St Petersburg

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Today we sail into St Petersburg, Yea! You can only leave the ship if you have a visa or are taking a tour with a government approved tour guide or company. Since the visa costs as much as a tour, we will take a two day tour. Our tour was supposed to start at 6:45 and it is 7:41 and customs has not cleared our ship. Hurry up and wait will be the order of the day, welcome to Russia.

Our first stop is Moira Palace where Rasputin was murdered. Rasputin was a Russian mystic, it was believed he had undue influence over the Tsar and his wife Alexandra. He was invited to the palace and killed by a group of men. We saw public and private rooms. Next on the agenda is St Isicas Church, it is a large beautiful church with lots of gold guilding and massive granite columns on the outside. We then move onto the Church of Savior of Spilled Blood where Alexander II was mortally wounded. The church was used to store vegetables after the revolution but has been restored. It is not used as a church but considered a museum. It is a beautiful traditional Russian onion top style. The inside is covered in glass mosaic.

After lunch we visit the Hermitage Museum which holds the largest collection of art in Russi. It has a large collection of Western European painting, Greek statue, Egyptian mummies and more. If we were not on a tour we would spend all day here. There was a huge line to get in but our tour guide asked if our group could go to the front of the line, they said yes. The last part of our day was a canal cruise We could see a Renaissance fair along the water, a sail boat race and multiple outdoor concerts. The day was cool and overcast but the locals seemed happy to be out and about.

Day Two

We drove 50 minutes to Catherine's Summer Palace. It is a most impressive palace in the suburbs. It has a room paneled in amber, I did not know amber came in so many colors. Lots of gold decorations in the rooms. The royals liked to show off their wealth. Next we visit the grounds of Peterporf a second summer palace on the gulf of Finland, It has magnificent grounds with many fountains. The prince who lived here had hidden fountains that would shoot up when you walked by. We spent a lot of time walking around the grounds. Our next stop is Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place for royals, Peter the Great and Catherine are buried here. We end our time in Russia with a visit to the oldest part of St Petersburg the old fort. It has a small church and is located on the water. There is a lot to see in St Petersburg but our time here has come to an end.

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