From Russia With Love: Part Two - St Petersburg, Lipetsk, Gypsy Trains & Orange Juice Robots
Peterhof Palace Gardens
The day after the first race of the Champions Cup, Karen and I took the Sapsan Speed train north to St Petersburg. This train was something special. It left on time to the second and was so smooth and quiet I hardly knew I was travelling over 200Km/h on a rail line. I was battling a heavy flu and Karen was battling her 5th day without a decent sleep but once in the city, the temperature difference between Moscow at 30° to St Petersburg at 13°C coupled with the sheer magnificence of this city soon woke us both up.
St Petersburg was built in the 1700s in a total of nine years by Peter the Great. Albeit a little smaller than what it is now but it has been kept in its original design, never to be changed or have modern buildings erected amongst it. Immediately I noticed a large difference between Moscow and this city. Predominately because it was designed by a team of Italians as the 'window to Europe'. Peter the Great apparently wanted this new Russian city, built out on marsh wetlands, to replicate Western Europe and he did a pretty good job at achieving this.
SAPSAN Speed Trains
We visited Peterhof Palace and gardens - another wonder, having over 150 water fountains without a single water pump, instead, using pressure from the natural springs some 27Km away. We also saw most of the inner city, The Church on the Spilled Blood where all of the interior walls are completely covered in beautiful mosaics and St Isaac's Cathedral - Europe's second largest cathedral, as well as sampling some authentic Russian pies.
Peterhof Palace Gardens
Inside the Church of the Spilled Blood
Inside St Isaac's Cathedral
On the Tuesday we spent the day waiting for our nine hour train ride south from Moscow to Lipetsk. I knew that this train would be a sleeper train but had no idea what to actually expect. Once aboard and being told by Evgeny via phone to not eat the food, drink the water, touch the cabin or use the toilets 30 minutes before and after each stop, as well as to lock every lock possible on the cabin door we saddled up for what turned out to be a fast and pleasant trip with everyone sleeping most of the way. We awoke to the beautifully aromatic smell of stale urine wafting from the toilet but were soon off the train and into the beautiful summer sunshine of Lipetsk,. Alex, Karen and myself hailed the train as the Gypsy Train and I'm sure it will be an experience I won't forget to easily.
Gypsy Train Sleeping Cabin
Gypsy Train Toilet
Alex and Karen settling in for the night
Once in Lipetsk I had a few days to really relax in between training sessions. The pools were much closer with less traffic as well and the hotel was situated right on the River opposite where we would race. Lipetsk was experiencing a heat wave of temperatures up to 37°C so there were masses of people swarming for the River every day.
Club Orange Pool
Lipetsk Sunset
Something I found fascinating was the not so hidden extras inside the hotel lobby bar which doubled as a strip club at night! No advertising was needed for this entertainment as we quickly found out while eating an authentic Russian-Italian chicken pizza for lunch one day (much to the authentic Italian's amusement in Valerio Cleri) whilst sitting next to a strippers pole and curtained private lap dance cubicle.
Hotel Laguna Lobby Bar/Strip Club
I didn't mind Lipetsk. It's the kind of place where the Russians ask you how you like the place in a slightly sarcastic tone, expecting a non-exciting, negative answer. But I found it very relaxing to enjoy a 'rural' town that still had plenty of pretty sights and great cafés and restaurants - one of which even gifted us with complimentary slippers! Just in case the need to eat their food in your bedroom ever arose. We even had the pleasure of being driven by a one-eyed taxi driver as previously mentioned in From Russia With Love: Part One - Moscow, Men and Metros.
Many memorable moments were had in Russia and I'm incredibly glad that I had the opportunity to experience a country (that is perhaps portrayed in a slightly negative or confused light to a lot of the world) in its true colours first hand. The place certainly captivated me in all the right ways and I hope to be back again sometime soon.
Special thanks again to Evgeny Bezruchenko for setting me up in Lipetsk, Vladimir Dyatchin and his family for his hospitality and Denis, our driver who patiently waited for hours at a time while Alex and I trained. Also to Orange Fitness Club for providing a truly top notch facility complete with robotic orange juice squeezer!
No comments:
Post a Comment