"Keeweechic's St Petersburg " a Saint Petersburg Travel Page by keeweechic

Once the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg has the largest number of bridges among all the world cities. There are some 539 bridges (315 in the downtown area alone) spanning some 42 islands. Created by Peter the Great as his 'window on the West' the city was built largely by European architects and on a grand scale, with palaces and boulevards designed to be seen from afar. The Neva River splits the city into northern, eastern and southern sections. The area spreading back from the Winter Palace and the Admiralty on the south bank is the city's heart, and Nevsky Prospekt is its main artery. The central area you can best see on foot, strolling alongside waterside walkways and elegant streetscapes.

I arrived in Russia a day later than expected due to missing a connection in Frankfurt and having to lay over a night. My bag unfortunately did not miss the flight and went on without me although at the time, I had no idea what had happened to it since I got conflicting reports from the airline. The Airport in St Petersburg was fairly small compared to a lot of international airports and not so brightly lit. Trying to establish if my bag had arrived was a trial with limited English being spoken. Finally after I went through immigration etc they marched me out to a little back room and there, amongst a few others, was my easily distinguishable 'red' Samsonite. I then was confronted by a customs man, who I had previously cleared, and made to fill out yet another form (for now an extra piece of luggage), I think they were in triplicate, and go through the motions again. He was a pretty stern fella and a lot bigger than me, so I readily complied (even though I thought it all unnecessary, since he didn't want to look inside, just see another piece of luggage). By this time, the airport had cleared of all arriving passengers and I was worried that my driver had long given up on me and left. To my relief, he was patiently waiting outside with his small, old modelled car ready to whisk me off into the twilight of a St Petersburg night. He reminded me of 'Winslow' from the English comedy "Keeping up Appearances", but of course in this weather, had more than just a singlet on. One of the first things I saw, off in the distance, reflecting off the blue/white glare of the snow and framed by the silhouetted leafless trees, was a large neon for Pepsi... somehow that calmed me down and I sat back to enjoy the ride.

Friends thought I had to be mad travelling to Russia in winter and I'm afraid that arriving to -20C temperatures that night, I had to agree with them, especially since I was coming from living in Singapore, however seeing St Petersburg in winter is a very magical and enchanting experience. Donned with the thermals and several outer layers, I survived the experience. Unfortunately a whole reel of film I took while there, didn't which was very disappointing. St Petersburg is truly one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in Europe and should not be missed whatever time of year.