Finally, we had arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia - the crown jewel of the Baltic cruise. It took a while to make our way through immigration services, but once that was done, we were on our way. We had arranged a private tour for the 11 of us, which was a great way to go - no big group to wrangle, and we could go as fast or slow as we wanted. We were also able to make a couple of changes to the itinerary, so we were seeing just what we wanted. Almost. Unfortunately, our pre-purchased tickets to the Catherine Palace, with it's famed Amber Room, were cancelled by a state event, and it was not possible to get tickets for another time.
This day would involve a lot of driving, but we had an excellent driver along with an excellent, and very knowledgeable, tour guide, so we could relax and enjoy the scenery. Our first stop was the beautiful, ornate Peter and Paul Cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress. It foreshadowed the opulence that was to be the order of this day. From there we visited the Peterhof Fountain Park and Gardens (and had great weather for it) followed by a very nice lunch in a small restaurant. Lunch started with a shot of vodka and some "snacks" (appetizers), followed by beef stroganoff and finishing with an ice cream desert. All of it was very good. We went on to finish the day with the Paul Palace in Pavlovsk. After that it was about an hour drive back to the ship, so when we arrived we were all pretty beat. Our next day in St. Petersburg would start even earlier and end later, so it was a quiet night for us all.
The tall spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under the direction of Peter the Great. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest Orthodox bell tower.
This is the impressive gilded iconostasis in the centre of the church. Common in Russian Orthodox churches, there are no pews - everyone is expected to stand. There were a few benches around the perimeter if needed, but they're meant to be used briefly, then it's back to standing.
A section of the mosaic ceiling and chandeliers. The church was a very impressive show of gold and colours, unlike anything we had seen before.
This image shows 3 of the many tombs in the church. "The cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family, who were finally laid to rest in July 1998. Among the emperors and empresses buried here was Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia for 34 years."
A (very) modern building, on our drive to the next stop. This is referred to as the "Baltic Pearl", and is part of a massive new residential and commercial development. Nice to see some newer structures - mostly what we'd seen were well preserved older buildings.
Our introduction to the Peterhof Fountain Park, with the Church of the Grand Palace in the background, the sun bouncing off it's gilded onion domes.
A closer shot of the beautiful wedding cake Church of the Grand Palace. The golden spires were very impressive.
The Peterhof Palace is a series of palaces and gardens and are sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles". We didn't go inside the palace since we were here for the gardens, and they are an impressive sight. This is the Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain.
A close up of the Samson Fountain with it's golden statues. All of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens (where we first came in). The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.
Further on we came across the Adam Fountain. There is an Eve Fountain as well, but that was on the other side of the Grand Cascade and we only had time for this fountain.
This is a fun water feature of the gardens. On the left is the trick-fountain "The Oak", originally created in 1735, and restored in 1953 after WWII, it features 500 tubular branches and 2,500 leaves along with several tulips. On the right is an one of 2 areas with nozzles hidden behind benches that spray randomly. Kids believe there are secret stones that will activate the water jets, so they try to step on the right stone, which of course is in front of the bench, so they're all in the "line of fire" when the jets go off. Lots of fun.
The "Chessboard Hill" cascade located on a natural slope and flanked by statues. The statues were removed and buried in 1941 at the beginning of WWII which saved them the fate of the fountain which was destroyed but was rebuilt in 1953.
One of the "Roman Fountains" among the manicured gardens.
The Bolshaya Oranzhereya (Orangery), originally a conservatory, now a restaurant. We didn't eat here, but went just outside the grounds of the Peterhof Palace to a lovely little restaurant.
After our lunch we drove over to the Pavlosk Palace, "an 18th-century Russian Imperial residence built by the order of Catherine the Great for her son, Grand Duke Paul". Our guide told us that Catherine didn't much care for her son Paul, so she built this to get him out of her own palace. This site was in place of our intended visit to the Catherine Palace - so maybe Catherine didn't much care for us either?
Inside the impressive entrance to the palace.
There were several photos like this throughout the building, showing the state of destruction following the war. With the attack of Germany in 1941, the curators did their best to pack, remove or bury as many artifacts as they could. Germans occupied the palace for 2½ years and left it burning when they evacuated in 1944. It took many years to restore.
The beautifully restored library.
One of the gilded rooms, with a large plate glass window - an achievement for it's time.
One of several tapestries on display. The camera makes it look much more colourful that it did to the naked eye.
"The State Bedroom for Maria Feodorovna (Paul's wife) was built as an imitation of the state bedroom of the King of France, with a huge gilded bed, and cream silk wallpaper painted in tempera with colorful flowers, fruit, musical instruments and gardening tools."
One of the curved wings of the palace, this one displaying many works of art.
The opulent dining room was very large, with the finest china on display.
Another of the palace's wings, this one displaying statues.
The chapel of the Pavlosk Palace.
As we made our way out of the palace, our attention was drawn to this painting of Cupid. It was painted in such a way that Cupid's eyes and arrow followed you from every angle.
...and just 'cause I like pictures of flowers. These were outside the entrance to the palace.
NEXT: (Day 9) St. Petersburg, Russian - Day 2 (Part One)
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Baltic Cruise - May-June 2018