Day 12: The Hermitage

Our last day in StP - saved the Hermitage for the end. Coincidentally, today is the first Thursday of the month = free entry to the museum. And let me tell you, we weren't the only ones to know it! There seemed to be a huge line of people waiting but 30 minutes before the doors opened we were let into the inner courtyard where the line only filled about half the square. Later in the day I took this shot of the Hermitage from the Impressionist section across the way and the line was around the block (left)!

Not only does the square now have staging and bleacher seats set up, it was closed off again in the morning for parade practice. Military precision going on today versus the slightly haphazard trial on Tuesday.

Tried to stretch arms up over 3 rows of bystanders!

So it was a hectic entrance to the museum as hundreds of people were funneling through the ticket area, cloak room, and security but all stopped and gasped as we started up the grand staircase. The actual Winter Palace is part of the museum so there are several grand function rooms such as Great Hall, the Concert Hall, and the Armorial Hall that showcase the glory of the tsars. But even the rooms set up as a museum to display art are still gorgeous. It really is overwhelming, and what with the pushing and bumping of all the tour groups, it was a bit easier to just admire the general splendor than try too hard to get close to some of the masterpieces. At one point I dumped mom off in a chair to venture forth to tackle the Da Vincis and Van Dykes alone, but picked her up again for a few Brueghels and Ruebens. :-)

Getting a sore case of the Museum Shuffle, we were glad to exit the Palace for a breath of fresh air and a leisurely stroll across the square. Mum luckily remembered she still had her breakfast pastry in her backpack so we sat on the curb and ate that for sustenance before tackling the General Staff Building and the Impressionists.

Newly renovated and very very large!

I have no idea what's on the other floors but the 3rd had several rooms of Late 19th Century French art- 2 rooms of Gauguins, 2 of Cezanne, one of each Monet & Van Gogh & Renoir, and others.

For our last night in Russia we dined at a classic 'russian' place - the Literaturnoe Kafe. Perfect choice: famous restaurant (Pushkin ate his last meal here in 1837), historic (open since 1816), cozy, and, importantly, convenient (right across the street!). I ordered borscht and beef stroganoff- can't get any more classic Russian than that! Delish, btw.

   A wax Pushkin greets every diner as they enter downstairs!

All in all it was a fabulous trip. Mom was already asking tonight where our next trip was to be!

Day 11: Two If By Sea

Full steam ahead! We're having a "sea day" today! First, a hydrofoil trip into the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof to see its magnificent fountains. Started by Peter The Great in 1725 as his version of Versailles, the palace and gardens had been added on to by successive tsars until it became the confection it is today. 

We arrived just before the fountains turned on so we snagged a prime spot on a little bridge spanning the main canal and soon enough each little fountain spurted to life.  A great symphony started pouring from the speakers and in a crescendo the large central fountain burst forth. What fun!

We didn't bother going into the palace as we have the Winter Palace (i.e. The Hermitage) on or schedule for tomorrow and they were designed by the same architect and so are said to be of similar ilk. Besides, there's only so much Baroque and Roccoco we can take! So we wandered the gardens, coming upon little houses (relatively speaking for a tsar) and boathouses and fountains. The sun was warm, the grass so green, and the trees only just starting to bud. A great day for a walk in the park.

After a little lunch and rest at 'home' we popped down to the canal just outside our front door for a little one-hour sightseeing tour. The commentary was completely in Russian so we didn't glean any interesting tidbits there, but still completely enjoyed the sun and the sights.

               The Hermitage from the Neva

                   The Navy's in town!

Day 10: From Russia, With Love

I love my coffee, and apparently it loves me too! All the wait & hotel staff have been so great....

Speaking of hotels, ours is a bit over the top...

We started the day off in Palace Square where we hoped to catch a look at the Hermitage (which we'll visit on Thursday) before continuing on our walking tour of the city when we noticed a large police presence.

We turned the corner to find hundreds of military men and women lined up waiting to parade around the square. They must be practicing for StP's Victory Day parade on Friday.

And not just people, but a whole street full of military vehicles were lined up ready to make a showing. The men gave each photographer an eyeful but no one stopped any picture taking.

We strolled along the Moika river until we came to the Church of the Spilled Blood - built over the spot where Csar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. They've left the actual street cobblestones visible under a large baldacchino, but every other inch of the interior was covered in shiny mosaic tiles.

We rambled on to the next canal, through a lovely park that was just starting to bud, and along the water back to the main drag.

This building caught our attention so we popped in to find a fantastic gourmet cafe/shop

That reminded our stomachs it was lunchtime! We selected another pretty building to enter a found a nice 2nd story cafe that served us traditional Russian blinis, with a view!

A long morning of walking and and afternoon rest made later sightseeing rather brief. Off to see yet one more cathedral, St. Isaac's (3rd largest in world) and a lastly a long meander along the Neva, which is the main waterway in StP. 

Two tired tourists are heading home for wine!

Day 9: On to St. Petersburg

Guest blogger today - I didn't write one so here's Mom's post...stolen from her blog: sgmstravels.blogspot.com

Subway and train stations in Russia are clean, quick, beautiful BUT have a lot of stairs! Allison has had to carry both these 45 lb. duffels up and down stairs (the little one on her back). Sometimes Russian men have grabbed the bags and hauled them for us. We thank them but rarely get a smile. They are also courteous giving up their seats on the subway.  A security/police/military man, (hard to tell them apart) carried my bag and took us through gates and tunnels when we took a wrong turn looking for the train station. I shook his hand. He didn't smile but did pat my hand. That was something.

Our hotel in Moscow was teeming with security and although I smiled at every opportunity never once was it returned. Eugene, our waiter, explained that was the nature of Russian people not to show emotion to strangers - I wonder?

The "fast train" to St.Pete. travels up to 250Km/hr. 

It took 4 hours. The countryside was flat, marshy and mostly smallish trees, ?birch and conifers. Houses lined the sides of the tracks, small, bleak, mostly old  and wooden. Every house did have a large veggie patch which looked to have been ready to plant or just planted. We arrived at our hotel, checked out the indoor pool and ventured forth to a "hopping"cafe for a light dinner.

Our hotel is right on the canal and apparently we are going on a boat cruise to the Peterhof Palace and Gardens later in the week.

A long day!