Saint Petersburg - Walking in Neva Neva land



Hermitage as seen from the Neva River



 Well.... I did feel a bit like Wendy, following PeterPan off to a magical land....the magical land being Saint Petersburg, and the river in question being the Neva river. 



The frozen Neva River



I am told that in the summer months, you can take a boat tour down the Neva River, and that the Hermitage (and other buildings) seem to emerge directly out of the water.

 But I was there in the middle of winter, and the temperatures were in the -15 to -20 celcius range.


Chilly!


the 'boat' is a fitness club

  And thus it was that Alex and Evgeni, the most fantastic of guides to the city, led us not just over the bridge from one side of the river to the other, but then over the river itself to get to the island in the middle.


When I asked about the boat that seemed to be frozen in the ice, they informed us that it was actually a health club.  Pretty swishy!




Rebecca walking on water...



I will confess that I felt a bit nervous climbing down onto the icy river itself, wondering if we would be plunging through to the water below, but... it was at least -15 celcius, and there were many others walking across the ice.



I think the risk was probably less that you would fall through, than that you would slip and break a bone! I felt like quite the northern adventurer!