Although St Petersburg is not at the top of my list of favourite cities, compared to Moscow, I loved this city much more. Just the sight of a big sign saying “City” the moment I stepped out of the train, is enough to make me choose this city over Moscow anytime. If you had been to Russia, you will know that this is a really tourist-unfriendly country. From Ulan Ude to Moscow, there was not a single English sign in sight. As for the Russians, the moment they hear you utter a word of English, they will quickly wave you away. Or else, they will disappear from your sights within seconds. It is a different story in St Petersburg though. Not only are all signs written in both Cyrillic and English, there are tourists information booths and at every metro exit, you can find a big map showing the surrounding areas. After being at the mercy of the Russian language for the whole Trans-Siberia experience, tourists-friendly St Petersburg is a real gem. Furthermore, I always have a soft spot for waters. With many rivers and canals running through St Petersburg, it is hard not to like this city.
莫斯科的建筑都是四四方方的共产建筑，圣彼得堡的建筑则有趣多了。这里有不少保留完美的旧建筑，有些已经成了博物馆，有些则成了服装店或书店。The thing I disliked most about Moscow is the “communist” buildings. It’s different in St Petersburg though. The buildings here are way more interesting. You can find lots of old buildings and well-kept buildings here. Some are now museums, while others are now fashion boutiques or bookshops.
这个罗马式的建筑其实是一个教堂。This Rome-inspired building is actually a church.
至于这个教堂，一看就知道是在抄袭莫斯科的华西里·柏拉仁诺教堂。As for this colourful church, one look and you will know that it is a copy of the St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
当然，这里一定少不了彼得大帝的铜像。彼得一世在位25年，被视为俄罗斯帝国最伟大的沙王，圣彼得堡的名字就来自这名在17世纪积极扩展这个城市的帝王。Of course, the one thing that pops up on every St Petersburg postcard is that of the bronze statue of Peter the Great, considered by many as the greatest tsar of the Russian Empire. Peter I the Great was the one who undertook the task of revamping St Petersburg and making it into a great city. And as you can guess, the city is named after him.
看到那些船只在河上来来往往，画家在街上展现他们的才华，以及那一个又一个贩卖纪念品的小摊子，就觉得这是一个充满活力和朝气的城市。With boats cruising up and down the many rivers, artists showcasing their works in the streets and stalls selling souvenirs at little corners, this is indeed a very lively city.
因为是结婚季节，河边到处都看到结婚派对。发现俄罗斯人与华人一样，结婚时喜欢铺张。而圣彼得堡人的花样较多，除了每一对新人都会有一辆超大的豪华轿车接送外，他们还会安排放炮。而他们在河边喝完香槟后，会将酒杯甩在石头上，象征他们的婚姻美满。Just like in the other cities, you can see tons of people getting married here. I realised that Russians are like Chinese; weddings are very grand affairs. Here in St Petersburg, they have more ideas on how to make their weddings big. Not only does every couple have a super long limousine to drive them around, some even arranged for someone to set off the canons once they have exchanged vows. And when they are done with drinking the champagne, they will smash the wine glasses as a symbolism of a happy marriage.
圣彼得堡有一个非常有趣的博物馆，即人类学和民族志学博物馆。其实这个博物馆是彼得大帝发起的，用来展示他收集到的稀奇古怪物品。博物馆的第一层展示的是世界各地不同种族的文化，有埃及、非洲，甚至是亚洲国家的文化。但这并不是博物馆吸引人的地方，有趣的是二楼的展览。这里可以看到很多畸形的婴孩浸泡在化学物品里面，有大头婴，有只有手没有脚的，有只有脚没有手的，有长“尾巴”的，有“美人鱼脚”的等等，这些都是在16世纪被保留下来做研究用的。不过因为不能拍照，所以你们就看不到了。The first museum that I visited in St Petersburg was that of the Kunstkamera, otherwise known as the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Founded in 1714 by Peter the Great himself, it contains his personal collection of “curiosities” that were originally displayed to educate the populace. On the first floor, you can find exhibits of cultures of various countries, like those of the Africans, Egyptians, Chinese and Japanese etc. But what really interest me were the displays on the second level, where you can find ghoulish collection of babies in jars with a variety of physical defects. There are babies with no hands or no legs, babies with extra big heads, babies with infused legs resembling a mermaid and babies with “tails” etc. However, photography is not allowed for these exhibits, so you will have to visit the museum yourself if you want to see what it is like.
去圣彼得堡怎么能够不到埃尔米塔日博物馆去呢？这个博物馆是世界上最大的博物馆之一，展示的物品超过300万件，从石器时代到当代的世界文化艺术珍品，应有尽有。有人说，如果你在每一件展示品前面待上两分钟，用一年的时间都看不过所以的展示品！所以不用我说，你也可以猜得出这里到底有多大。展示庭分为西欧艺术部、古希腊艺术部、俄罗斯文化史部等等。To most visitors, a trip to St Petersburg is never complete without a visit to the Hermitage. This is one of the largest museums in the world, with 3 millions work of art (of course, not all on display at once). Somebody said that, if you spend 2 minutes in front of each art piece, you will not be able to finish viewing all the exhibits even after one year! Naturally, with such a huge number of exhibits, you can imagine how humongous this place is.
最后到夏花园走走，这里是为彼得大帝建造的。除了有很多绽放着的花朵，还有几十个雕像。 ～伟Last but not least, was a stroll through the Summer Garden, which was built for Peter the Great. There are lovely flowers in bloom and many statues lining the small pathways in the garden. ～wei
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