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Our second day was set to be the tourist sites with Natalia from Peter's Walking Tours.
Dome close up in St. Issac's Cathedral
Peter the Great founded St Petersburg to be his capital city. He was very impressed with Amsterdam so he modeled the city after it.
We started by walking to Strelka. On the way we passed through the Palace Square next to The Hermitage (Winter Place). Before the Revolution, Palace Square was the setting for colorful military parades. In January 1905 it was the site of the "Bloody Sunday" massacre when troops fired on thousands of unarmed demonstrators. In the center of the square stands The Alexander Column dedicated to Tsar Alexander I. On the southern side is the General Staff Building designed by Carlo Rossi. Over the arch in the center is a sculpture of Victory in her chariot.
From there we went to Strelka located on the eastern end of Vasilevskiy Island.
Details on building facade showing Soviet symbols representing many different groups
The Zoological Museum is there which houses the best preserved mammoth ever found. Because the capital has moved to Moscow, many of the former government buildings are now used for other purposes. From the site of the light houses we got some excellent views of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
We crossed the bridge to visit the fortress. The founding of the Peter and Paul Fortress on May 27, 1703 is considered the founding of the city. The Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul is the resting place of Tsars and their families since Peter the Great. The only ones who are not buried there are Peter II and Ivan IV. The cathedral proved to be too small so an annex was added to hold the relatives of the Tsars. Also in the fortress is The Mint, which was founded in 1724 and still produces ceremonial coins, medals, and badges.
Rostral COlumn Detail
Protruding ships' prow in celebration of naval victories.
While we were there a group of soldiers were doing parade movements for some sort of ceremony. Maybe we are getting old, but we were shocked by how young they were. Military service is still compulsory in Russia for men. The fortress was very impressive. We exited through St Peter's Gate and then the Iron Gate. Across from the fortress was Trinity Square. It orginially had a church there, but it was torn down and a monument to is now stands there.
We crossed the river again and went through the Field of Mars. Originally it was used for military maneuvers, but has been transformed into a garden. In the center stands the granite Monument to Revolutionary Fighters.
Statue of Stalin - One of the few that has survived
In the center of that the Eternal Flame commemorates victims of the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. From the park you can see the Marble Palace that Catherine the Great had built for her lover who helped her assassinate her husband, the deposed Tsar Peter III. Unfortunately he died before he could move into the palace.
We moved on to the Church on Spilled Blood. It was built on the place were Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. It is an incredibly colorful and impressive building. The details and variety of materials are mind blowing. Once you go inside you the true majesty of the building is revealed in the mosaics. They cover every inch of the walls and ceilings. This is one of those buildings you can sit in and stare for hours to take in the details.
At this point we were very hungry so we headed to lunch. This required we take a regular bus. To ensure people pay they have a person who comes around and sells tickets.
This sign warns that it is not safe here during attacks.
We had lunch at a touristy restaurant called The Idiot. The food was very good and the atmosphere great. As a started to the meal they brought us a complementary shot of Vodka.
After lunch we moved on to St Issac's Cathedral. It weights 300,000 tones and has 48 massive columns. They had to build special structures to erect the columns. We know we keep saying it, but the details, beauty, and craftsmanship were unbelieveable. Originally there were oil painting in the Cathedral, but due to humidity issues they were replaced with mosaics. Since the invention of HVAC the oil paintings have been returned. They have left some of the mosaics on display.
From St Issac's we raced through the rain to The Hermitage. The original museum was built on to the Winter Palace by Catherine the Great. Over time the museum has grown and taken in the Palace itself. Many staterooms are on display. After Tsar Nicholas III was deposed the Palace was opened to the people to allow them to see the grandeur their Tsar lived in while they lived so poorly.
Rostral Column
Orginally designed as lighthouses by Thomas de Thomon sits before the Navel Museum
We were able to do a quick 1.5 hour tour with the remaining time that day. We saw some incredible works by Rembrandt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and many other masters. The beauty of the Palace itself was also amazing. It would be impossible to create rooms like those today. In the end we purchased a book about the museum that weights over 3 kilos.
We still needed to do the souvenir shopping so we headed to the open air market again. We were able to get everything we wanted and made some bargains by negotiating. At this point we were pretty tired. We headed back to the hotel. We filled out post cards. The stamps we had purchased did not have glue on the backs so we had to borrow them some from the front desk. Hopefully they will get to everyone.
That night we ate at a restaurant close to the hotel. It was a Georgian place with a lovely Georgian woman running it. We had a delicious meal and some very good conversation. She had a different perspective on the events in SOuth Ossetia than the Russian people we spoke with. The one common thing, was they did not see a reason for the situation.
Former palace across park
All in all it was an outstanding day. We saw and learned so much. We went to bed tired and in awe.
August 17, 2008
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Our second day was set to be the tourist sites with Natalia from Peter's Walking Tours. Peter the Great founded St Petersburg to be his capital city.
Walking through the slums
He was very impressed with Amsterdam so he modeled the city after it.
We started by walking to Strelka. On the way we passed through the Palace Square next to The Hermitage (Winter Place). Before the Revolution, Palace Square was the setting for colorful military parades. In January 1905 it was the site of the "Bloody Sunday" massacre when troops fired on thousands of unarmed demonstrators. In the center of the square stands The Alexander Column dedicated to Tsar Alexander I. On the southern side is the General Staff Building designed by Carlo Rossi. Over the arch in the center is a sculpture of Victory in her chariot.
From there we went to Strelka located on the eastern end of Vasilevskiy Island.
Soviet community center
Building is on the Neva River
The Zoological Museum is there which houses the best preserved mammoth ever found. Because the capital has moved to Moscow, many of the former government buildings are now used for other purposes. From the site of the light houses we got some excellent views of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
We crossed the bridge to visit the fortress. The founding of the Peter and Paul Fortress on May 27, 1703 is considered the founding of the city. The Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul is the resting place of Tsars and their families since Peter the Great. The only ones who are not buried there are Peter II and Ivan IV. The cathedral proved to be too small so an annex was added to hold the relatives of the Tsars. Also in the fortress is The Mint, which was founded in 1724 and still produces ceremonial coins, medals, and badges.
More beautiful details of St.Nicholas Cathedral
While we were there a group of soldiers were doing parade movements for some sort of ceremony. Maybe we are getting old, but we were shocked by how young they were. Military service is still compulsory in Russia for men. The fortress was very impressive. We exited through St Peter's Gate and then the Iron Gate. Across from the fortress was Trinity Square. It orginially had a church there, but it was torn down and a monument to is now stands there.
We crossed the river again and went through the Field of Mars. Originally it was used for military maneuvers, but has been transformed into a garden. In the center stands the granite Monument to Revolutionary Fighters.
Corner of the winter palace
In the center of that the Eternal Flame commemorates victims of the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. From the park you can see the Marble Palace that Catherine the Great had built for her lover who helped her assassinate her husband, the deposed Tsar Peter III. Unfortunately he died before he could move into the palace.
We moved on to the Church on Spilled Blood. It was built on the place were Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. It is an incredibly colorful and impressive building. The details and variety of materials are mind blowing. Once you go inside you the true majesty of the building is revealed in the mosaics. They cover every inch of the walls and ceilings. This is one of those buildings you can sit in and stare for hours to take in the details.
At this point we were very hungry so we headed to lunch. This required we take a regular bus. To ensure people pay they have a person who comes around and sells tickets.
rthodox Church at Lermontovskiy & Rimskovo-Korakova
We had lunch at a touristy restaurant called The Idiot. The food was very good and the atmosphere great. As a started to the meal they brought us a complementary shot of Vodka.
After lunch we moved on to St Issac's Cathedral. It weights 300,000 tones and has 48 massive columns. They had to build special structures to erect the columns. We know we keep saying it, but the details, beauty, and craftsmanship were unbelieveable. Originally there were oil painting in the Cathedral, but due to humidity issues they were replaced with mosaics. Since the invention of HVAC the oil paintings have been returned. They have left some of the mosaics on display.
From St Issac's we raced through the rain to The Hermitage. The original museum was built on to the Winter Palace by Catherine the Great. Over time the museum has grown and taken in the Palace itself. Many staterooms are on display. After Tsar Nicholas III was deposed the Palace was opened to the people to allow them to see the grandeur their Tsar lived in while they lived so poorly.
rthodox Church at Lermontovskiy & Rimskovo-Korakova
We were able to do a quick 1.5 hour tour with the remaining time that day. We saw some incredible works by Rembrandt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and many other masters. The beauty of the Palace itself was also amazing. It would be impossible to create rooms like those today. In the end we purchased a book about the museum that weights over 3 kilos.
We still needed to do the souvenir shopping so we headed to the open air market again. We were able to get everything we wanted and made some bargains by negotiating. At this point we were pretty tired. We headed back to the hotel. We filled out post cards. The stamps we had purchased did not have glue on the backs so we had to borrow them some from the front desk. Hopefully they will get to everyone.
That night we ate at a restaurant close to the hotel. It was a Georgian place with a lovely Georgian woman running it. We had a delicious meal and some very good conversation. She had a different perspective on the events in SOuth Ossetia than the Russian people we spoke with. The one common thing, was they did not see a reason for the situation.
Vyborg, Russia
All in all it was an outstanding day. We saw and learned so much. We went to bed tired and in awe.
August 17, 2008
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Our last morning, we were scheduled for a bike tour with Peter.
Foxes in neo-baroque detail
Unfortunately, Brian was not feeling well and wanted to stay in bed. Rob headed out on the bike tour. There was so much fog that morning you could barely see. It obstructed the views across the rivers, but also gave an interesting feel to the city. The first stop was The Bronze Horseman in Decembrists Square. It is a statue of Peter the Great. Peter the Great's son tried to overthrown him. He was arrested and convicted of treason. Before he could be executed he died from torture. It is said Peter the Great himself carried out some of the torture. On the statue the horse trampling the snake represents his victory over treason.
From there we moved on to Lieutenant Shmidt Bridge. This bridge had to be widen to accommodate the expanding city, so it was completely dismantled and rebuilt wider with all of the original pieces.
The Admiralty
The gilded spire of the Admiralty (and particularly its weather-vane korablik - "the little ship") The Admiralty tower, topped with its golden spire, is the focal point of three of the city’s main streets.
They even used the support columns. Crossing the bridge our destination was the Academy of Art to see the 14th Century Sphinxes. They were found in ruins of Thebes in ancient Egypt and installed on the river steps in 1832. Along the way Rob managed to have a small bike wreck, ripping his jeans and scrapping up a knee. Not to be stopped the tour continued with a quick stop to a drugstore.
We rode through the area where the Nobel's lived in St Petersburg. They made their money in Russian oil. There is an interesting sculpture to the invention of dynamite.
St. Nicholas' Cathedral-details over front entrance
From there we went to the Cruiser Aurora. The ship has a very interesting history that has been documented in children's books and songs. It was so important that at the beginning of the Siege of Leningrad that it was sunk in the Sea of Finland to protect it. When the treat was over it was recovered and restored.
By this time it was getting late so Rob headed back to the hotel and Brian. They finished the packing and headed to the airport. This was a trip that we will never forget. We will go back to see more of Russia someday. |
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