August 1 & 2 - St. Petersburg, Russia

Today marked the beginning of two tightly scheduled days exploring the city of St. Petersberg.  Friday morning started bright and early at 5:30 to get cleaned up and have something to eat before meeting the tour at 7:00am.  Prior to getting through the cruise terminal, you can imagine that the Russian authorities needed to confirm passage into the country, only after checking passports and ensuring we had tickets with confirmed tour operators or guides. 

Our guide was Natasha.  She has been a tour guide in Russia for nine years now, and over the course of the two days, we learned a lot about Natasha, her job and the Russian culture.  In order to become a tour guide in Russia, you are required to take training for each venue you wish to tour at.  A written exam is followed by a practical exam and guides are required to write annual exams to maintain the guide license at each venue. 

Our first stop took us to the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood early in the morning before rush hour and tour buses would block our view and  a perfect photo opportunity of the church.  I already loved this church because of its gold, turquoise and chartreuse colours and the exterior designs on the domes against the red walls, but it would be a while before we would get to see the inside.

Eventually, we would learn that Alexander II was murdered on the street near this site, and a memorial was erected inside the church.   Almost the entire interior of the church was covered in mosaics depicting the life of Christ and other biblical events.  

The canopy over the place where Alexander II was killed was created from gemstones found in the Urals and Altai.

The altar at "Spilled Blood" 

We stopped at the University Embankment along the Neva river, marked by the Egyptian Sphinx.  It is here where they say you make a wish and rub the head of one of the monuments by the sphinx and put your finger in its mouth, and your wish will come true.  I'm still waiting...

Palace Square and State Hermitage Museum

The Alexander Column at the centre of the square stands 83' 6" high.

Because we had arrived quite early, we were able to take pictures of the palace square and Hermitage Museum quite easily and with few tourists around.  Among the sights we had time to see in the Hermitage was the Peacock Clock.  This incredible design looks little like a clock; however, as it meets each hour, the peacock spreads its tail feathers and the rooster crows. 

The Peacock Clock is nearly all gold.

The garden.

Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and Child

There were also a few paintings by da Vinci and a large collection by Rembrandt.  The Gold Room housed the most precious and delicate gold pieces that were recovered mostly from various burial mounds along the north coast of the Black Sea.  Many of these pieces were so intricate that the museum displayed them under magnifying glasses so that the public could appreciate the fine work required to create them.  An interesting fact is that no magnifying glasses were found in the digs, which led archaeologists to believe that this detailed work was simply done with very good eyesight.

If you were to spend only one minute looking at each of over 3 000 000 exhibits in the Hermitage Museum, it would take you 11 years to go through the entire collection.

We were entertained with folk music during lunch.  Did I mention that every meal was served with a glass of champagne, a glass of red wine, and a shot of vodka?

Some photos from touring Yusupov's Palace in the afternoon.  Notice the unique wood inlay on the floors and the silks on the walls.  

Three of the four members of a quartet who entertained in one of the great rooms.

A wax figure of Rasputin when poisoned.  He didn't die then or when he was shot or hit over the head.  Finally, he was thrown in the river where he sunk to his death.

Returned to the ship at about 5:00 with enough time to freshen up and return to the coach by 6:15 to venture out of St. Petersburg to Pushkin, approximately an hour and a half away, to Catherine’s Palace.

Upon entering through the main gate, we were greeted with a small reception of champagne, vodka, juice and canapés before continuing on with a tour of the sky blue palace with gold and white trim. My favourite of the rooms was the Amber room where most of the walls and ceiling were covered in the rich and warm tones of amber ranging from a citrus yellow to a deep, burgundy red.  At the time we walked through, the sun was beginning to set and it was glowing its own warm hues through the windows to be reflected off of the mirrors in the room, lighting it up like the flames of a fire. 

We continued through the rooms and into the Grand hall where we were served champagne and entertained by a symphony orchestra.  Later, Catherine appeared to welcome us and introduce performers of folk dance and then to invite us to the gardens.  Here, a marching band and more folk dancers performed briefly before we wandered through the grounds to the mews to view the carriages that were used for a variety of purposes.  It was fascinating to see how well preserved everything had been.

Finally, at about 9:30 pm, we entered into the dining hall and were served a four course meal, complete with more champagne, red wine, and what else – vodka!  

Above, our four courses from dinner:  smoked salmon and salad, savoury crepe with caviar, chicken on a potato pancake with a tomato and dill chutney, and cranberry sorbet (I forgot to take the picture before diving in!).  We were entertained by more traditional music and song, and some of the tourists were invited to participate.

After dinner, we once again boarded our coach to return to the ship at 12:15 am for a short night’s sleep and ready to start all over again in the morning.

Day Two

We left early in the morning for the 75 minute drive to Peterhoff Palace. We were taken for a tour of the palace and finished with enough time to find the perfect view point before 11:00 when the lock was opened to turn on the fountains.  The fountain system is run by gravity alone and does not use any pumps to function.  The terraces of the Grande Cascade are adorned with gold leaf covered statues, all with their own meaning to the era the palace was built.

After lunch (oh yeah, including champagne, red wine and vodka), we went for a canal ride (offering more champagne) that took us out onto the Neva River.  We were able to appreciate some new views of the city from this perspective.  We saw the Aurora, the ship that fired the first shot of the Russian Revolution.  

Champagne anyone?

We're pretty sure the yellow sign likely says, "Don't stand while on the canal boat."

The Aurora

Peter and Paul Fortress

The Canal

When touring St. Isaac’s Cathedral and St. Isaac’s Square, we learned that each of the 112 granite columns surrounding the church is 119 tonnes.  That makes it one heavy church!  The original paintings were redone as mosaics using a special process where tiles were laid and lightly adhered in reverse on a muslin cloth, then attached to the walls.  Then the muslin was removed to create the mosaic image.  In the centre of the middle dome, a dove can be seen in the mosaics at the very top.

Monument to Nicholas I at St. Isaac's Square.  It was structured with two supports at the rear, so the front end of the horse had to be made hollow to balance the monument.

The top portion of St. Isaac's.

There are 48 granite columns in the bottom part of the church.

Our final stop on the tour was to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the oldest landmark in St. Petersberg.  It is here, in the cathedral, that the remains of most of the Russian Emperors have been laid to rest.  

Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral

Inside the cathedral.

The Mint, located at the fortress.

We both consider our time in St. Petersburg to be two, action-packed days providing us with so much history of the Russian Czars.  There was a wealth of information here - more than we can ever remember - and it is worth the visit.  We are grateful for the time we could spend here and our exceptional tour guide and all that she shared.