Night location: Saint Petersburg, Russia

This morning our group of five split up in order to see the city from two different forms of transportation. Gemma, Gareth and Edith opted to see the sights from the deck of a canal boat, while Amber and David went on an extensive Segway tour.

In Saint Petersburg, on just about every canal crossing, spruikers bombard pedestrians in a variety of languages encouraging passersby to board their vessel for a tour of the canals. Gareth had read that many of the larger tour boats are unable to explore the smaller canals and therefore pose as a tourismo trap that should be avoided. After approaching what looked to be a smaller tour boat, they learned that because the water was high at the moment they would be unable to go into the more interesting sections of the city. Feeling disappointed, they started to walk away from the tour boat when a man appeared from below the bridge and offered them a ride on his boat that was much smaller and therefore able to go into the shallower and narrower canals. After deeming the boat to be a sturdy vessel and accessible for Gemma they agreed to a price and got on board. The driver offered them an English audio guide via Bluetooth speaker which meant that they had a private tour of the city! Particular highlights included seeing the Moika Palace where Rasputin was assassinated and the Mariinsky Theatre.

Meanwhile, Amber and David had booked a Segway tour prior to the trip so no negotiating needed to be done fortunately! They did a few practice laps around the entrance to a small art museum before hitting the streets of the city. Terrifyingly, our very first stretch was on a busy road and we were driving next to parked cars into crazy Russian oncoming traffic. After crossing a bridge by mounting a gutter and feeling mildly alarmed at what lay ahead of her, Amber looked at David when they reached a safer section and uttered a few exclamatory phrases. Fortunately our guide informed us that we had just completed one of the most difficult sections of the tour, to which David responded, "Hooray!" For the next three hours we zoomed around the historical centre, crossing the Neva River to the Petrograd side and then back again via Vasilyevsky Island.

One of the most interesting places historically was the Field of Mars which was originally used as a 19th century place for military parades but later became the site (still used to this day) for political protests. In 1917 the remains of those who died during the February Revolution were buried here and then this park became the site of burial for other heroes of the revolution. In 1957 an eternal flame was lit to commemorate the victims in Saint Petersburg of all wars and revolutions.

Naturally, we also stopped for photos at the Bronze Horseman which is one of the icons of this city as well as the magnificent Winter Palace. A number of the major buildings of Saint Petersburg appear to be in a state of disrepair. The tour guide made a couple of remarks about buildings like the former Stock Exchange having had grand plans for restoration over a decade ago, but due to various fees or fines, were currently vacant. After being asked about the apparent gap in spending between the two major cities of Russia, she reflected that many people in Saint Petersburg feel as though they are working for Moscow.

To conclude our tour we were informed that we would be travelling on the road and therefore had to stay strictly in single file, preferably with one of our wheels on the white line of the shoulder. One hair-raising moment occurred as we had to overtake a large tour bus that was double parked by actually entering the traffic. Gemma and Gareth waved frantically at Amber and David as they crossed an intersection close to the end, but neither of them saw due to their concentration on immediate threats to their safety!

The temperature during both tours was no more than 10 degrees and there were a couple of light spits of rain which meant that Amber and David were very keen for a warm rest stop to thaw out. A lovely cafe had been located by Gemma and Gareth so we paused here and swapped our morning adventures while Edith slept in her pram.

Feeling revived we continued on by catching our first metro in Saint Petersburg to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Founded in 1703 its main defensive function has actually been as a prison for political 'criminals' during the 19th and 20th centuries. The baroque cathedral was the burial place for the Imperial House of Russia meaning that all of the emperors and empresses of Russia (except for two) are buried here. In 1998 a special burial service was held at St. Catherine's chapel for the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and court servants who were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Leaving the fortress we walked back to our hotel over the Troitskiy Bridge and then enjoyed dinner at a vegetarian restaurant that offered many versions of iconic Russian dishes including borscht. Gareth declined this and instead tried the 'crazy cheese man'. Edith enjoyed sliced cucumber and capsicum!