Midnight boat rides at St. Petersburg

There is a distinct Tsarist hangover in St Petersburg. If that doesn't enthuse you, its midnight boat rides surely will The curly haired guide on the motorboat I am jumping into from a pier near Zaharevskaya, Saint Petersburg, shoots unflattering looks. Is it just the strange Russian temperament I've encountered on this trip or can she actually be annoyed at me for arriving two-and-a-half minutes later than 11.30 pm, the reporting time, I wonder. It is only after our twilight cruise zips through narrow canals and reaches the imposing Neva river that I infer her reaction - the bridge we're beholding has begun to creak open from the middle as traffic on both sides and that of click-happy visitors underneath has paused itself. By ten minutes after midnight, its illuminated ends open fully, dramatically posing against a still-blue sky. Subsequent bridge sightings and sips of 'champanska' make me feel like I'm in a fine coffee table book. Also, note to self: in this far-west Russian city, sunset will happen well past midnight (or won't happen at all one month every year), bridges will creak open at the stroke of midnight and tourist boats will leave just before midnight. With dozens of channels of St Petersburg serving as arteries to the Neva, it's only fair that one takes the water way to explore it. After Peter the Great discovered this swampland in 1703 and planned it with careful imaginations of Vienna, London and Paris, the result was a heady ode to Europe, which today also bears a silent Tsarist hangover. And the 'kanals' have inspired articulate bridges (539 to be precise, highest in the world) so make sure you tag your architect friends in your Facebook pictures. Take my weird for it Always a sucker for history or culture walks, I went into overdrive at St Pete's. Judging by one of the day cruises I took, this city feels like one huge gleaming museum, with its onion-domed churches, lavish palaces and former homes and working spaces of Russia's greatest artists including Pushkin, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. However, it didn't need me a guide to spot the reasonable share of Soviet blandness here, for just around corners sculpted with Greek Gods, I'd run into an odd-looking apartment or a defunct prison from the Cold War. These reminders of the city's military history can be eerie for some, and the lack of English signs or the locals' shy demeanour could only confuse matters. But then, there are sights of the most opulent buildings (St Isaac's Cathedral, Mariinsky theatre, Winter Palace) which make up for the above and swoop you to the time when St Pete's was Leningrad and further back, when it was the capital of imperial Russia. Throw in some stern-looking, big-nosed modern Russian characters (cabbies, shop attendants, waiters et al) and you'd have a blog-ful of anecdotes. Eat, play, love The cuisine is perhaps where Peter's idea of this city being the 'window to Europe' seems to have worked. Most of St Pete's eat streets look Parisian by ambience, feel German for their love of beer and sound Spanish with their live gigs. While it would be callous to ignore the pastas and tapas, it'll be criminal to miss local hits such as the blini (stuffed pancake), kartoshka (huge potato filled with all the vices you can think of) and Baltika beer (the city is a proud home to Eastern Europe's most popular brew). And wait, after having had 'Russian' salad in fast food joints or the Stroganoff in aspiring European restaurants back home, it was worthwhile tasting the real deal here. Especially the latter, whose original beef version comes from the noble kitchen of the Stroganovs, prominent art collectors of this city! I hit upon a couple of 'surprise entrants' though; in finding a sushi place more easily than a traditional Russian place (yes, Japanese is the 'Chinese' here). Secondly, it felt foolhardy to expect locals downing vodka like we down nimbu pani. Turns out it's more of a have-at-home poison, especially during the bitter winter. If, however, you like them drinks mixed with music and in the company of damsels, Nevsky Prospekt is what you should mark on your map. Not to give you yardsticks, but here are the takeaways of my weekend here: 1. After extensive pub crawls here, I figured that there's much to experience in both the hole-inthe-wall and the 'closed-footwearonly' categories of bars (snooker with drunk middle-aged men and grooving to David Guetta respectively, for instance). 2. The absolute mayhem on the streets with loud, drunk revelers spilling out and loitering till breakfast hours, is enjoyable and free of moral police. 3. Beer's cheaper than water and can be picked up at convenience stores (FYI, President Medvedev signed a bill which acknowledged beer as 'alcoholic' only this year!) 4. Many Sharapova-esque damsels are drop-dead stunning, but unless you have a Rapidex Russian booklet or some prolific gestural skills up your sleeve, you wouldn't get close to scoring with any. All this said, if there's one reason why you must take your partner or children to this ex-Tsarist kingdom, it's for the charm you'd find after getting over its 'weirdness'. Many would credit this to its proximity to Europe (an hour's ride from Helsinki), but its homegrown appeal shouldn't be overlooked. The petunias which dot the lampposts, the violinists who fill sidewalks with Kalinka or just the sharp, stylish locals you spot on the other side of unending subway escalators - you could either find all this strange or fascinating. But then it would just take a river cruise down the Neva on a white night for you to decide on the latter. Getting there -There are direct flights to St Petersburg from Delhi. Stopover at Moscow and spend at least 3 days exploring. Spend 2 days in Tashkent. -The best months to visit Russia - May and October, ideally June for its stunning white nights. Some brave travellers would even vouch for St Pete's freezing winter charm. Costs -On the lower side by European standards, St Pete's costs are remarkably lesser than Moscow's. -Beer pint: 150 Roubles in bars. About 50 Roubles outside (Rs 80) -Main course: 250 Roubles (Rs 414) » Budget hostel: 800 Roubles - 1000 Roubles (Rs 1300-Rs 1500) -Flights: Return fares frm Mumbai-Moscow during non-winter times range from Rs 42,000 - Rs 55,000. A second-class A/c train ride to St Pete's costs approx 2700 Roubles (Rs 4,500). -Web: www.saint-petersburg.com