Cathedral bagging

Early morning run showed up how much busier the roads were on weekdays. Equally a lot of business types were hurrying to work - not keen on having an unfit plodder getting in their way. The challenge today was to avoid queues - some hope but you never know. Didn't get to the first cathedral quite as early as hoped but the surrounding area did seem a little quieter - could it be that with the Hermitage being closed tour groups would be less keen / less booked. Nope. Though the queues did seem shorter. On entering it became apparent that they were all inside or so it seemed. Not the most peaceful of places but certainly one of the most ornate and decorative. Every wall was covered in colourful mosaics - must take some maintaining. The ticket claimed to be a museum but that was stretching it a little - a few placards & everything else relied upon the audio guide - 200 rubles extra. Stopped in at Kazan Cathedral on the way to St Isaac's. Amazed to find a place of worship where there was some worshiping going on & there was no charge. What really took your breath away was the smell of incense. By now I was a bit churched out & the hope was that we could go up to the collonade at St Isaac's without having to pay to go in the church as well. Again queues weren't too bad & the ticket agent complied so just the views without the god squad stuff - also meant earlier lunch which got Liz's vote. Views of the river, the Hermitage & the distant stadium were very good.Read more