Coming down into St. Petersburg airport, we weren’t given much cause for comfort. Our first impressions were of a grey, dusty, concrete jungle. Once into the city, however, these first impressions were shattered. Buildings surrounded us with their magnificent facades: here was a monument with a far-reaching history and even the odd MacDonalds thrown in!

From Russia With Love

School No.80 (that specialises in English) was, at first, terrifying! Children ranging from 7 to 17 ran through halls, shouting and playfully fighting; yet the atmosphere was electric and all the teachers we met were extremely welcoming and friendly. Lessons designed to help us improve our Russian played to the accompaniement of constant laughter.

In the afternoons, we were spoilt for choice. The Hermitage lived up to its reputation and, even though we spent well over two hours there, we barely managed a taste of the exquisite art it holds.

Ballet in the magnificent Marinskii Theatre was made all the more exciting when some of us had to pretend to be Russian so that we would get away with sitting in the best seats.

A party in a café shared with our exchange partners on the penultimate night introduced us to some bizarre Russian games and allowed us to taste eccentric, Russian food.

We left with an impression of a city that is magical, vibrant, colourful and characterised by astounding architecture. Our initial fear proved unfounded and some even returned having broken a few Russian hearts along the way!