Wonderful report! St Petersburg remains on my list of must-visit places. We have thought about a Baltic cruise with a three day stop there, but aren't sure it would give us enough time...

Ruslan and Ludmila
 

If you like Pushkin's poem, you might enjoy the first three minutes or so of this old Soviet cartoon: https://youtu.be/Bm8e3FH9qwQ
The cartoon is based on another fairy tale, but the opening sequence is actually the prologue from R&L. Might recognize some of the imagery.

What stunning painting on that box, thanks for posting that.
Love your writing, always entertaining and informative.

How did you get your Visa, please?

Gorgeous box!

Just found this Fourfor and I'm glad I did. Now I know why I want to go to St Petersberg!

This is a wonderful ride, with stellar writing and terrific wit. Well done.

Thank you, everyone, for reading!

annhig, glad you joined the story!

napoxoguk, thank you for sharing the video; our DD enjoyed it.

Kathie, with a great deal of planning you could enjoy a nice sampler of Saint Petersburg in three days.

TDudette, the Visa process was as difficult and lengthy as it was for our Moscow trip a couple of years ago. As with the Moscow Visa, my passport was returned on the Business Day late afternoon before travel. Not a fun process.

So you made an application through the Embassy, 44T?

Best to check the process for obtaining a visa from the Russian consulate in your own country as rules/process can vary from country to country and by nationality/residency/purpose of travel.

https://washington.mid.ru/en/consula.../tourist-visa/

The hotel will provide the confirmation that is required by the consulate, you request it from them when you book the hotel. You'll be asked by the hotel to send a copy of the information pages of your passport, then they will send you the confirmation with details of the reservation and your passport details. This is submitted as part of your application to the Russian consulate. if you don't feel like doing all the work for the visa application, there are agencies who can do all the legwork for you, at a price. These agencies can also provide the hotel confirmation (aka letter of invitation). Process now is alot easier than it used to be although no one believes me, now it seems you can even submit an application online. The effort and expense is worth it though, St Petersburg is really the most beautiful city.

Thanks, Odin.

Great report, thank you so much! I enjoyed every moment of reading!
A remark about the Russian museum - you really have to know where to go and what to look at. I agree that seeing a hundred of icons is boring, but the Russian painting of the 19th century is amazing. I especially liked the Wanderers, as they are sometimes called - Russian realistic school. Every single picture is a story! But it's quite a quest to find them in this museum, that's true.

This was fantastic and full of great info for St. Petersburg which I will be visiting next month. I'm just starting to do research, getting past the visa hurdle was daunting and I'm relieved that it should be delivered tomorrow. I'm especially happy to see some food recommendations here. Thanks again!