Yesterday, second Hermitage day we went first to see the Rembrandts in the Winter Palace. Awe inspiring, such detailed work, thoughtful faces, visual feasts. And then there was Van Dyck and scores of wonderful Dutch , de Hooch and OTT Rubens! We thought to go and see the Da Vinci in the Italian section but the gallery was filled with hordes of Japanese tours all struggling to take a shot of it. We struggled to escape. We returned to the Staff Building for lunch and to see some more of the galleries there. It is so peaceful and cool there, compared to the Winter Palace which is hot, stuffy and crammed with us tourists. There was. Faberge gallery which displayed objects manufactured by Faberge for the army in WWI.- mess tins, boilers, etc very beautifully made.
... read more