If your latest headache has been caused by giving yet another guided tour of St Petersburg to visiting friends or relatives -- there's now an effective cure on the market.
A Russian-American trio have come up with a great little guide-book, so the visitors can make their own way and let you get back to the office.
"Your First Day In St Petersburg: A Self-Guided Walking Tour," offers 40 pages of expatriate relief.
As the book's introduction says, it's "for those short term visitors who wish to take a more intimate approach exploring one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Cast off the trappings of the tour bus for an afternoon and immerse yourself in the comings and goings of St Petersburg."
The book starts off with thumbnail sketches of the Russian tsars and a brief history of the city, before the tour begins...
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| The tour takes in the Hermitage... | Palace Square... | the Admiralty... | the Bronze Horseman... | St Isaac's Cathedral... | and Nevsky Prospect. |
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It kicks off on Vasilyevsky Ostrov (St Basil's Island) at the Strelka, or Spit of Vasilyevsky Island as it is called in the guide. English names are used throughout, which can be a little distracting when taken to extremes like "Nevsky Avenue" rather than Nevsky Prospect.
Commonplaces, such as the fact that today's Central Naval Museum was the stock exchange in pre-revolutionary days are mixed with fascinating lesser-known facts. Did you know that the crew of the first ship to dock in the new port of St Petersburg in 1703 was awarded a cash bonus by Tsar Peter the Great to encourage more to follow them?
On crossing Palace Bridge, completed in 1916 we are told, one discovers that is it one of more than 500 in St Petersburg -- only Venice has more.
We move on to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage and Palace Square, where the guide tells us that Empress Elizabeth's (1741-61) cows formerly grazed.
The square is flanked by the General Staff Headquarters building, which has the longest facade in Europe measuring 610 meters (2,000 feet). Italian architect Carlo Rossi silenced sceptics, who predicted it would instantly collapse under the enormous weight of the bronze horses, by sitting on top of the arch the day builders dismantled the scaffolding.
We also discover that Empress Catherine the Great (1762-1796) posted a list of rules in the foyer of the Winter Palace, including rule number three: "Make merry, but do not spoil, break or gnaw anything."
Next stop is the Admiralty. The ship symbol that adorns its spire was apparently also used on branding irons which naval shipbuilders, combing the northern forests for timber, marked trees designated to be felled for constructing the fleet.
Then comes Decembrist Square, the Bronze Horseman, St Isaac's Cathedral, Nevsky Prospect, with details on churches, canals, bridges and the Duma building.
The tour ends at Gostiny Dvor, where, if there is a day number two in your guests' itinerary, a second tour begins. "Your Second Excursion" takes in the Grand Hotel Europe, Russian Museum, Engineers Castle, Summer Gardens, Field of Mars and Church of the Savior on the Spilt Blood.
The authors effortlessly fill the book with entertaining digressions on the city's architecture, history and early inhabitants. We learn, in passing, about such topics as bridge construction, the city's name changes, and the controversy surrounding the construction of St Isaac's Cathedral.
While tiny but fascinating details are pointed out, such as a particularly ornate piece of wrought-iron fence railing, the authors seldom missing an opportunity to comment and expand on larger themes as the sights allow. For instance, the booklet points out the battle-scarred granite columns on the western face of St Isaac's Cathedral and leads us into a brief description of the Seige of Leningrad.
A map in the center of the book guides the uninitiated around the routes. Appendices at the end list popular museums and notable churches.
"Your First Day" is a fascinating little booklet packed with both mainstream and quirky historical facts, all easily digestible. For tourists it's a steal at only 5,000 roubles.
Or, if you are an expatriate forced to take yet another group of relatives around the city, hiding the book in your pocket, peeking at it occasionally, and casually spinning off tales, will leave them in awe of your depth of knowledge about your new-found home.
