Travel - Viajes

Vodka in the Sun VII: St. Petersburg in Scaffolding

By Eric D. Goodman

St. Petersburg Preparing for the Big 3-0-0

St. Petersburg, Russia, is easily one of the most spectacular cities in the world. I’ve held to this since my first visit to the former capitol in 1994. A debt is owed to Tsar Peter the Great for conceiving this paradise over the swamplands. Perhaps now more than ever before, as the city celebrates its 300th anniversary.

St. Petersburg was founded on May 16, 1703. So during my visit in summer 2002, I saw less of the city’s external face than before. It seemed that everything was at least partially in scaffolding, being renovated for the massive crowds expected during the year-long anniversary festivities.

While the outer faces were masked, I saw more of the interiors than ever before. As in Moscow, I found that some places I had longed to visit in the past but could not were now open to the public.

We began our time in St. Petersburg on the main street of the city, Nevsky Prospect, named after Alexander Nevsky, who died in 1240 while leading the troops of Novgorod to defeat the Swede enemy. Now, Nevsky leads thousands of people every day from one end of downtown St. Petersburg to the other, with memorable stops along the way.

Nevsky is a busy street with six lanes of traffic and equally large sidewalks to carry pedestrians. The street is lined with beautiful buildings, from historic cathedrals to modern shops selling clothing, books, souvenirs and food. And every block offers passage down side streets to even more sights and destinations. One could spend an active week without ever leaving Nevsky Prospect and its immediate sidestreets.

Bread and Bodies

At the end of Nevsky Prospect is Nevsky Lavra, which includes a cathedral, two cemeteries and a bakery where monks sell blessed baked goods. We passed the scent of baking bread and entered the cathedral.

The Russian liturgy was in progress—it would be for most of the day—and we entered to enjoy the beauty of the holy place along with the sweet incense. I’ve been in many Russian Orthodox churches, but this was the first time I entered to find a dead body in a casket. Around the casket were the family and friends. They had brought their loved one to be blessed before burial.

Outside the church, we paid admission to enter the two graveyards. The two graveyards included the graves of actors, musicians, artists and figures of historical significance, including Tchikovsky, Stravinsky and the wife of Pushkin.

Following Nevsky

The Kazan Cathedral is another of the marvels along Nevsky Prospect. The heavy crescent of stone and pillars includes carvings and statues along the long exterior. Its arc faces Nevsky and includes 96 Corinthian columns. I could look at the architectural beauty for hours. And an outdoor café-bar at the front of the cathedral allows the comfortable opportunity for just that. We sat and enjoyed a beer as we took in the wonderful view, fighting off the feeling of disrespect as we drank at plastic tables.

Since drinks are less costly at a store, we walked a bit more and came to Eliseevsky, the oldest and most famous grocery store in St. Petersburg—a majestic building decorated in green and gold. They continue to sell fresh produce and packaged consumables as well as souvenirs, wine, liquor, tobacco and delicious pastries.

The groceries reminded us that we could use a hot bite to eat, so we decided to try one of the sidestreet cafes. Jhile Bilie (To Live, To Be) drew us in with its interesting decor, the walls painted to give the appearance of ancient dessert ruins freshly discovered under the sand. We ordered drinks, salads and chicken entrees. I politely brought to the attention of our waitress that our chicken was not cooked properly, red and ice-cold in the center. She tried to convince us that it was bacon in the center, and that it was supposed to be cold.

Customer service is an area still unmastered by a number of Russian establishments, and it was only after considerable argument—a scene drawing the attention of the entire café—that the manager agreed to refund half of the cost of the chicken. We left hungry and angry. The customer is not always right in Russia. In fact, the customer is often wrong.

Hungry, and with time wasted, we decided to go to one of the many “Teremok” kiosks. The fast-food version of a traditional Russian kitchen sold blinee, a thin crepe-like pancake, stuffed with just about anything one could want—meat, fruit, cream, syrup, potatoes, even mushrooms. I got one filled with a hot walnut-poppy seed combination, and another stuffed with chocolate and bananas. We washed them down with Medovuha, a honey-based drink. It was much better than the Jhile Bhilie. Like anywhere else, the appearance of an eatery can be deceiving, and oftentimes the best places to eat have the least impressive fronts.