Russia

A week long trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow, sightseeing and Scotland Euro qualifier against Russia. Read more

Follow Insights Calendar Share

Footprints
Photos

Trip start
October 5, 2019
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 1
Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 9:06 PM
⛅ 0 °C
Altitude: 115 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.935119, 30.31592459°56’6” N 30°18’57” E
St Petersburg
October 5, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 1
Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 9:07 PM
⛅ 0 °C
Altitude: 23 ft
Russia Shostakovich Philharmonic 59.93681, 30.3319459°56’13” N 30°19’55” E
St Petersburg at night
October 5, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
Great hassle free flights from Aberdeen to Amsterdam, and onwards to St Petersburg.......until I went to get the checked in bag. Left at Amsterdam 😭 So had to wait in a queue for just over an hour and a lot of paper work before I got into the city.

So went for a wander and wow, that cheered me up. Such a pretty city at night. Can't wait to see it in daylight.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 1:04 PM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 39 ft
Russia Petergof 59.88629, 29.9148459°53’11” N 29°54’53” E
Peterhof Palace
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
Did a tour of Peterhof Palace today, about an hour south west of St. Petersburg. This is the Palace that Peter the Great created as a consequence of Versailles. It was used by all the Russian royals, including Catherine the Great, a couple of Alexander's and a couple of Nicholas's, most noteably Nicholas II, the final Romano who along with his whole family were killed a year after the Russian revolution in 1917.

An amazing Palace full of many rooms, all decorated differently, quite a few with a lot of gold picture frames, mirrors and furniture. They are quite rightly very protective of it, with us wearing overshoes, making sure you don't dawdle too long due to the amount of visitors, and not even being allowed to extend your arms over the rope barriers to take a photo. Didn't stop a couple of Chinese women being thrown out for abusing this.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 1:45 PM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 85 ft
Russia Petergof 59.88457, 29.9087659°53’4” N 29°54’32” E
2
Peterhof Palace
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
Trixie Sellar Is that portraits of all the royal family.
10/7/19Reply
Traveler Nope, just SIX random people in different poses and clothes
10/8/19Reply
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 2:05 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 56 ft
Russia Petergof 59.885, 29.9083359°53’6” N 29°54’30” E
Peterhof Palace
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 2:10 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 89 ft
Russia Petergof 59.8846, 29.9088159°53’5” N 29°54’32” E
Peterhof Palace
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 2:25 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 56 ft
Russia Petergof 59.885, 29.9083359°53’6” N 29°54’30” E
Peterhof Palace Gardens
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
The place was virtually decimated during WW2 by the Germans. But the gardeners hid a lot of the statues by burying them. Most of it has been returned to its former glory. The gardens are just as stunning with over 300 fountains, all of them gravity fed.Read more
Trixie SellarWhere did the gardeners hide all the stuff? Not easy but glad they did as amazing!
10/7/19Reply
TravelerDug a huge hole below where it would freeze and buried them, when I first saw the photo I thought it was a massed grave 😱
10/8/19Reply
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 2:30 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 26 ft
Russia Petergof 59.88565, 29.9098159°53’8” N 29°54’35” E
Peterhof Palace Gardens
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 2:46 PM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 26 ft
Russia Petergof 59.88333, 29.9166759°52’60” N 29°55’0” E
Peterhof Palace Gardens
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
Trixie SellarBeautiful. Looks very tidy and well maintained?
10/7/19Reply
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 3:09 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 16 ft
Russia Petergof 59.88667, 29.9159°53’12” N 29°54’36” E
Peterhof Palace Gardens
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 3:46 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 82 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.93672, 30.3098759°56’12” N 30°18’36” E
Admiralty
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Then it was back into St Petersburg, passing one of two similar triumphal arches commemorating the victory over the French in 1812. I got dropped off at the Admiralty building. This is the centre of the city, with many Avenues, or Prospect as they call it here, radiating away from here.

A short distance down one of the prospects was St. Isaacs Cathedral. Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor is a cathedral that currently functions as a museum. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that Saint. It is the largest domed building in Russia and fourth in the world.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 3:50 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 23 ft
Russia Winter Palace 59.94, 30.3116759°56’24” N 30°18’42” E
St Petersburg Coast Walk
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
I then headed for the edge of the coast, just behind the Admiralty building. I came across the old Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum, a magnificent green building. Then I saw the queue to get in 😮
After 1917 many palaces became museums and government buildings, in all there where over 500 palaces in St Petersburg for royals, their relatives, rich merchants and military commanders who won great battles.

At the other side of the water I saw the Peter and Paul Fortress, founded by Peter the Great.Read more
Trixie SellarBeautiful and amazing colours!
10/7/19Reply
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 2
Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 4:22 PM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 33 ft
Russia Saint Petersburg 59.93994, 30.3285659°56’24” N 30°19’43” E
Savior on the Spilled Blood Church
October 6, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
Turning inland at the next big Prospect I came again across the Savior on the Spilled Blood Church, which looks equally looks as good in daylight. It is also called the Church on the Blood - as it marks the spot where Alexander II was fatally wounded in an assassination attempt on March 1, 1881. Designed by Alfred Parland designed it in the style of 16th and 17th century Russian churches, the Church of the Resurrection provides a stark contrast to its surroundings of Baroque, Classical and Modernist architecture.Read more
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 3
Monday, October 7, 2019 at 12:30 PM
☁️ 5 °C
Altitude: 62 ft
Russia Nevsky Prospekt 59.9347, 30.3249559°56’5” N 30°19’30” E
Kazan Cathedral
October 7, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
Had a free day, so wandered around St. Petersburg. Came across Kazan Cathedral, hard not to notice it as it's massive. It is the main church and very busy, not only with tourists, but also locals worshipping.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 10:38 AM
⛅ 3 °C
Altitude: 95 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.93841, 30.3170159°56’18” N 30°19’1” E
Palace Square
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
Today I had a tour of the Hermitage Museum, formerly known as the Winter Palace. I met the tour guide and the three other people on the tour next to the Alexander Column in Palace Square.

Palace Square is a fantastic huge square that has some of St Petersburg's most magnificent buildings. Opposite the Winter Palace is the semi circular General Staff Building. Through it is a triumphal arch leading to Nevsky Prospect.

The square has a prominent place in the history of St. Petersburg. The massacre of 'Bloody Sunday' on January 22, 1905, when Tsarist troops fired on unarmed strikers sparked the revolution of 1905. It also played an important part in the 1917 revolution, when a group of Bolshevik militants stormed the Winter Palace following a shot fired from the Aurora cruiser.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 11:05 AM
⛅ 3 °C
Altitude: 23 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.93907, 30.3158459°56’21” N 30°18’57” E
Palace Square
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
The star attraction of the square is the immense column that sits in its center. Known as the Alexander Column, it is a monument to Russia's victory over Napoleonic France. Designed, ironically, by the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand and built between 1830 and 1834, the column stands at 47,4 meter or almost 156 feet (including the base) and is topped with an angel whose face is said to resemble that of Emperor Alexander I. The monument, considered a great feat of engineering, weighs six hundred tons. No cranes were used to place it in the square, and it has no attachment to the base other than gravity.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 11:16 AM
⛅ 3 °C
Altitude: 62 ft
Russia Winter Palace 59.93995, 30.3132459°56’24” N 30°18’48” E
Hermitage Museum
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
The Hermitage Museum is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world and an absolute must-see for any visitor to St. Petersburg. The museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, empress of Russia, and opened to the public in 1852. Not only does the Hermitage boast one of the world's greatest art collections, the museum is also worth a visit for its sumptuous interior.

The actual museum is made up of several buildings which were extended as Catherine the Great's art collection grew. The permanent collection at The Hermitage includes about three million works of art that span the centuries from paleolithic to contemporary. The museum is so large that it is impossible to visit all galleries in one visit but tickets for multiple days are available. We spend over three hours getting a very small glimpse of the collection.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 11:50 AM
⛅ 4 °C
Altitude: 23 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.94333, 30.3183359°56’36” N 30°19’6” E
Hermitage Museum
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 12:46 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 95 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.93984, 30.3145659°56’23” N 30°18’52” E
Hermitage Museum
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 1:05 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 89 ft
Russia Winter Palace 59.94167, 30.3166759°56’30” N 30°19’0” E
Hermitage Museum
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 4
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 1:45 PM
⛅ 5 °C
Altitude: 23 ft
Russia Palace Square 59.94, 30.3166759°56’24” N 30°19’0” E
Hermitage Museum
October 8, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
We also go into the huge basement to see a collection of artifacts dug up in Siberia, that are perfectly preserved.

Among them is a fine detail carpet, the oldest one of its kind in the world, originally from Iran. Other items originate from India and further afield, showing these peoples traded and travelled a lot, over 2000 years ago.

There was also the mummy of a chief from those times.Read more
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 5
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 12:39 PM
☁️ 6 °C
Altitude: 72 ft
Russia Moskovsky Rail Terminal 59.93, 30.3616759°55’48” N 30°21’42” E
Travel to Moscow
October 9, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
We took the high speed train to Moscow today. Took about 4 hours, rather than the usual eight hours. Very comfortable and fast.

Arrived in Moscow early evening, and took the metro to the hotel, an easy 20 minutes. Nice and central. First impressions are that they seem to have started celebrating Christmas very early, as many buildings are decorated with lights. Had a meal in an interesting restaurant, walls lined with all types of guns, bazookas and knives.Read more
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 5
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 9:30 PM
☁️ 4 °C
Altitude: 489 ft
Russia National Historic Museum 55.755341, 37.61903555°45’19” N 37°37’9” E
Moscow
October 9, 2019 in Russia ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
1 like
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 6
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 1:19 PM
🌧 8 °C
Altitude: 436 ft
Russia Red Square 55.75394, 37.620855°45’14” N 37°37’15” E
Match day in Moscow
October 10, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Match day and we go for a wander around Red Square. Seems to be a farmers festival on, many tractors as well as many food stalls and displays of various vegetables.
2 likes
Russia Traveler
Show trip
Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
Share
Day 6
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 6:06 PM
🌧 7 °C
Altitude: 443 ft
Russia olympic stadium Luschniki 55.71576, 37.5537355°42’57” N 37°33’13” E
Luzhniki Stadium
October 10, 2019 in Russia ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
Made it to the match. Awesome stadium. We were standing next to the press area, noticed some spare seats and took them. We even got the WiFi code from a female Russian journalist sitting next to us 😂
2 likes