“The Last Bastion of Old Europe”: Thomas’s Six Days in St Petersburg

Thomas and his wife live in Erfurt, in Germany, and spent six days in St Petersburg at the end of August 2026. They flew in from Nuremberg via Istanbul, entered with an eVisa, took no cards they could use and paid for the whole trip in cash. His account is short and practical, and it answers in a few lines the questions people ask me most often: how long passport control takes, how you get a taxi if you cannot install the Yandex app, where you change money, and whether anything works without a VPN.

It is also a good counterpoint to Etienne’s chronicle, who saw the same city in the middle of winter.

What follows is Thomas’s own account, with his tips and his own photos. Thank you, Thomas, for sharing it.

The trip at a glance

Travellers	Thomas and his wife, from Erfurt (Germany)
When	End of August 2026, six days
Where	St Petersburg, plus a day trip to Peterhof
Entry	eVisa, flying Nuremberg – Istanbul – St Petersburg with Turkish Airlines
Passport control	Ten minutes, all counters open, fingerprints taken
Money	US$3,000 in new notes plus a few euros as a reserve, changed at a bureau de change near the hotel
Connectivity	Yesim eSIM installed before flying; no VPN needed for WhatsApp or Telegram, voice calls included
Where they stayed	Pushka Inn, on the bank of the Moika
Airport transfer	Taxi booked at the Yandex desk in arrivals, 1,600 roubles

Where Thomas went

The places Thomas mentions, and the speedboat crossing to Peterhof. Locations and route are approximate.

Nuremberg, Istanbul and twelve hours late

Hello. We were in St Petersburg for six days at the end of August 2026, as a couple, and we were absolutely delighted.

We flew from Nuremberg via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. No problems at all with US$3,000 in new notes and a few euros as a rainy-day fund. Nobody can be blamed for the weather-related cancellation of the connecting flight at 1.10 a.m. After the transfer to and from the hotel — all impeccably organised by the airline — we arrived in St Petersburg twelve hours late.

Ten minutes at passport control

At immigration, all the counters were open. With an e-visa and fingerprints, we cleared immigration without a hitch in ten minutes. Our luggage was already waiting on the carousel.

Even without the Yandex app, a small Yandex stand in the arrivals hall — to the right of the “Spaten-Bierhaus” — arranged a taxi in a matter of minutes for 1,600 roubles. It was mid-afternoon, around 5 p.m., and it took us to the banks of the Moika River, to the highly recommended Pushka Inn Hotel.

The hotel, and where we changed our money

There I received an extremely friendly and warm welcome, a fantastic room, and recommendations for exchanging money at a bureau de change just a few minutes’ walk away. It was open until 7 p.m. in the evenings, and on Sundays too, with decent exchange rates. There were never any waiting times.

The atmosphere in the city

There was no military or police presence anywhere in the city. Instead, there was a consistently very pleasant, open and friendly atmosphere amongst young and old alike. The genuine delight in catering for German tourists came as a bit of a surprise.

Communication took place largely in English, otherwise with gestures, and always with a smile. With a few words of Russian — for example, to praise the excellent food — a heartfelt «До свидания» is guaranteed.

Everything paid in cash, and no long queues

All the admission fees could be paid in cash without any long queues: whether it was a taxi, the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Winter Palace or the Neva at night.

Peterhof by speedboat: our best decision

Highly recommended: Peterhof by speedboat, 45 minutes, from the Admiralty jetty.

The eSIM worked, and we never needed the VPN

The Yesim eSIM works flawlessly. It is available immediately on arrival, provided it has been installed beforehand.

A VPN (Proton) was not required. WhatsApp and Telegram worked, including voice calls, without a VPN.

The only thing that didn’t work: the MIR card

The only issue was that the agreed appointment at the hotel for the pre-arranged MIR card from T-Bank did not take place, despite the agreed time. No reason was given. According to the hotel, this was not an isolated incident. However, it was of no consequence.

We’ll be back as soon as we can

St Petersburg seems like the last bastion of old Europe. Clean, safe, spacious, chic and, in every respect, a lovely place to live and to visit.

We’ll be back as soon as possible.

Have you travelled to Russia recently and would you like to share your experience? Tell me about your trip here and I will publish it in this section, with your name or anonymously, whichever you prefer. Stories like Thomas’s are the ones that really help the people who are planning their own trip.