St. Petersburg trip
At the time of its construction considered St. Petersburg as something of a joke, having been built on a swamp basically, however when it became the capital of the Russian Empire at the time, people understood there was nothing very funny about it.
However history has shown that Peter the Great – the one who built the city that bares his name – was quite an inspired tsar seeing how the city he built on a swamp has steadily evolved into a modern European City, possibly the most Western of Russia’s cities.
It’s quite a different type of city, especially when compared to the capital. While Moscow is characterized by red bricks and onion domes, St. Petersburg features a network of canals which go hand in hand with Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, thus giving the place a markedly European flavor. This of course, is a result of the city having been designed by Italian architects. This ‘more European’ vibe can be felt from the city’s inhabitants as well, who see themselves as maybe slightly more sophisticated than the rest of the country.
The city has been a place of new ideas since pretty much ever, this is after all where the Russian Revolution sparked to life and then after 70 years of Communist rule that it brought with it, it was also the place where democracy started to sprout from.
Nowadays, thanks to its location, the city is a place where exploring new ideas, whether it’s about consumerism of creativity, is the norm. A place where you can just as easily go see an opera by Tchaikovsky or head to an underground bar where some local beatnik band is playing, not to mention the edgy art galleries and absolutely wonderful dining opportunities.
The city is most well-known around the world for its White Nights, meaning long days of summer when the sun only rarely sees fit to go under the horizon.
