Puhkuse ajal viibisin 13.-19. augustini Venemaal, Peterburis. See oli nüüdseks 3. kord Peterburis ja 4. kord Venemaal. Viimati käisin Peterburis 13 aastat tagasi, 8. klassis. Väga palju detaile polnud meeles, väga palju on ilmselt ka muutunud. Vahe on loomulikult ka selles, et toona oli tegemist klassiekskursiooniga, kus sind transporditi bussiga punktist A punkti B ja omaette vaatamiseks oli vähe aega. Sel korral võtsime reisi ette üheskoos vana klassiõe/sõbrannaga, ise organiseerides ja valides. Tõele au andes, ei organiseerinud mina suurt midagi - kogu kiitus selles osas läheb sõbrannale. Reis oli tore, aga samas ka väsitav, sest iga päev sai jalgsi maha kõnnitud 13-15km. Seda päris suure ajast ka vihmas, sest ilmaga oli nii ja naa. Vahepeal oli päris tugev sadu, aga peamised kohad said õnneks kuiva ilmaga läbitud (nt Peterhof).
Peterburi kohta on raske midagi negatiivset öelda, linn oli puhas, iga maja oli omaette vaatamisväärsus ja mis peamine - inimesed olid väga abivalmid ja sõbralikud. Sain külastada imelist vene tsirkust (pilte etendusest kahjuks pole, sest salvestamine oli etenduse ajal keelatud) ning näha viimaks ka korralikult öist sildade tõstmist Neval (seda paadiga sõites). Käisime ka Peterhofi Nizhniy sadis, sõitsime paadiga mööda Neva kanaleid, avastasime Peterburi turgu, võtsime ette ka taaskülastuse Ermitaaži (meeletud, ma kordan, mee-le-tud järjekorrad!), jalutasime niisama mööda tänavaid ning loomulikult testisime erinevaid söögikohti.
Korter, kus viibisime, oli saadud airbnb kaudu ning kuulutus ise asus siin:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4376482?eluid=0&euid=e43d23d0-2b84-4ed1-a5cc-cdab80f3f6a3. Pean ütlema, et kuigi väljast paistis maja väga peen välja, siis interjöör oli kardinaalselt erinev. Kurta pole samas midagi - hea asukoht, huvitav väljanägemine, hea hind ja mis peamine - korteris liikles vabalt omaniku kass, kes oli väga sõbralik.
//
On my vacation during 13-19 august, I visited St Peterburg in Russia. This was my 3rd time in St Petersburg and 4th time in Russia in general. Last time I went to St Peterburg was 13 years ago in the 8th grade. I can't remember a lot of the details and a lot has changed as well. And back then it was a class trip, which meant you were transported from one place to another on a bus and on a tight schedule + not much time to look around by yourself. This time we organized the trip with an old classmate/friend of mine. To be honest, I didn't do much of the organizing - that was all her credit. The trip was fun, but tiring as well because we walked 13-15km every day. A lot of it was in the rain as well. The weather was so-so, thankfully the most important visit to Peterhof (whole day outside, really nowhere to go in case of rain) was a sunny day.
It would be difficult to say anything bad about St Petersburg, the city was clean, every house was very beautiful and the people were helfpul and friendly. I got to visit the circus (no photos of it because it was forbidden to take photos during the show) and see night-time attraction of the raising of the bridges on Neva. We also walked through and through the Lower gardens of Peterhof, went on a boat ride on the canals of Neva, re-visited Hermitage (which was madness, people waited for hours in the rain) and of course, tested local food.
The apartment we stayed at, can be viewed here:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4376482?eluid=0&euid=e43d23d0-2b84-4ed1-a5cc-cdab80f3f6a3. The exterior looks fancy, but the interior is quite a bit different. Nothing to complain about, though: a good location, interesting interior, good price and most importantly - the owner's (friendly) cat was free to roam around the apartment.
Kas on juba aru saada, milline oli mu lemmikkirik? // Does it show what is my favorite church in St Petersburg?
Freddie Mercury, leitav Nevskil // Freddie Mercury, found on Nevski.