My trip to Saint Petersburg and Moscow in Russia has been one of the most interesting ones in my life. The culture and the beautiful architecture is overflowing in these cities. The Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg remains one of my favorite places to visit in the world. It is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world.
I visited in the summer of 2008. It’s been a while. I flew from Stockholm to Saint Petersburg and spent 5 days in Saint Petersburg and 5 days in Moscow. During these 10 days I actually learned how to read Russian without studying it. How is that possible? During the time, at least at the places I found myself going to, English was very lacking even at my hotel. Travel survival led me to learn to read Russian, mostly so I could get to places via the metro, the best way to travel around. I did not know what the words meant, but I could read them, I started learning how every letter was pronounced.
A semester of Etymology class in High School came in so handy! The Latin and Russian alphabet have a lot of similarities. To this day I can still read some Russian. Of course, I also learned how to say a few words during my stay like thank you and how to buy metro tickets. I forgot most of them though.
I gathered my pictures from the trip to share them with you. My photography has definitely improved since then.
Check out some snippets of my trip to Saint Petersburg and Moscow
SAINT PETERSBURG
Visiting the Cosmonaut Museum is highly recommended.
Experience the culture by attending a Russian Folk Dance performance.
A vodka shot was included.
Have a Russian beer at the park, with very dirty shoes. It’s totally allowed.
Take the train to Moscow.
MOSCOW
The Red Square is a must-visit in Moscow.
Visit the Izmailovsky Market. AKA Russian souvenir paradise.
I bought a bunch of stunning matryoshka dolls and even some unpainted ones so that I could paint them myself!
You can also find out how many cats, mouses, bears and elephants compare to your weight with the animal scale the zoo.
I had to take the train back to Saint Petersburg to take my return flight. No complaints.
Have you been to Saint Petersburg and Moscow? What was your favourite thing about either place?
A New Life Wandering 
Beautiful! Russia certainly is a unique place!
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Sad bear… but good stuff. Looks like a great experience 🙂
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Wow those cathedrals are gorgeous!!
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Hahaha I love the way you write!! I definitely need to go there, looks really amazing and must be very different than other cultures from what I hear! Great photos by the way! 🙂
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Thanks so much! I always appreciate it when someone compliments my writing because I’m not confident with it. Thanks! 🙂
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What?? Then you can feel confident now…I love it! 🙂 dont worry about it, everyone has its own style of writing – love yours.
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Oh your pictures make me want to be back there so badly!
Did you get a Russian visa through a hotel or a tour agency? I really miss Russia but getting a visa is such a pain..
Ps. I think the mosque you have under Moscow is actually in St. Petes.
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I remember the visa thing being complicated, they required all kids of things like an itinerary with a tour company etc.. I found a website where I could pay them to get me a visa and it worked out. I booked my hotels separately and went without a tour or agency. I wanted the freedom.
Since its been a while, I don’t know which website it was, sorry.
About the mosque, I wasn’t sure! Hehe.. thanks!
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Ooooh wow!!! This looks so amazing (minus the poor bear on a lead. Hopefully that doesn’t still happen). We are off to Russia in July actually so this was a good teaser. We are in Moscow first for 3 days and then Russia for another 3…. hopefully we have enough time. We are also travelling by fast train between the two cities. Was yours a sleeper??
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Oh cool! 3 days on each city should be enough. There’s more to see and do in St Petersburg, I found.
I traveled by fast train from St Petes to Moscow and in a sleeper for the experience on the way back.
🙂
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Russia has been on my bucket list for a long time and this post further inspires me to go:)
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Loved Russia! We were in St. Pete for the White Nights Fest! BEAUTIFUL! Also loved the metro in Moscow!
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I don’t know what the White Nights Fest is but sounds magical!
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Great article, with lots of beautiful pictures. You reflected the real Russia with its amazing sights. Maybe the most time consuming and difficult is visa process, but trust me, the tour you will have totally worth it!
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I love St Petersburg and your photos make it look like a dream world! I feel very sorry for the bear – my hubby and son went to the St Petersburg zoo and it was awful how the animals were treated there 😦
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I’m glad you liked the photos! Thanks for your comment. It is terrible how animals are treated sometimes.
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Not sure how I missed this until just now. I spent 10 summer days in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2009, liked Moscow and absolutely LOVED St. Petersburg. Definite culture shock though. Red Square, the Hermitage, and the Peterhof are incredible, as are the White Nights of summer in St. Petersburg.
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Oh wow, we did almost the same thing. I’ve never heard of these White Nights of summer in St. Petersburg. I probably missed them or just never heard about them. I think I went in late July. I also completely agree on your statement of liking Moscow and loving Saint Petersburg.
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I would like to know about the prices is S. Petsburg and Mocow. I intend go there in july. Thanks
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