Our two-day ticket to the Hermitage museum allowed us to skip the long queue of the day visitors. So, at the end of our week-long stay in St Petersburg, and on the second day of our visit to the museum my wife and I were the first to enter. We immediately went up to the second floor, before the arrival of the groups of visitors. And there we stood - alone -  in the silent hall,  before Rembrandt van Rijn’s large and majestic painting of the Prodigal Son.

It was then that my wife, Retha commented: “Now everything that we expected from St Peterburg has been fulfilled!”. “Yes”, I replied, “what a privilege to be able to be standing here.”

But it was not only the Hermitage Museum that fulfilled our expectations; the whole old inner city is an unexpected treasure and undoubtedly one of the most stunning that we’ve ever seen. Comprising an area with a diameter of about 5 km, it has been declared a Unesco Cultural Heritage Site. Built on a number of islands forming the delta of the large Neva River (the sixth largest in Europe) where it flows into the Gulf of Finland, which - like a tongue - reaches out from the eastern part of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia for a taste of Russia, St Petersburg is sometimes referred to as the “Venice of the North”, due to the number of canals flowing from the river through the city.

St Petersburg, the world’s most northern city with a population of more than 1 million, and once the capital of one of the world’s great empires, and seat of the Russian Tsars, suffered greatly after the October 1917 revolution. Power shifted to Moscow under the Soviet supremacy and the city began to fall apart:  spacious apartments were divided to create space for working families, churches were turned into offices, artworks were sold abroad for much-needed capital, names of streets and places were altered, the city itself became known as Leningrad. And during the seige of the city from 1941 – 44 the degrading continued.

However, since the end of the war a new purpose of recreating the city’s original charm gradually awakened. Since 1970 a number of new projects were completed, but it was only since 1991, when the citizens voted to restore the historic name “St Petersburg”  that the restoration gained full impetus. And when political power in the Kremlin passed into the hands of a native St Petersburger, namely Vladimir Putin, on 31 December 1999 the city truly started receating its former glory.

The city’s resurrection is echoed by the many grand palaces shining again, religious ceremonies being performed in preserved or restored churches, the millions of visitors to the museums such as the Hermitage, and the sounds and sights to be heard and seen in its many theatres.

It is not possible to describe even a portion of what is to be seen or experienced in this amazing city. You can walk in any of its many streets or along the embankments of the canals, and you will eye something worthwhile – a statue, a monument, a church, a palace, a bridge, the hustle and bustle of people ...

Hopefully it will suffice to just describe some lasting impressions of our week-long stay in this marvellous and lively city:

We were lucky to visit during the time of the so-called White Nights - between the end of May until the beginning of July. At 60º N St Petersburg is just outside of the Arctic Circle; therefore, you don’t experience the midnight sun, when the sun never sets below the horizon. However, at night-time the sun just dips below the horizon, whilst the earth’s atmosphere continues to diffuse the sunlight, creating a sort of translucent twilight, never really becoming dark. During midsummer, the city’s streetlights never even need to be turned on!

These white nights have a special and unique atmosphere. What could be more romantic than to walk along the banks of the city’s waterways late on a balmy summer night in almost daylight! During this time (from 21 May – 21 July of this year) the city becomes alive with the International Stars of the White Nights Festival, annually taking place since 1993. Focussing on the masterpieces of the world’s music, numerous operas,  musicals, and ballet performances are presented in the city’s theatres, as well as open air concerts on the squares and in the parks. Top international performers and orchestras participate. Tickets can be bought beforehand through the internet, and will be delivered free of charge at your place of stay – even at a cruise ship. 

We attended an outstanding performance of a programme of Russian folk song, music and dances called Feel yourself Russian in the magnificent 19th century Nikolaevsky Palace. Guests were welcomed with a glass of champagne. During the interval more champagne as well as tots of vodka were served to be enjoyed with dainty delicacies. On another night, at the impressive Mariinsky Theatre, we were lucky to hear the world-famous soprano, Anna Nebtrenko, sing one of the main roles in Bizet’s opera Carmen.

What can I say about the architecture? The city is impeccably designed along the banks of the rivers and canals. Most of the buildings are only four stories high, but thanks to a number of dominating high-rise structures – some of them with golden domes or towers -  the skyline gains an especial charm. Three famous churches are to be seen from far away: the Cathedral of the Resurrection (the Saviour-on-the-Spilt-Blood), the St Isaac’s Cathedral, both now museums, and the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral inside the fortress on the island in the Neva River, where the first foundations of the city were laid.

The striking Russian Style Cathedral of the Resurrection with its multicoloured domes, erected on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered, gives the impression of a precious piece of jewellery. It is almost impossible to take in the multiple variations in its design and the detail of its ornamentation. The interior is just as magnificent: every square centimetre of the walls, the chapels and the ceiling is covered by colourful mosaics– the largest in the whole of Europe - of biblical scenes.

The St Isaac’s Cathedral, the largest in Russia, overwhelms one with its sheer size, outside as well as inside. And when you climb the stairs up to the base of the dome, the views over the city are stunning. However, the highest structure in St Petersburg is that of the 122.5 m golden-clad tower of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, with a figure of a golden angel with spread wings on its spire, holding a cross in one hand, blessing and protecting the city.

The buildings lining this busy 4½ km long, six lane street has an uninviting look from the outside, with no large advertising boards or neon lights. But when you do enter, you are quite frequently amazed by the large and luxurious offices, shops and arcades – from up-market shops like Zara, or fashionable boutiques, jewellers, book- or specialist shops. Restaurants abound, where you can enjoy typical Russian cuisine, or sit outside at a table enjoying a beer, watching the elegantly clothed pedestrians rushing past.

What immediately strikes you with regard to the locals, is that almost everyone is dressed smartly – the longlegged blondes in high heels wear short, fashionable dresses (almost no jeans are to be seen), so that the women in the rush-hour metro or on the streets look as if they are dressed for the theatre.  The men are equally elegantly dressed in long trousers, with shirts and jackets. Therefore, when my wife and I, smartly dressed in evening dress and dress suit with bow tie, took the bus to the Mariisky Theatre, no one even blinked an eye!

The people on the streets are helpful in assisting you, when asked for advice.  And when you get to know them a little better, such as the staff at our small hotel, you find them warm and friendly.

But the moment they are in a position of authority, even as assistent behind a counter, or official at a museum, they become formal and sometimes even rude. They never ask you to do something, like not stepping outside a line on the floor, but tell you in no uncertain terms and in an unfriendly tone, to refrain from what you are doing.

Our most unfriendly experience was at the airport when departing from St. Petersburg. A stoic, unsmiling officer just insisted that we  dispose of our six small plastic bottles of 100 ml. each, filled with shampoo and other toileteries, although we arrived with it, and are internationally allowed to carry it with you in your hand luggage. No reasoning or pleading could persuade her to reconsider this beaurocratic decision. But if you take into consideration the history of suppression of the Russian people during the Soviet regime, you can in a certain sense understand that this type of attitude will take some time to wear off.

But this is the only negative experience of our visit to this remarkable city. If possible, we would like to go back someday for another week or two, just to again savour the special atmosphere of the city established by the remarkable reformer Peter the Great – a city whose future could be as golden as its illustrious past.