Blogs from Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Northwest, Russia, Europe - page 2

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Europe » Russia » Northwest » Saint Petersburg » Pushkin August 4th 2011

We arrived in St. Petersburg Russia. It is 9 hours different from back home. We are here for 2 days. We were able to sleep in this morning, however you know me, up and at ‘em early, 5:30am. We decided not to take a tour this morning, rather in the afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful both in temperature and sunny. The temperature was to be in the mid-70’s. We later heard that it is only sunny 60 days of the year. We got lucky on this day. Our tour guide told us that in the winter it will get as cold as -35C and only 4 hours of daylight. I am ready to move, not….. It was interesting to see we arrived at a new port, much nicer than in 2003 where were docked at an ... read more
Russian Ballet
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Saint Petersburg » Pushkin July 4th 2011

Today we briefly drove through St Petersburg and headed for the countryside town of Pushkin. We visited the magnificent Catherine's Palace (also called the Summer Palace) named after Catherine the Great, restored over the last 40 years to its original splendor. We saw ceilings decorated with paintings by Italian artists of the 17th and 18th centuries. We saw many decorative plates and vases of Japanese and Chinese porcelain. The magnificent Grand Hall (Throne room) is a gilded wonder with a spectacular painted ceiling and mirrored walls that are breathtakingly beautiful. Above all, we saw the outrageously beautiful Amber Room - a brillant and painstaking re-creation built in semi precious stone by Russian craftsmen after the original panels were stolen by the Nazis during World War II. This museum visit was much better managed for crowd control ... read more
shipboard Fourth of July
 The barbacue on Lido deck
food carvings

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Saint Petersburg » Pushkin July 3rd 2011

Grand St Petersburg. We were awake at our usual 6:00 am and looked out our cabin window to see 4 other HUGE cruse ships docked in St. Petersburg along with the Prinsendam. Lots of tourists in St Petersburg today! After our usual breakfast in the Lido Restaurant (a lovely breakfast buffet - too much to choose from) we boarded our tour coach. We began at the Spit of Vasilievasky Island with a magnificent view of the Neva River and the two Rostral Columns which served as signal towers. We viewed the Winter Palace and other buildings of the Hermitage Museum, as well as the SSts.Peter & Paul Fortress located right across the river. I took a picture of the golden spire of the Cathedral of SSts Peter & Paul which is in the middle of the ... read more
Rostral Column
second rostral column
statue at the base of Rostral column




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