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Published: June 25th 2008
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St Petersburg
From the water. One of the main reasons for taking this trip was to see St. Petersburg. It has always been a place that has held a real fascination for me and, being the lover of Impressionists that I am, I have always wanted to go to the Hermitage as it has a collection that rarely, if ever, leaves Russia. So, when I saw that this cruise stopped there for two days, I jumped at the chance.
At last, the day arrived. I was up at 5.30 as I had crashed and burned the night before and had to do all the things that I didn't do last night in favour of an extra half hour's sleep. Not too bad, I was so excited that I was actually awake before the wake-up call came through.
We left for our tour at 7.00. We began with a boat cruise around the city. For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I always jump at the chance for a boat cruise, so I was very excited. It was a great introduction to the city and we got a real sense of where everything is and how it is laid out. St.
Petersburg was not at all what I expected. I had always imagined this tiny, dull, dark city with narrow streets and hunched over people. Not the case at all. It is filled with wide avenues, gorgeous buildings and people hurrying about their lives as in any other city.
The boat ride did give us a sense of what was to come. It was cold and rainy, but that didn't stop the three of us from sitting outside so that Lynn and I could take some photos. (I took 347 photos over the course of the two days. I won't post them all!) They served us a glass of champagne, normally very welcome, but at 8.30 in the morning?? There was one other interesting bit. The young boys have concocted a game where they run along beside the boat and wave at the crowd from each bridge. No mean feat, I assure you. These kids ran for miles. At the end, however, they were holding out their hands. This was something that continued to strike me for the two days we were in Russia -- everyone is always looking for a tip. Capitalism has come home to roost.
The
The Hermitage
From the water. other thing that struck me, both on the coach ride into town and on the boat trip, was that I have never been illiterate. I do not remember not knowing how to read. However, the Russian alphabet is so different from ours that I couldn't make out anything. I got a sense of what it must be like to go through life, see signs and other written things and have no idea of what it is saying. It was a humbling experience.
After the boat ride, we went right to the Hermitage. What joy -- one of the things that, as much as I was looking forward to it, did not disappoint. One splendid room after another, filled with art that was astonishing. You name the artist, we saw him. I could have spent days in that place. We saved the best for last. The Impressionists are on the top floors. I was literally brought to a standstill. Room after room filled with those gorgeous paintings that are filled with light and colour. Seeing those paintings for the first time made the price of the cruise look like nothing. The best part was that the museum is normally closed
The Hermitage
The entry into the museum. on a Monday, so we had the place more or less to ourselves.
One thing I hadn't realised before. The Hermitage was originally Catherine the Great's palace, so in addition to the art there was one room more ornate than the other where she had actually lived. Hard to imagine relaxing in that much splendour. As we moved from palace to palace and church to church over the next two days, nearly everyone we met said the same thing, "No wonder these people revolted!" The difference between the hads and the had nots was greater than I have ever seen.
In much need of some food and chairs at this point, we were taken to our lunch spot. Having been promised "one of the finest restaurants", we were a bit taken aback. The room looked like a giant aeroplane hangar in which dozens of young kids were trying to serve hundreds of cold, wet tourists. The food was not the greatest I have ever had, but when in St. Petersburg... We did, however, had a tiny bit of caviar and some vodka, so we felt as though we had had a bit of the experience. While we were
The Hermitage
The main stairway. eating, a troupe of young kids were singing and dancing. While they were enjoyable enough, I was not tempted to buy one of the CDs they were hawking as we walked out the door.
Our next stop was the Church of the Saviour of the Spilled Blood (I know, but there you are). Alexander II was assassinated and his son, Alex the third, decided to build a church exactly over the spot where his dad had been killed. In fact, one can see the blood on the cobblestones to this day, if one has a bit of imagination and a telephoto lens. The church itself was beyond description. Every surface was covered in mosaics, each more elaborate than the one before. This being Russia, we had to pay for the privilege of taking photos, but pay we did.
Our last stop of the day was St. Issac's Cathedral. What a lovely place. Unlike Christian cathedrals, Russian Orthodox cathedrals do not have pews. As a result, these buildings seem huge with loads of empty space and lots of light. In many ways, I felt that they more closely represented what one should feel in such a holy place than
The Hermitage
The gold room. many of the other cathedrals I have been in. We asked how it was spared during the Stalin years. Some forward thinking residents decided to turn it into a science museum and, for years, a pendulum hung from the highest part of the church. Stalin decided that this was all right and spared the building. Lucky for us.
Having had our fill of ornate Russian interiors, we made our way back to the ship for a brief rest. In the evening, we had decided to attend a ballet. We did not know which one it was going to be, but when one is in Russia, one MUST go the ballet. As we were on the coach heading into town, our guide announced that it was going to be "Swan Lake". General glee all around. As I said to Mom, if I could chosen a ballet to see in Russia, that would have been the one. Fabulous production and one of the highlights of the entire trip.
What was very disconcerting, however, was when we came out at the end of the production. It was 11.00 and the sun had still not set. When we got back to the
The Hermitage
Catherine's throne. ship, I went out onto my balcony just before I went to bed which was close to midnight. The sun was below the horizon, but I could still see the light. A great way to end the day!
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