Spb, Modern Art

There were morning strolling, breakfast at the hotel, afternoon walking under the rain, etc. For the evening I have a plan to visit the temporary exhibition of the modern art.

Late in the afternoon I arrive to the Sevkabel Port, which is a popular art space and a business center now. It is located in the port at the harbor of Vasilevskiy Island. Historically, Sevkabel was a cable manufacturing company, established in 1879 by the Saint Petersburg subsidiary of the German company Siemens & Halske. But since 2016 it has started renovation of the old facilities and historic buildings and turning them into a modern multifunctional creative space at the waterfront. And presently they have this place, where can be found various corners, including cafes, bars, studious, showrooms, sites and a food court. Moreover, Sevkabel often hosts some festivals and events, which usually attract young thinking people.

Currently, in the walls of the Sevkabel the exhibition of Andy Warhol's works is holding. It is displayed 100 works of the author, who is one of the founders of pop art. Actually, the intention of exposition is to demonstrate how the American icon of pop art influenced famous Russian artists of several generations. So, there are also presented the works of such important Russian artists as Alexander Melamid, Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe and Pavel Pepershtein. However, I was interested only in the creations by Andy.

As a conclusion I must say that it has been a nice trip to Saint Petersburg with good impressions about city architecture, walks, galleries, restaurants and people I have met on my way. Very soon I will come here again. I want to believe so.

Spb, European Art

Again I woke up earlier to enjoy the silent beauty of Saint Petersburg. The weather is perfect, it is sunny and dry, and in my summer shorts it feels a little bit chilly, but I like it.

And again the breakfast at the hotel has not pleased me much. Still, I am full.

The new day and the new discoveries are awaiting me. And I am ready to absorb them all...

Meanwhile, when walking along the Fontanka river I have found myself in front of the beautiful Summer Garden.

Actually, the Summer Garden was laid out in 1704 by the order of Peter the Great, and now it is the oldest park in Saint Petersburg. The Garden is surrounded by water, because it is situated on the island bounded by the Fontanka, Moika, and Neva Rivers and the Swan Canal.

Undoubtedly, along with fountains the main feature of the Summer Garden is its sculptures. Actually, almost every sculpture in the Garden is a copy. But the original works can be found at the Engineer’s Castle.

Very well, I am heading to the Palace Square now, where I am going to visit one more museum. The museum is located in the left wing of the General Staff Building with a 580 metres long bow-shaped facade, right in front of the Winter Palace. Previously, the left wing was occupied by the Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry, but now it is the part of the Hermitage Museum. The right wing these days hosts the headquarters of the Western Military District.

So, I am inside the museum space. Honestly, I was shocked by what I have seen there. And it was a positive shock, because I did not expect to see such beautifully renovated room behind these strict classical facades. There are lots of space, light and brave modern ideas in decorating the interiors.

French paintings of the 19th century, including the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists and the artists of the Nabis group, are greatly presented on the floors of the General Staff museum. There are also exhibited the gorgeous canvases of the masters from the 20th century.

Among my favorites are the masterpieces by Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Vasily Kandinsky. I have returned to the halls with these authors several times, despite the fact that it was forbidden to step back due to COVID-restrictions (as I was said, "the walking is only in one direction permitted").

Indeed, after fine art it is needed some fine food to be eaten. So, I am in search of some good restaurant to spend my evening time.

The restaurant "Salone pasta & bar" is located on the Fontanka embankment. At this Italian restaurant they make homemade pasta with some "canonical" Italian fillings such as parma or ragout barbaresco. Still, I was very delighted with antipasti and dorado fish with Gewurytraminer sauce. I recommend this atmospheric place by all means, but you should make a reservation in advance, because it is a very popular place at present days.

Good day today, indeed. I hope tomorrow will be not least good. In fact, I continue my cultural program, so I am going to visit another art gallery.

Spb, Russian Art

The thirst for seeing the city as much as possible pushed me to wake up early and to go outside. Indeed, the empty streets of Saint Petersburg is something incredible. I believe, I would repeat this experience during the next days of my staying here.

Still, after a short airing I need to think about providing my body with some energy. The breakfasts a la buffet are included into the room price, so I cannot miss it. Honestly, the breakfasts at Ibis are not excellent, but they are varied enough not to get bored during three days. Unfortunately, the coffee is terribly miserable.

After packing my stomach I am ready to set off for another walking around the city.

The place, which I definitely cannot but visit, is Kazan Cathedral, located on the Nevsky Prospect. The cathedral with impressive stone colonnade was built between between 1801 and 1811. In fact, it was inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome.

Initially, the cathedral was intended to be the country's main Orthodox Church. However, after winning in the war of 1812 the church became a monument to Russian victory. Captured enemy banners were put in the cathedral, and the famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov was buried inside the church.

Honestly, I am not a religious person, but I usually burn the candles in the churches, just in case it would help someone I care about.

Almost opposite of the Kazan Cathedral, if you go along the Griboedov canal, there is another remarkable sight located. It is the Russian Museum, to where I have bought a ticket this morning. I have purchased the ticket with excursion for the specific time, and it was a really good decision, because with excursion I could skip a very long queue of tourists wishing to see the amazing collection of the masterpieces from the best Russian artists.

It was for the first time when I took the excursion in the Russian museum. To my mind, it is always a good idea to be accompanied by the professional, who is aware of some amusing facts from the author's life and details about their creations. However, at this particular time our guide was a little bit in haste, so she skipped much information, which could be quite interesting for the spectators. But personally, I wanted to know more and asked so many questions that at the end of the tour our guide was a little bit annoyed by my extra activity. Still, I enjoyed our walking.

The biggest disappointment was about my favourite hall with the grand paintings by Karl Bryullov and Ivan Aivazovsky. As it turned out, the masterpieces of Aivazovsky, including the well-known "The Ninth Wave", were sent to Spain and were not returned on time because of the COVID events.

In general, I was satisfied with visiting the Russian Museum, and next time I also will try to book an excursion. I hope, the speaker will be more friendly and talkative.

At random, I have chosen a very nice place for the evening meal. The restaurant Merula is located on Mayakovskaya street. Nice interior, reasonable prices, excellent selection of wine, tasty cuisine and friendly service. Definitely, it is my day today.

Tomorrow I will continue observing the fine art in the place, which was not visited by me before, but it was strongly recommended by my new friend from Saint Petersburg.