My Russian Dream

Saint Petersburg is exactly what I imagined Russia to be like; bitter cold, harsh winds, gloomy skies, and a city full of amazing architecture and history. I felt as if I was in a history book. I couldn't believe that I was actually there, experiencing the beautiful city. It's now my new favorite place in the world. Although Saint Petersburg and Voronezh are both in Russia, they are two very different places. People dress, act and even speak differently in Saint Petersburg. I personally felt that Saint Petersburg is more friendly and welcoming.
Our group stayed in a super awesome hostel, with long term guests who were quite friendly. They always wanted us to speak in Russian so that they could understand what we were saying, unfortunately I don't speak enough Russian to hold a conversation with them. Google translate became our way of communicating with each other.

~Favorite Parts of the Trip~

• Wearing my new Russian coat
• Being mistaken for being Russian-apparently in my new coat I look and walk like a Russian. At a market, a man originally spoke Russian to me, then Spanish and then English. He had no idea Hannah and I were American. We're staring to blend really well. 
• Seeing the Baltic Sea-Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE water!
• Our hostel and staying up late having broken, google translate conversations with other guests
• sleeping in a window seal at the airport (for 6 hours) while multiple travels took pictures of us-a guy was even inspired and sleep in the window next to us
• visiting museums and beautiful cathedrals
• walking around town talking and exploring with Hannah

 

~History in a Nutshell~
Saint Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 after a war with Sweden. After conquering the land in the Great Northern War, Peter the Great constructed the city's fortress to protect the land from being taken over.  At this time, Saint Petersburg became the capital of the Russian Empire and continued to be the capital until after the Russian Revolution. Many people believe that the city was named 'Saint Petersburg' after Peter the Great, however the city was named in honor of Saint Peter because the city was found on the day of 'Saint Patron'. During the outbreak of World War 1, 'Saint Petersburg' was renamed to 'Petrograd' to avoid the German sounding name of 'Saint Petersburg'. After World War 1, Russian was in dire need of a new ruler. Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland to rule of Russia. Lenin reformed Russia and soviets seized control over the government. In honor of his death in 1924, the cities name was changed to 'Leningrad'. Towards 1941, German forces began to invade Russia. By 1944, the city was besieged for 900 days. After the blockade ended, Leningrad was quickly reformed to it's original state before the invasion started. Just recently in 1991, after the demise of the Soviet Union, Saint Petersburg regained it's original name.

~Fun Facts~

• There are nearly 600 bridges in the city
• There are around 300 museums and each year there is a festival called "Night of Museums Festival" to celebrate each of them
• Saint Petersburg is home to the world's second largest and oldest museum in the world known as the Hermitage. The Hermitage has famous works from Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Picasso, Rubens, and Matisse
• During May and June, Saint Petersburg has 'White Nights' where the sun sets after midnight and rises again between 3:00-4:00am

Advice from a girl who's obsessed with museums:
Sometimes when you're in a foreign country you can't read what the museum descriptions say, search for an English speaking tour guide and awkwardly stalk them to hear what they are saying... that's what I did. If all else fails-look it up online. You'll be amazed at the information and history you will learn.  

PS: Stay tuned for detailed posts about each of the places I visited and don't forget to check out my photos!
 Saint Petersburg Photo Gallery

-Laura Burke (soon to be Frazier)