Heavenly St Petersburg

I could not wait to get to St Petersburg.
We had a fairly simple experience at the border, the only drama was not caused by us but by some poor bugger who rode his motorcycle down the wrong road (accidentally I’m assuming). All of a sudden there was shouting and sirens, I was half expecting big doors to clang shut and put us all in lock down. One guard told us to empty the entire car but upon Hayden opening the back and pulling out a sleeping bag he decided just to put his hand on a few bags, give them a bit of a feel and that was that. I guess it was clear that we were just crazy campers and that it would be far too big a hassle.
I had so many romantic notions about the city that I have to admit I was initially disappointed. I had to keep reminding myself that it’s the second biggest city in Russia, and with that comes overbearing tower blocks, motorways, dirty side streets, and crazy drivers (and all the rest that comes with driving through the city at peak hour).
After arriving at our hotel a little weary, we forced ourselves to head to the city centre for dinner. My love affair with this city began. I only had to get as far as the metro escalators to be amazed. It might sound like such a small thing to be bewildered by so let me explain. Firstly, they are made of wood. All of them. Imagine if there was a fire? I’m guessing it is for this reason that there are guards sitting in little boxes at the top and the bottom, but still, I’m not exactly what they would do in such an event. Secondly, they are the longest escalators I have ever seen. People always talk about Angel tube station in London, but it’s escalators pale into insignificance. I actually timed the escalator journey on the way home – two minutes and 45 seconds!! St Petersburg actually has the second deepest metro station in the world, our guide on our walking tour told us it was 7 minutes (something like 800m down). So of course we had to try. She lied. It was two escalators that totalled to about 6 minutes- perhaps she included walking time in between. Nevertheless, it was impressive. The whole design of the metro was incredible. Each one is different and they are so grand! Mosaic tiles, golden lamps, archways to rival those seen in cathedrals, enormous marble statues and doors that bang shut so severely that you would never want to do the last second dash for boarding! They come so frequently and are so damn efficient that you don’t need to.
The metro system was not the only feature that excited me, the beautiful palaces, churches, statues and the beautiful people were astonishing. There is certainly a lot of money here (and judging by places like Peterhof Palace, there always has been), the flash cars and motorbikes that people speed by in do not come cheap and it leaves me wondering about the gap between the rich and the poor in this country. How does one get away with doing double the speed limit in a pedestrian area in a brand new Rage Rover with all windows fully tinted and no license plate? Perhaps Russia really is a gangster’s paradise.
I left St Petersburg satisfied with its beauty. And just as the heavens started open and the rain came down, traffic on the motorway came to a grinding halt. The road seemingly disappeared upwards and it took a few moments to realise that it was a bridge opening, this city just keeps on giving.