St Petersburg: When did I become such a tourist?

I am only in St Petersburg for a month (2 weeks of which were taken up with university essays) so I wanted to make sure that I was well equipped for my tourist extravaganza in order to make the most of my time here. I invested in a Lonely Planet guide book for the city and it has turned in to my bible whilst I’ve been out here. I have mastered the art of sightseeing and my legs are reminding me of it every day what with all their aches and pains. I can put my hand on my heart and say that I have never done so many touristy things in my life and I am feeling like a more cultured and all together more knowledgeable human being as a result of this.

One of my first sightseeing adventures in St Petersburg took me some of the main sights: Kazan Cathedral, Church on the Spilled Blood and Peter and Paul Fortress. Not very original I know but you have to do these things! I would say that it is a very good place to start as they are located right in the heart of the city and give you a nice little taster of what is to come.

First stop – Church on the Spilled Blood. This is most definitely one of the most touristic spots in St Petersburg and therefore feels nothing like a church once you enter inside. Before doing so however make sure you take a look at the outside of it as it is fairly spectacular thanks to all the work it’s had done on it. The church gets its name from the fact that in 1881 Tsar Alexander II was attacked by a terrorist group on this same spot and then died a couple of days later from his injuries. His son decided that he wanted to build a church on the exact same spot where his father was attacked and the location is actually marked inside the church. I personally don’t think that I would want to be reminded of the spot where my dad had a bomb thrown at him but that is the difference between me and mini Alexander.

Kazan Cathedral is another tourist hot spot and rightly so. It is still a working church and therefore it costs you a grand total of zero pennies! It was built between 1801 and 1811 and is a strange mixture of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It is for this reason that is looks quite unlike any other church in St Petersburg that I have come across. Inside it is traditionally orthodox and still retains its peaceful and calm atmosphere. During the Soviet era Kazan Cathedral was shut and used as a storage facility and later on as an anti-religion museum. In fact, at one point half of the church was an anti-religion museum and the other half was used as a working church! Top marks for the person who came up with that idea. Opposite Kazan Cathedral there is the Singer building.  The singer buildings stands out amongst all the other buildings on Nevsky Prospekt as it’s design was influenced by New York architecture. The building was home to the Singer sewing machine factory which is where it gets it’s name from. This building is now a bookshop and cafe among other things. Whilst the cafe is on the pricey side I would recommend going in even if just for an espresso and getting a table by the huge windows looking out on to Kazan Cathedral. I went for breakfast here and although the price made me want to cry, the view more than made up for it.

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Recommended cafe: Bushe (7 Malaya Morskaya street) – Austrian bakery with yummy pastries, cakes, delicious crusty loaves and decent sandwiches (a very rare occurence in this city!). 

Peter and Paul Fortress was where St Petersburg was founded after this area of land was captured from the Swedes in 1703. Peter the Great captured this tiny island and decided to create a European style city. This little island is extremely interesting even just to walk around. It is surrounded by a red brick wall as it was created as a defence against the Swedes and inside it has a Cathedral, prison, a very famous statue of Peter the Great and several museums. I decided to go in to the Trubetskoy Bastion which is where political prisoners were held and where Peter the Great supervised the torture to death of his son (doesn’t sound so great right now). I would definitely recommend this as it is a fairly small museum with just enough information. The prison was home to many famous names at different times in its history such as Lenin’s brother Alexander Ulyanov and Dostoyevsky. Whilst this was very interesting I did get a bit confused when I went up to the 1st floor and realised I was reading pretty much exactly the same information all over again! By this time however my concentration levels were wavering so I decided it was no big loss and made my way to the nearest coffee spot!

Recommended cafe: Le Menu (pr Dobrolyubova 1) – Relatively inexpensive and extremely good value business lunch (soup, bread, salad, main meal, drink = 250 rubles)

 

Parisian Brunch

Brunch. What does this word mean to you? For most people it means lie-ins at the weekend with pancakes for breakfast or perhaps a bacon sandwich or eggs benedict. You could go all out and get a full English breakfast; having lived in Paris for nearly 6 months I would advise you to DO IT. As much as I love the French cuisine there is something about a full English breakfast that is so satisfying and I can hear it crying out to me on weekend mornings when I’m tucking into my baguette.

In Paris they have taken the word “brunch” and decided to give it a new meaning. Who knows why. Just for funsies I guess. The outcome is a meal that seems to combine lunch and dinner into one and this one meal can usually only be eaten on a Sunday. It’s the rules. Brunch on a Saturday just does not work. I have become a big fan of the Parisian brunch but being British I cannot get the idea out of my head that it should be a breakfast affair and so I therefore tend to opt for a midday brunch rather than a 3pm one. This most definitely has its perks as places tend to fill up as the afternoon goes on. I would say there are two main types of brunch: the buffet brunch and the set menu brunch. I have tried both and now it is my chance to give you a little insight into the world of Parisian Sundays –

Twinkie Breakfasts

Twinkie Breakfasts is a bit out of the ordinary in terms of brunch as it serves it all day every day. Very unusual! It is here at Twinkie’s that you can opt for the set menu type brunch. Options offered include: English (not a proper cooked breakfast with all the grease sadly), American, French, Norwegian…. The menu tends to include a selection of breads with nutella, jam and a marmalade, a fresh juice, coffee and hot dish. Every option is €22 unless you opt for a bagel or poached eggs off of the menu.

When I went I chose the Norwegian breakfast which consisted of all the norms plus eggs benedict/royale. I’m sure eggs benedict originates from America though which puzzles me greatly… I wasn’t convinced by the marmalade we were given which was courgette, tomato and cucumber if I remember correctly. Slightly too far on the side of odd. The eggs benedict was delicious however and I was in heaven when handed an extremely large cup of coffee. The French aren’t big fans of large coffees so even ordering a white coffee over here is disappointing when you get handed a cup that is half full. The mugs at Twinkie Breakfasts however are the real deal. AND we got a free refill. Excellent news!

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So the first time was a hit. However the second time was a let down. I had already eaten breakfast so chose a simple dish of poached eggs. Well, they don’t mess around when they state that it is simply poached eggs do they! Out came a bowl with 2 poached eggs in and a slice of bread on the side. Well, I’m glad I paid €8 for that… I could probably buy the chicken and have a year long’s supply of eggs for that price. I went with some friends who are coeliacs and their breakfasts were just as disappointing: 2 boiled eggs, some sheep cheese in a bowl and some lamb’s lettuce in another bowl. Not €22 worth of food right there. So if you’re going to go to this café then try to tactically choose the largest dish among the set menus otherwise you’ll be disappointed.

Les Parigots

Les Parigots is where I was able to try a buffet style brunch and my goodness am I a fan! The buffet brunch here is also €22 but I think you get so much more for your money. The set menu consists of scrambled eggs, a hot dish of the day, a salad buffet and dessert buffet. The first time I came here I ended up staying for nearly 4 hours as I was determined to get the most out of my pennies! The salad bar is fantastic with salads ranging from chicory + blue cheese to whelks to cured meats and there is also an amazing cheese board to sample. The dessert buffet is a selection of bite-size (if you have a very large mouth) cakes, crepes, fruit and yoghurt.

I have been here twice now and the first time the hot dish on offer was a kind of lamb tagine with couscous which went down extremely well. The second time was a lamb chop served with an assortment of roasted veg. When I heard it was lamb chop for the main meal I was so disappointed but actually it was so well cooked and tender that I could’ve eaten about 4 of them!

You have to be careful with a buffet lunch because you need to pace yourself. It is a game of skill. I go in for the salads first, then a bit of scrambled egg, then eat the main, on to the cheese, on to the dessert and you’re good to not eat for the rest of the day! This place is definitely excellent value for money but be careful when buying drinks as this is where they seem to reap their profit. So no huge mugs of coffee available at this place sadly. That is a minor detail though as you could get a carafe of water and eat extremely well all for the grand sum of €22.

Having tried out both options, they both have their perks and for me it just depends what mood I’m in. I do tend to be feeling more on the greedy side of life though so the buffet brunch gets my seal of approval more often than not!