June 25-27
With another free day in the city, we went out to explore a bit. Our first stop was to St. Isaac’s Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in Russia.
This cathedral was built in 1710 under orders by Tsar Alexander I. There are two things to do in this cathedral: climb up to the rotunda for a great view of the city and visit the inside of the cathedral. First, we made the climb.
Then we checked out the inside.
After the cathedral, we went a few blocks over for lunch. Weird service at lunch. Michael and Jacob both had a starter and a main dish. I ordered only a main dish. Here is the order in which we were served, with 5-10 minutes between each dish’s arrival: Jacob’s soup, Jacob’s beef stroganoff, Michael’s main dish which was a panicked decision with salmon, Michael’s starter of buffalo wings. Then we waited twenty or so minutes and my kebab came out.
That was followed by drinks on a roof deck bar which had less eccentric service. Another great view!
Michael’s new shirt:
It reads: The most polite of people.
That night, Michael and Jacob hung out while I went to the theater to see the ballet!
I was incredibly excited to see the Russian ballet. I wanted to get dressed up which is possible with the clothes and shoes I have, but usually when Michael and I get dressed up, I don’t take a purse because I don’t have a nice one. That means Michael carries all of our stuff. But if I’m flying solo then I need another option. Insert my makeup bag doubling as a clutch:
The ballet was performing Don Quixote. Here is a picture of the stage with the curtain down.
I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures of the performance, so you’ll have to just go see it for yourself one day. The costumes were beautiful, with intense reds, yellows and oranges to depict the Spanish influences associated with the story. And the dancing was incredible. I have only seen a few ballets in my life – perhaps the Nutcracker a few times – but this was breath taking. I had a wonderful time and the nearly 3 hour performance just flew by.
Afterwards, I met back up with Michael and Jacob and we took a white night boat ride along the city’s canals. That’s right – we started a boat tour at 12:30 at night. Even though it wasn’t completely dark yet (or ever since we’re so far north) we got to experience the raising of the city’s draw bridges.
It was a really cool experience and definitely high on the list of things we’d recommend everyone do if they’re in St. Petersburg.
The next morning we grabbed some runs and then got ready for the big Argentina v. Nigeria game. The city had been overtaken by tourists in Argentina jerseys the past couple of days, so we knew that there was going to be a lot of energy for this game.
https://www.thatsonourlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/img_2945.trim_.movMichael and I had tickets, but Jacob didn’t, so he crafted a bilingual sign and ended up getting some tickets from a group of older Argentinians. My Spanish put to good use!
Jacob’s new Argentinian friends that he watched the game with:
The fans were crazy and everyone was just pumped to be there.
Argentina won the match two to one. Messi had the first goal at 14 minutes. This goal is really beautiful. The way that Messi handles the bar is incredible. Michael must have watched this clip 100 times.
Victor Moses for Nigeria scored off a penalty shot next at 51 minutes and Marcos Rojo for Argentina scored at 86 minutes.
https://www.thatsonourlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/b1a7b2b7-980e-4a76-884f-b827514d1459.trim_.movThere weren’t many Nigerian fans, but even after their loss, they were still in great spirits and were having a lot of fun.
After the game, we headed back into the city. People were standing around, cheering in the public space.
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We hung out for awhile, but left when the riot police showed up. Not interested in that. This game was the coolest sporting event I have ever been to in my life.
The next day was a travel day. Jacob took a flight to Helsinki while Michael and I were scheduled for a 9pm overnight bus to Helsinki. That gave us time to watch the Mexico v. Sweden game. We found a great bar that was filled with Mexico fans.
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Mexico lost 3-0 but Korea beat Germany which allowed Mexico to move on to the next round. Nothing better than a room full of Mexico fans chanting “Korea” over and over again.
After this, Michael and I went to get on our 9pm overnight bus which ended up being a horrible 11pm overnight minivan experience. We had about 4 hours of waiting at the borders and a van without reclining seats and a group of Argentinians who were still excited from the game the day before who talked the ENTIRE night. We arrived in Helsinki super cranky a little after 8am (verses the expected 4am arrival) without having had any sleep. Bad ending to an amazing visit to Russia. I’m not sure these posts properly explain what an amazing experience we had between the games, the ballet, the sights we saw, and the overall feel of the city. We had way too much fun and loved being at the World Cup!
Your excitement and great experience in St. Petersburg definitely came across. The World Cup games have been exciting to watch in STL on the TV, especially Mexico and Croatia, but I cannot even begin to imagine how much fun it must have been for you and Mike and Jacob! Safe travels.