Ok, so by now you’ve probably noticed that these posts are all out of sequence – we went to Russia so that we could experience a white Christmas.  When we woke up in St Petersburg on Christmas day, it was snowing (box suitably ticked).  Unfortunately, it was also bloody cold.  Christmas eve was a teeth chattering -20C and whilst it got colder when we got to Lap Land, the climate in Russia is humid and that makes it feel MUCH colder.  By Xmas day it had warmed up to about -15C but it was still bitter – any exposed skin just hurt.  This was our Christmas lunch – cold rabbit pie.  Mmmmmm.

The Russians don’t celebrate Christmas in December, their Russian Orthodox Christmas is in January, so all the regular tourist attractions were still open.  We headed off to see the Hermitage.  This was our first glimpse of the manner in which the Tzars liked to live it up.  St Petersburg is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the north because of the canals and the palaces are also very opulent in a European kind of way (think versailles) and the art collection is on a scale with the Louvre.

This is one of the many canals – frozen solid of course.  The ice in some parts is still pretty thin, but it didn’t stop some drunks walking along this canal at night.

This is Catherine’s Palace.  If anything, this one was more opulent than the Hermitage.  I swear, the ball room was replicated in the movie “beauty and the beast”

This looked like fun – unfortunately our guide hurried us on before we could take one for a spin.  Gotta love tours….

We went to a Russian folk dancing show.  Outside, in the foyer, Catherine and Alexander the great were serving champaign and vodka shots.

The Church of the Spilled Blood in St Petersburg. Impressive from the outside, but nothing compared to what’s on the inside.

Yep, this is the inside.  These aren’t paintings, they’re mosaics – all done with glass and ceramic mosaic tiles about a cm square.

Of course, the church also made for the perfect spot for some artwork by Chez.  She made a number of snow angels all over Russia, but this one was in the best spot.  After she’d finished, we noticed a sign saying “stay off the snow”!

On the way south from St Petersburg to Moscow, we stopped at this monastery.  Chez was forced to wear a skirt.

By this stage it was getting really cold again. We actually got to wear the balaclavas that we bought in Belfast! (Couldn’t wear them there of course).  On the way, we stopped at a Banya.  The procedure for the Banya is this – 1. steam yourself in a small Cedar sauna with at least 15 other people until you’re ready to pass out.  2. At the point of losing consciousness, you get the person next to you to dip some reeds in the hot water and flail you with them  until your skin is somewhat raw. 3. Stagger outside into the snow and jump into the nearest ice hole or, failing that, the largest pile of snow. 4. Repeat from 1.

The theory is that shocking the system in this way is rejuvenating and, to some degree, they’re right.  Unfortunately, one of the girls in our group had the Flu and decided that she wanted to jump in the Sauna with the rest of us.  At that point, the room became an enormous and extremely effective petrie dish.  The following day, we were all sick.

There were no Ice Holes to jump into so the snow had to do.

Finally got to Moscow.  This is St Basils in Red Square.

They set up an enormous skating rink in Red Square for New Year which, incidentally, is the biggest party day on the Russian calendar.

Changing of the Guard outside the Kremlin.

We went to see the Ballet in St Petersburg so we decided to go to the Circus in Moscow – what a mistake.  The Russians still have a passion for making bears dance and jump on petrified cows.  Also, there was a “petting zoo” in the foyer which included such cuddly creatures as leopards, tigers, lion cubs and arctic foxes, all suitably drugged to keep them quiet.  Hmm.  Should have splurged on tickets to the Bolshoi instead.

We visited this Cold War bunker which is actually 18 floors down in the centre of the most ordinary residential suburbs in Moscow.  Apparently, they told the residents that they were working on the rail network whilst they built it in secret.  Guns, gas masks, rocket launching capability, you name it, it was all there.

Chez had to make some serious decisions regarding the fate of the free world whilst she was there!

During the 1930’s, many of the railway stations were elaborately decorated in order to inspire the public.  Almost like palaces for the people.

We brought in New Year in Red Square.  We had planned on having a big night but it was SO cold!  The ground in Read Square was frozen and no amount of smuggled-in vodka was enough to keep you warm.  We had to buy rusky hats that were one size too big so that we could fit our beanies on under them.  By the time the clock struck midnight and the fireworks were over, we all scrambled straight back to our hotels – party animals, NOT.

Can’t knock the view though.  Seeing the fireworks over St Basils was definitely the highlight of the trip.