Travel: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Last Summer we visit our neigbourg country, finally! Saint Petersburg has been in my wishlist for very long time...
Travelling to Russia might be a bit complicated, you will need to prepare yourself quite some time in advanced. So I am going to give you some tips:

Helsinki would be the starting point. From there you can choose, road, sea or railway to travel.

By car and train you will need to contact the Russian authorities in your own country and arrange the Visa permit. Passport,  pictures and hotel reservation will be asked from you.
Normally the Visa allows you to be in the country for few weeks. There is also the Working visiting Visa which allows you to come and go for a year.
Book yourself 3 weeks before hand to apply for this.

We chose to go by boat for few reasons:
We were not in a hurry and we don't get seasick ;), you travel by night, sailing is always great experience if you are travelling with kids, you don´t need all the Visa stress papers and documents, is cheaper than the train if you travel in a group, you get an automatic 72 hours Visa staying.
Here is the link of Saint Peters Line for more info:
https://stpeterline.com/en

Weather last July in the north was not very pleasant, it was quite chilly and stormy. But is a normal thing here, we are used to this, and there is not bad weather, just the wrong clothes!.

Leaving the boat in the morning takes some time, you have to go through customs, be patient!
We stayed at Sokos Bridge Hotel, so there was shuttle bus service from the pier that took us straight there for free.

Once the check in was done, we started our tour with local guide Ulrika and driver Mijael!
Lovely people!

With the private tour we visited most of the main sights, the Winter Palace, the Sailors church, The Church of the Saviour on Blood, San Isaac Church, The Nevsky Market , Peter and Paul Fortress..
Such an impressive culture and history!
The tour took almost half of our day, so after that we head for lunch in a local bistro, the plan was to visit the Hermitage or Winter Palace after lunch, but, travelling with kids means to take it easy plus the rainy weather took on us all...so, we head to hotel, that offers spa and swimming pool, now was time for kids to have fun :)

Next day we explored the metro. We knew that there are few stations worth to visit, so there we went!
The first line was built in 1941, the Avtovo Station is consider one of the most beautiful ones,  was ready in 1955.  The metro service is very regular, so you have time to stop in a station, have a look, take some pics, and jump in the next train to the next stop. Very much recommend this visit! Really impressive!!!

Afternoon was booked with a boat tour. It was great to explore the channels of the city.

Last tips from my experience:

The city has lots to offer, so going to SP for longer then 72 hours is very good idea too.
With kids, think about walking and timing, is a long distances city, so better to book a Hotel closer to centre, on the inland side of the River. Sokos Bridge was ok Hotel but nothing to see or do nearby the building. Hotels are expensive in SP. Book with plenty of time in advanced.
If you want to visit the Museums, take it easy and spend the day there. The crowd in the Hermitage is huge! so if you don't like to be surrounded by million people go to the National Museum, Russian artists are really talented and this Museum is not as popular as the Hermitage or the Winter Palace.
Be ready to crash against Russian authorities or bureaucracy in some point. Use your imagination to talk to them, cos they are not going to speak much english.
Try local food. Visit the street markets.
Locals are just great, so friendly and warm, enjoy their company!

I will definelty go back!.

8 hours in Copenhagen with kids

Copenhagen is one of the the cities that i like a lot, as many of you know already.
This year, coming back to Helsinki, we decided to make stop in this beautiful city for few hours, and have a quick taste of it during the winter season.

We arrived in the noon, stayed over night, and next day, have our 8 hour tour with kids in Copenhagen.

As we were staying quite close to the old town and the weather was cold and snowy, we plan a walked that will provide a warm shelter every now and then. So we head to the Round Tower, and the Botanic Garden. From there, we took metro to the center ( the day ticket is great to move around the city, and also to go back to the Airport), walked around Frederiksberg and Vesterbro. Quick stop in center to get new socks for everyone ( as kids had soaked shoes :/) and the one thing that kids loved was the Lego Store, which is paradise for them.

Here some of the pics of the day.

Destination: Madrid in 40 hours. Day two

Day two in our Madrid staying, we visited the Matadero culture center. Easily accessible by metro, we were very pleased as at that point there was a product design and typography exhibition (Type Directors Club!).

The area is spacious, and the architecture wonderful. Before an old and abandoned slaughterhouse, Nowadays offers all kind of cultural events, exhibitions and concerts. Well done Madrid.

 Kids were happy as it was a very safe space to run around and explore freely.

Leaving Matadero towards the river we enjoyed the views and the nice graffitis and wall art around the area. 

Next stop was the Retiro Gardens. There we took some picnic with us, and decide to take it easy and walk around.
The Gardens are just so welcoming, looks like is the place for people to spend the afternoons, do some jogging or meet for a coffee.

The Retiro has a building that I was eager to visit. The Crystal Palace. It was built in 1887 to exhibit flora and fauna from the Philippines. The architect was Ricardo Velazquez and  is currently used for art exhibits. We didn't make it inside, as a new exhibition was been mounted at that point, but the surroundings were as wonderful as the building itself.

The well known Retiro pond was in our way out. It is nice to see the people in their boats and sit down for a while. In The Gardens there is also a very nice playground for children, very much recommended to visit. Just remember to buy your picnic from somewhere else than from the park.

The rest of the day we spent at the Chueca neighbourhood. Really charming area with lots of shopping possibilities and interesting architecture. There's also plenty of very good restaurants. We went to a family restaurant called El Bocaito. Very good with friendly owners and staff.
Madrid is really a city that has to be visited! We are looking forwards to go back and visit more of the spots that we missed, and maybe staying bit longer.

Until next post!