On the last day, we took a guided walking tour around St. Petersburg. It was freezing cold (for us at least; I definitely wasn’t used to the -2 degrees) but this added to the beauty of the city. It has a completely different feel than Moscow, which is busy and vibrant, and St. Petersburg just seemed quainter in comparison. St. Petersburg’s advantage is that it is directly by the ocean. You can even reach Finland in less than an hour by boat. What a luxury! But who wants to go to Finland, when St. Petersburg is so beautiful?
The tour started at our hotel and led us to various monuments and historical locations. A definite highlight was the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood. The colors, the architecture, the location- a real work of art. St. Petersburg is definitely more of a “Western European.” Around noon, we split up and were able to explore the city for ourselves.
We also went to the Winter Palace (a must in St. Petersburg!). The palace was spectacular and each room held a new surprise. There was a room filled with chandeliers, another was a gorgeous library. Regrettably, we didn’t get the chance to visit more museums . The history of St. Petersburg is very extensive and there are several historical Museums as well. Just the short tour inside the Savior of Spilled Blood showed the scope of the history.
All in all, we had an awesome trip to Russia. We were happy to see different kind of companies, Russians as well as international companies, and learn about their doing of business. However, this trip was more than just learning about doing business in Russia. It was discovering another culture, meeting new people, and taste the wonderful local cuisine. And the vodka 😉
THANK YOU RUSSIA!