I have spent the last couple of weeks travelling by metro a lot here, because it is by far the fastest way to get around. In general they are not as ornate as some of the metro stations in Moscow, but they are efficient and clean, which is the main thing.

One interesting thing is that some stations have doors on the station as well as the train, a bit like the doors on both a lift and each floor where the lift stops. This means that the train must stop at exactly the right place, so the doors on the train line up with the doors on the station.

I visited St Isaac’s cathedral.

Apparently this is the fourth largest Church in Europe, in terms of volume under the dome, after St Peter’s in Rome, St Paul’s in London and the Duomo in Florence.

It is also a subject of controversy at the moment, because it has been managed as a museum (I think by the government of St Petersburg), since the revolution, but this month they have decided to hand it to the Russian Orthodox Church at no cost.

This is not quite as simple as it sounds. After the fall of communism, St Isaac’s has still been a museum, and Church services are only conducted in one of the side chapels. You have to pay about $5 to visit it, but the Orthodox Church says it will not charge anything, even though part of it will still be treated as a museum. Some people fear it will no longer be maintained well.

Anyway, the view from the dome is extensive,

The paintings and mosaics are spectacular and beautiful

And the technical details of how they made it are interesting

After the match, the crowds were not to bad, although the Metro was crowded. Hockey is a family sport here, many parents with children, who could have the home team’s logo painted on their faces.

So, after the match I left via the concourse around the stadium

Bade farewell to the Ice Palace

And returned via the metro

The sad thing was that on the way I ran into a couple of people looking for food or money. You don’t see many people begging or homeless people, but there are some. I have noticed that people sometimes give money in these situations, but it would be very hard to be homeless here, sometimes -20 degrees or more at night, and 16 hours of darkness at this time of year.