Gallivanting Grandma

July 26, 2009

There were many tourists around the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. The church was constructed on the site where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881:

The Monument to Catherine the Great was finished in 1873. Her reign was known as the “golden age” of Russia, and she was adored by the people.

We rode across the bridge to The Peter & Paul Fortress which was the original fortification of St. Petersburg built in 1703 by Peter the Great.

The fortress served as a prison in the 18th century but was converted to a museum in 1924. Part of the complex includes Peter and Paul Cathedral which was the burial place of most of the Russian tzars.

The remains of Czar Nicholas II and his family were re-interred in the cathedral in 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths. Nicholas was the last Russian Emperor. He and his family were executed in 1918.

We explored the fortress and took pictures of the sandy beach below the fortification walls.

One of two Rostral Columns on the end of Vasilyevsky Island which were constructed in 1810 to mark where the Neva River splits into two channels.

Beautiful architecture in St. Petersburg includes the 1877 Ciniselli Circus:

We had a great time in St. Petersburg. It’s a wonderful city to visit!

July 25, 2009

We drove about 20 miles outside St. Petersburg to the magnificent Catherine Palace.

Peter the Great gave the original estate to his wife, Catherine I, in 1710 as a summer residence. At that time it was a 17-room stone building, however over the next 60 years it was expanded to the current magnificent palace.

The palace became the summer residence of Catherine II in 1770. She was known as Catherine the Great and was Empress of Russia from 1762 until her death in 1796, the longest-ruling female leader.

The ballroom known as The Amber Room:

Catherine came into power after a coup d’etat that overthrew her husband, Peter III.  During her reign, Russia grew stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.

The German army destroyed the palace after the siege of Leningrad in World War II. Major reconstruction began in 1957 to restore the palace to its original grandeur.

We saw the palace and the grounds of the palace and drove back to the city. Our guide, Sergey, is a pleasant young man who is an assistant professor of history at the university. His parents were Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan who fled to Russia during the Azerbaijan/Armenian war in 1988.

We had the late afternoons and evenings to ourselves to explore St. Petersburg on our own. We found some great restaurants for dinner. The Eliseyev Emporium is located on Nevsky Prospect:

The Eliseyev Emporium was built in1903 in the Art Nouveau style of architecture. Today it’s a retail complex and one of many impressive buildings in St. Petersburg.

The man in the photo below was walking his pet baby bear. You don’t see that everyday!!

July 24, 2009

The palace church at one end of the magnificent Peterhof Palace:

The palace was commissioned by Peter the Great and constructed 1714-1723 as his “summer retreat” near the seaside. Inspired by the French palace, it was called “The Russian Versailles.”

We arrived in the morning before the fountains were turned on and waited above the Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain with other tourists.

There are 64 fountains all together and water is supplied from natural springs.

The gardens were inspired by the Gardens of Versailles.

The interior rooms were ornately decorated with gilt moldings and many beautiful paintings on the walls. It was magnificent.

We spent several hours exploring Peterhof Palace and beautiful grounds before returning to the city.  St. Isaac’s Cathedral:

The Russian Museum contains the world’s largest collection of Russian art:

July 23, 2009

I had always wanted to visit the famous Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Because of language and transportation issues, we booked the trip through a travel agent. She arranged for us to have a guide and a private car during our five day tour of the city. My husband and I obtained our tourist Visas at the Russian embassy in Manhattan and off we went….

St. Petersburg is a port city on the eastern end of the Baltic Sea on the River Neva. Formerly known as Petrograd and then Leningrad, the city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703.

We settled into the Dostoevsky Hotel (named after the author who had lived nearby) and later explored the neighborhood on our own.

We walked along the Nevsky Prospect, the three-mile long avenue which is the heart of the city, and admired the impressive architecture of the buildings.

Off the main avenue we found tiny St. Catherine’s Armenian Church. We went into the bright blue building to look around.

Our guide, Sergey, and driver, Ivan, picked us up in the morning and drove us to the magnificent Hermitage Museum.

The collection began when Empress Catherine the Great began to collect art in the 1700s. Today it is the second largest art museum in the world after the Louvre.

The Hermitage contains 1,500 rooms in six buildings but the main part of the museum is in the Winter Palace which was the home of Russian Czars until 1917.

There were long lines to buy tickets, but Sergey’s guide pass allowed us to enter immediately. It was a thrill to walk up the magnificent staircase.

Every room was magnificent and overflowing with opulence. The art collection was very impressive.

We could have spent many many days exploring each sumptuous room and viewing the incredible art objects.

Visiting The Hermitage was one of most thrilling experiences of my life.  However, I would like to return someday and see the collection again at a more leisurely pace.

St. Petersburg is a very impressive city. The statue below is one of four on one corner of the Nevsky Prospect: