Culture Vulture

Since we have completed our business visits, the remainder of our time in Russia has revolved around the cultural experience in St. Petersburg. On Friday, we visited the State Hermitage museum, where I saw the ornate interior, as well as Matisse's famous Dance painting. The massive Hermitage museum was a labyrinth that was quite complicated to navigate and exhausting to go through, especially considering the large number of tourists. Here are my photos of our Hermitage visit.

Inside the Hermitage

Outside the Hermitage

We have also gone by the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, whose architecture reminded me of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, despite being constructed several centuries later. My best photo of this St. Petersburg church is below.

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood

Yesterday was a really big day, which included three activities:  a visit to Peterhof Palace, a viewing of the Russian ballet Anna Karenina at Mariinsky Theatre, and a midnight boat tour to see the St. Petersburg bridge openings. The following are my photos from Saturday's excursions.

Peterhof Palace Canal

Grand Peterhof Palace

Mariinsky Theatre

St. Petersburg bridge opening

Today, a significant part of my day was spent at Cafe Botanika, a great vegetarian restaurant. Fortunately, it was my second time there on this trip, so I had a chance to taste even more of their delicious food. I have found the food in St. Petersburg to be infinitely better than in Moscow, and what is even better is that entirely English menus are often available here. Though I am ready to move on, I am sad to think that our time in this city (and country!) is dwindling.

This entry was originally posted on the HEC Montreal Campus Abroad blog here.