museum. The piece weighs 1504 kilogram and was taken from the Ural and put in the museum in 1787.

15 Biggest old city in Europe. In Petersburg living houses made out of stone from before the revolution are almost fully preserved. Of those there are 18.000 buildings. From the Obvodny Kanal towards the Big Neva and from the Aleksandr Nevsky monastery towards the harbor the city looks almost the same as it did in 1917. Such a high percentage of preserved buildings cannot be seen in any of the big cities in Europe or America. There is no place in the world where there is to be seen classical, eclectically, modern and retro perspective building styles.

Kalendar, 12-25 May 2003

Jewish life in St. Petersburg is as old (or young) as the city itself. Many Jews came to the north with tsar Peter the Great, when he founded the city in 1703. The history is one of repression, relative freedom, and again repression. The synagogue though, one of the biggest in Europe, kept on working during the city's hardest days, those of the blockade during World War II. A big Jewish cemetery is located in the south of St. Petersburg, and the Russian Museum owns works of one of Russia’s most famous Jews, Marc Chagall.

Synagogue
The Jewish Synagogue in St. Petersburg is one of the biggest in Europe and has just been beautifully restored. In 1869 the Russian authorities gave permission to build it, but only in 1893 the synagogue was ready for consecration. The exterior of the building is in Moorish style with a grand entrance flanked by minarets. The interior is more devoted to old Jewish traditions and was designed by the architect Bachman, the first Jewish graduate of the Russian Academy of Art. With a capacity of 2,000, it’s not even big enough for the more popular Jewish holidays when people sometimes have to stand outside. There is a red-brick Small Synagogue next to the big one, as well as a Yeshiva, where Torah and Hebrew lessons are given and where meals are provided for Jewish pensioners.

Jewish Synagogue, Lermontovsky pr. 2, m. Sennaya pl.

Jewish Cemetery
Only in 1802 did Jews receive a piece of land to bury their dead. But it was not a solely Jewish cemetery, because they had to buy strips of land from the Lutheran part of the Volkovskoye cemetery. On the 1st of December 1872 a separate place was given to the Jewish community more to the south of the city. At the entrance a synagogue is erected. To get there, take the metro to Obukhovo and walk north along the rail tracks for about 5 minutes.

That Russians love holidays is a known fact for many. But the least beloved holiday must be the day of the Tax Police of the Russian Federation, celebrated on the 18th of March. On that day in 1992 this state organ was founded and Russian people learned a new word: ‘taxes’ (nalogi). It was only in 2000 though that President Putin made this day an official holiday. How the staff of the Tax Police celebrates its own anniversary is a mystery to me...