We started off our journey in Moscow with a tour of the Moscow Metro where each station has a theme and is adorned with sculptures, murals, engravings and paintings celebrating the theme. Amongst ornate staircases and vintage chandeliers, one almost forgets that it’s not a museum (or a series of museums as we travelled from station to station).
Our next stop was the historic Red Square with the iconic 16th Century St Basil’s Cathedral with its famous multi-coloured onion domed towers. The Red Square is a gigantic open cobblestoned area just outside the Kremlin and is used for public events like parades and concerts. We spent a few hours exploring the Kremlin including the armoury, jewellery display, Tsar Canon and Ivan Bell Tower.
Post communism, the Russian Orthodox Church has made a strong comeback. The ostentatiously golden domes of the reconstructed Christ the Saviour Church gleams proudly on Moscow’s skyline drawing scores of visitors and faithful alike. A visit to the nearby monastery town of Sergiev Posad reconfirms this resurgence. It has regained its Tsarist era glory and the fortress-like monastery teems with activity. The next morning, we took the Sapsan Train took us to St Petersburg covering 350 km in just four hours.
St Petersburg was Imperial Russia’s favourite playground and has been the capital quite a few times in its 300-year-old existence. Since Europeans can visit here sans a visa, their influence has given the city a far more cosmopolitan character than Moscow. We started by climbing the dome of St Isaac’s Cathedral to enjoy a panoramic view of the city as well as marvel at the long drawn out sunset.
It was amazing to discover the sun setting as late at 10 pm and sunrise at 2 am while we were there. The next day, we decided to go by foot, covering many places including Alexander’s Column, Winter Palace courtyard, Kazan Cathedral and the spell-bindingly beautiful Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. St Petersburg is interspersed with canals and rivers, thus nicknamed Venice of the North. At dusk, the canals are beautifully lit up and make for an absolutely enchanting sight.
That evening, we attended a cultural programme at the Nicholas Palace while enjoying some champagne and caviar alongside. We had planned an entire day for the Hermitage which ranks amongst the best museums in the world. Since the collection demands much more time, we had earmarked the top attractions as a must see. The Egyptian collection, Jordan Staircase, Da Vinci’s works and the bejewelled Peacock Clock were the showstoppers for us. Later in the evening, we explored the Peter and Paul Island across the Neva and then sat listening to a street musician, while the city slowly lit up around us. Our final day was spent visiting the famed Peterhof Gardens on the city’s outskirts. This is a massive complex, laid out in two levels with palaces, lawns, gazebos, pavilions, and their trademark world famous gilded fountain statues. We flew back to India carrying many memories of a land rich with history, art and culture and a nation which is rediscovering itself and its proud heritage all over again.
How to get there
Bengaluru-Delhi-Tashkent-Moscow by Air India and Uzbek Airlines at Rs 35,000 per person.
Moscow-St Petersburg by Sapsan high-speed train for Rs 3,500 per person.
St Petersburg-Dubai-Bengaluru by Emirates Airlines for Rs 32,000 per person.
Places to stay
Moscow-Hotel Marco for Rs 7,000 per night.
St Petersburg–Hotel Komfort for Rs 8,500 per night.
(The author can be reached at arupendugupta@gmail.com)