Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Having learned our lessons in Moscow, our hotel in Saint Petersburg was in the thick of the action only three blocks from the Hermitage. We spent the first day wondering the halls of the Hermitage and were delighted to learn that photographs were allowed. The Hermitage was all that we expected with works of art from earliest civilizations to Picasso.

There was a huge party going on outside the Hermitage and the city was alive with students who were celebrating graduation. There were good restaurants and events all around our hotel. We found a few dive bars playing great music and we also spent an evening at the Ballet. We took a boat ride around the city which is full of canals. The Hermitage is the highlight of Saint Petersburg and we took so many pictures there that we gave it its own blog. To see pics from the Museum, paste the following link into your browser: http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-291055.html

"Saint Petersburg is a city in Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914-1924) and Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924-1991). It is often called just Petersburg (Петербу́рг) and is informally known as Piter (Пи́тер). Founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia on May 27, 1703, it was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1713-1728, 1732-1918). Saint Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg

"On May 1, 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans on the Neva river in Ingria. A few weeks later, on May 27, 1703 (May 16, Old Style), lower on the river, on Zayachy (Hare) Island, three miles (5 km) inland from the gulf, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. He named the city after his patron saint, the apostle Peter. The original name was meant to sound like Dutch due to Peter's obsession with the Dutch culture. The city was built by conscripted serfs from all over Russia under the supervision of Alexander Menshikov and later became the center of Saint Petersburg Governorate. Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712, before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war and annexed the territory to Russia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg

"State Hermitage Museum (Russian: Государственный Эрмитаж, Gosudarstvennyj Èrmita) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest museums in the world, with 3 million works of art (not all on display at once), and one of the oldest art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. ... International branches of The Hermitage Museum are located in Amsterdam, London, Las Vegas and Ferrara (Italy). The Hermitage holds the Guinness World Record as having the world's largest collection of paintings. Strong points of the Hermitage collection of Western art include Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Watteau, Tiepolo, Canaletto, Canova, Rodin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Cézanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, and Matisse. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Museum

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (Храм Спаса на Крови) is one of the main Russian Orthodox churches of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ (Собор Воскресения Христова), its official name. The name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on that site on March 13, 1881. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Savior_on_Blood

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Photos

Photo 6
Church of Spilled Blood

Photo 7
The Beach

Photo 8
Technology

Comments

[aimeeperry]

Range Rover
I personally love the pimped purple range rover!, but Dan how can you explain the beautiful travel companion that is a model? Love, Aimee in Maryland I love seeing both of you, please send or call

[A Travel Story]

Model Travel Companion
Aimee, I have been asking myself that question all along. What is Kim doing with such a retard? Dan