St. Petersburg has long been a tourist favorite, but if this band of young Russian thrill-seekers is to be believed, the best way to see the country's imperial capital is by hopping roof to roof.

Perched atop an officers' barracks in the heart of the city are Edik, 20, Alyona, 18, Dima, 28, and Nikolai, 35.

They chat breezily, laugh, smoke and take photos from their roost, dozens of meters above the street.

To get there, they had to break into a nearby attic and hop across several roofs - nothing terribly complicated for experienced "roofers" such as themselves.

"The roofs, they are for those who want to see another St. Petersburg, to see how beautiful it is," said Edik, who has been "roofing" since he was 14.

The pastel palaces and golden-domed churches of Russia's former royal city have become the roofers' elevated playground. Locked attics don't stand in their way.

The prize for those who scale rain gutters and pipes is an unsurpassed panorama of the city of the czars - and the chance to post a trophy photo on favorite social media sites.

Daniel Netorte, 23, is a highly experienced roofer who rattles off St. Petersburg landmarks like a mountain climber listing the peaks he has bagged: the golden spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral; a cupola of Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, located on the picturesque Griboyedova Canal; the Winter Palace of the czars, where the Hermitage Museum is now located; and even the local headquarters of the FSB, the successor to the KGB security service.

Roofing "is for me a way to explore the city, to have a bit of adventure, to test myself," said Daniel, a medical student at the University of St. Petersburg.

"This appears closed," he said in front of a gate that leads to the courtyard of a six-story building in the city center. Daniel reaches into his backpack, and out comes a ring of keys. An instant later, the gate swings open, and the same trick works for the door.

"Don't make any noise to disturb the neighbors, who could call the police," Daniel whispers at the bottom of the stairs.

The last obstacle, a lock on the attic door, also cedes to Daniel's collection of keys. A moment later, he is on the roof.

A cat-and-mouse game with the police is often part of the program.

"Buildings like the Hermitage or historic monuments are, of course, under surveillance, and the police will arrive within minutes of an alarm going off," said Daniel, more with an air of inconvenience than concern.

Experienced roofers know that they will likely spend only an hour in a police station before paying a fine of 300 roubles ($8) and walking free.

(China Daily 08/29/2014 page10)