It would have been a crime not to visit St Petersburg at least one time during volunteering. Beeing so close, but at the same time quite far with the russian border being a little long to go through.
Amelie’s parents visiting us was a good excuse and we could all discover something new for everyone. Of course, once in St Petersburg, we did visit The Hermitage museum, with some paintings of van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and other famous painters which I hadn’t seen these painting from them before.
we walked around town quite a bit, the best way to let the atmosphere of the city sink in. it was a mixture of beauty and pollution, noise and a general sense of hugeness. You feel so small when facing these immense buildings built in soviet times !
There were many tourists (and therefore pickpockets), especially in the golden triangle where many monument are located, we therefore tried to escape it a little and visited a market where we used some of our basic russian to buy food for a picknic (but ate at an exquisite georgian restaurant). We tested some of the local cuisine, with strange discoveries sometimes, but it was a good laugh.
We said goodbye to Amelie’s parents on the Nevski Prospekt, and headed back to Joelahtme, where new adventures were already awaiting us.
