What to do in St Petersburg, apart from the obvious

St Petersburg travel guides tell you, quite literally, all the same things. And yes, of course you peer at the masters at the Hermitage, marvel at the mosaics of the Church on Spilled Blood, saunter along Nevsky Prospekt and eat borscht. But what else? Here are five of the things we found worthwhile:

1) Go into shops

From the posh Eliseyev deli on Nevsky Prospekt 56 to the small local shops, you'll find nothing but gems. Even if the shop turns out rubbish, you will have had a 'real Russian experience'. Buy something you like the look of and try it. By doing so we stumbled upon this lovely milky ice cream popsicle and a pot noodle type ready meal that, by adding some hot water, turned into a tasty potato mash with croutons and dill.

Local fruit and veg shop on Pravdy street

Sweet somethings at the Eliseyev shop

St Petersburg, but not in a nutshell

If there is one thing completely impossible, it's fitting St Petersburg into a nutshell. The city is vast, the streets are wide and royal and impressive. I don't know why I was expecting it to be quaint and cute and PEDESTRIANISED. Huge mistake.

Quaintest street we could find. Though still not pedestrianised.

Go to St Petersburg and you will walk. A lot. And travel. A lot. This was the one of the things none of the online guides mentioned. Most of the things they did mention, however, turned out to be incorrect. 

(Which was a relief, mostly. I got a bit miffed, you see, reading everywhere that St Petersburg is an unfriendly place, having booked this trip based on a romantic notion of snow covered Russian orthodox church rooftops and grand (yet pedestrianised!) streets. This was the place I had always wanted to visit, and the first holiday-without-twins for me, and I was going to be barked at by everyone?) 

 

Russian orthodox church rooftops, snow optional.

So, as a counter-intelligence exercise, I have made a list of the things travel guides tell you about St Petersburg that are not true.

Drink a lot: Ankerklause, Kreuzberg

When I was in Berlin last year, scoping out the place as a potential place to live, I was mesmerized by Ankerklause. A beacon of warm light, perching on a bridge half over the water of the canal: it's a place you cannot walk past on a cold winter's night without going in for 'just the one'. The bar has a patchwork collection of rooms, all with a nautical theme and fish painted on the walls. 

Heartwarming in winter, it's great for summer too, when the plastic covers of the 'balcony' are rolled up and you'll be sipping your Bionade outside, looking out over the water. Even the tables out front are a strangely relaxing place to sit and watch the world go by, even though you're sitting almost IN Kottbusser Damm, perhaps the least relaxed street in the whole of Berlin.

Drinks range from my favourite white beer du moment (Schneider hefeweizen dunkel) to a cup of Nesquik, from mojitos to organic white wine. It's the kind of place where you start with a coffee after browsing around the Maybachufer market and find yourself still sitting at the end of the afternoon, having moved on to beers and getting slightly hungry. Not to worry, because they serve food too. The selection's predictable (burgers, nachos, chili con carne) but the quality is good - I loved the plateful of potato salad, mustardy and with just the right amount of chopped pickles, for just €2. I have a feeling I'll be coming back again and again and again...

Ankerklause, Kottbusser Damm 104, 10967 Berlin, +49 (0)30 6935649, open Monday from 4pm, Tue-Fri from 10am, ankerklause.de

Cook a lot: Fast, fresh, simple. by Donna Hay

I first 'met' Donna Hay in the shape of her magazine when working for Jamie Oliver in London. It was one of the mags that were eagerly awaited by everyone in the office. Once in, it would be fought over, disappear for days on end and finally pop up somewhere with drool marks on the pages.

Donna's books are like fat versions of her magazine: summery, whitewashed pictures with lots of pastels and impeccable food styling that somehow doesn't make you feel inadequate just by looking at it, but convinces you that your plate/table/life can look this good too.

Fancy London?

‘It’s mayhem here around Christmas,’ smiles manager Michael Gale. His butcher’s shop, Allens of Mayfair, is slap bang in the middle of – indeed – Mayfair, where the cars are chauffeured, the shops are unaffordable and the women cosmetically pretty. Every winter the ceiling of this tiny butcher’s, with its listed tiles on the walls, is covered to within an inch of its life with turkeys. Allens will get through eight thousand of them during the holidays (‘Our Christmas season starts in November, ’ Michael explains, when the Americans from around the corner celebrate Thanksgiving.’) and they are all aged hanging from the ceiling. One look inside the shop and the craftsmanship, care and love that Allen’s puts in its products becomes instantly clear. ‘The beauty is, that with us, you can just walk in off the street, look up and handpick the turkey that’s just right for your Christmas celebrations. That’s unique in London.’ In the holiday season you will see Michelin starred chefs, American embassy workers and neighbours, all queuing up in a nice orderly line, waiting with a patience that only the English seem to possess. Queuing for you turkey? It only adds to the joy of Christmas.

Michael's worked at Allen's for many years
Pic by Bonnita Postma

No nation is looking forward to Christmas as much as the English. Traditions are being dusted off, Christmas trees, houses and whole streets are covered in tinsel and baubles, and the whole of December, in pubs around the country, another round is being hauled in ‘because it’s Christmas time’. Restaurants are filled with groups of friends and colleagues sat at long tables for their annual Christmas party, drinking champagne, eating a set menu and – it’s a silly sight – wearing a paper hat. The hat stays on, all night long. It’s Christmas after all.