Saint Petersburg- our cruise begins


Advertisement
Russia's flag
Europe » Russia » Northwest » Saint Petersburg
June 27th 2018
Published: July 2nd 2018
Edit Blog Post

Our cruise begins. After a boring and uneventful drive and border crossing we reached our destination of the Scenic Tsar - our cruise vessel from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Checkin, orienatation and dinner, the first night complete. We have 4 days here each day jam packed.

Our boat is moored about 1/2 hour (1 hour in traffic) from St Petersburg but we are lucky as we are the only boat there. Further away and on the other side of the river is the other boat mooring dock for river cruise ships kwhich we see on the day we leave. There are 13 boats there stacked against one another in groups of five or six. We are very fortunate as we can have our blinds open , use our balcony and relax without another boat next to us. We have a Metro station, ATM, supermarket and chemist one by. All very convenient.

Our first excursion is to the Peterhof Palace modelled on Versailles. Wow. The interior has a ceremonial staircase, state rooms and the Imperial suite. There is Picture Hall with 368 paintings of the same lady in different attire. Not only the grandness of the Palace but the magnificent gardens and fountains. We were there for the 11am performance when they turn on the Grand Cascade with its 142 jets of cascading water and dozens of fountains (30 miles of piping) to music then walked through the gardens to the jetty where we caught the hydrofoil back to St Petersburg.

We had lunch in a restaurant where the building was originally horse stables, then a school and now a restaurant.

The afternoon was a city tour of this city planned by Peter the Great and begun on 27/5/1703. It became the capital in 1712. The Neva river runs through the city and all bridges that cross it are opened every night at 1 am to allow shipping to get through.

The city was named after St Peter not Peter the Great because he wanted to create a city as big and as important as Rome. Over the years it has changed its name from St Petersburg to Petrograd then Leningrad and back to St Petersburg in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union.



Day Two



On the bus today heading into St Petersburg to visit the Yusupov Palace where Rasputin was murdered in the cellar. The wealthy Yusupov family created a very grand house with a marble staircase, grand private rooms, a tapestry hall, a grand ballroom and art galleries.

After lunch we took a river cruise of the city through the canals giving a different perspective of the city gliding under some of the 400 bridges. We were entertained by a young boy who waved at us as we went under each bridge before running to the next one to greet us. The cruise took an hour so he must have been exhausted at the end of it but he was suitably compensated by the passengers. A clever way to stay fit and earn money during the school holidays.

Our cultural tuition was extended again this evening with a trip to the ballet. After a glass of sparkling wine and canapés we were treated to a performance at the Palace of Prince Vladimir - the last Imperial Palace to be built in St Petersburg. The performance was by dancers from both the Kirov and other companies.

Day Three

Catherine Palace

Built by the Empress Elizabeth who then named it after her mother. Catherine made extensive alterations to the interior and added a large gallery. Second World War caused a lot of devastation and restoration work is continuing. The Amber Room ( no photos ) is an exact copy of the original. The walls and ceiling are a mosaic of Amber pieces ( which Nazi stole the originals and where are they? )

Our lunch was at the old wooden Russian style Podvorie restaurant where we had wine and vodka on the table and traditional Russian food followed by a musical performance.

The afternoon provided free time to explore the city taking in the fan zones for the World Cup and visiting some very old stores such as the Singer store ( now a bookshop) and the Eliseevy shop which still retains its original decor inside dating badk to 1902.

Day Four

Today is our morning for the visit to the Hermitage. Fortunately we had a good run into town and had an early booking so there weren’t many people inside when we started our tour ( probably only a few hundred?.) The interior is as amazing as the other palaces that we have visited. You almost need sunglasses in some rooms. From the marble staircase to the art galleries, the theatre, the mosaic floors, gold leaf decorations and furnishings. All amazing. We left through the Egyptian section which houses a sarcophogus (very home should have one).

We leave St Petersburg after 4 days realising that you could spend weeks here and still not see everything.

A fascinating city which is making the most of it's European architecture, the broad streets and the Amsterdam/ Venetian type canals envisioned by Peter the Great. The various governments since the Revolution have made great strides to rebuild and/or restore their heritage .


Additional photos below
Photos: 48, Displayed: 25


Advertisement

Catherine PalceCatherine Palce
Catherine Palce

Inlaid piano
Grand marble staircaseGrand marble staircase
Grand marble staircase

Catherine Palace
Main staircaseMain staircase
Main staircase

Yusupov Palace


3rd July 2018
Catherine the great

Russia
So much gold and opulence.

Tot: 0.32s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 16; qc: 74; dbt: 0.0982s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb