I hope you have a comfortable seat, this is a long post.
We arrived in the city founded by Peter the Great (in 1703) on Monday evening after a 4 hour train ride, dropped our things off at our cozy centrally located hostel, and left for dinner and little walk to get the lay of the land.
The Hermitage
The Alexandrine Theatre
The Kazan Cathedral
I know, I know! You would rather see pictures than read my long-winded rambles....so I'll cut to the chase.
Tuesday: The Hermitage
The Hermitage is the largest museum in the world, and was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764. Here are about a million photos to view from my five hour tour of the joint:
painting on the right is of Catherine the Great
Picasso painting
....the next two photos were taken after the 4th hour of touring. I began to get silly. Four hours is my absolute limit for seriousness.
A few photos from The Hermitage windows:
...that horse and carriage forgot to pick me up after the Hermitage, silly them...
Wednesday October 31: St. Isaac's Cathedral and The Mariinsky Ballet
St. Isaac's was built between 1818-1858. It is about 330 feet high, and during WWII the gold dome was painted a darker color so to not be easily spotted by enemies.
We did not go inside of the cathedral...however we climbed the 200 something twirly stairs to the top dome for a nice view:
...my little Texas friend, Courtney!
After St. Isaac's we checked out an outdoor market where I used my newfound haggling skills to completely rip off a couple of street vendors. I found a new hobby.
Just before the market, this happened: A man holding two bundled up creatures, literally threw one into my arms and said "Maybe lady want picture with my monkey?" I ignored the man's chatter, and over expressively talked to this adorable little monkey in the same way I talk to my dog at home, Chandler. Then he threw the other monkey at me and said "Lady take picture, two monkey, 300 rubles". 300 rubles is about 10 dollars. I wasn't going to pay to take a photo with my own camera. So I just held the little things and half-heartedly returned them to their owner. So...I'm sorry, no photo...just the story!
After being in the cold all day...it was time for nice warm coffee:
How's your bum? Is your seat still comfortable? I know this is a long post, but you've reached the halfway point. You might want to take a break just now and walk a couple laps around your room. Go ahead....maybe add a few jumping jacks, make a sandwich, then return for photos from the Mariinsky Theatre.
The name of the show that we saw was "La Sylphide" and was about a young Scotsman who falls in love with a sylph. It was a beautiful performance, and quite a lovely and classy evening at the ballet:
...my favorite lad from Scotland, Jamie!
...wining and dining before the performance.
....easily my favorite Halloween night ever.
Thursday November 1: The Cathedral of the Resurrection and The Peter and Paul Fortress
The Cathedral of the Resurrection is commonly referred to as "Our Saviour on the Spilt Blood", and reminds me of a muted St. Basil's. Construction began in 1883 on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded by a terrorist bomb in 1881. It was completed in 1907...and in 2012, Gina the Great the First took her first tour of the architecturally astonishing creation.
..literally every inch of this building is covered in gorgeous.
The last major stop was the Peter and Paul Fortress. Inside the fortress, we toured through a prison, and the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
....in my opinion a very odd statue of the Peter the Great. Has the cold made his head shrink?
Here are photos from the cathedral:
This cathedral holds the tombs of the tsars from Peter the Great to Nicholas II (Anastasia's father).
In the back here is Catherine the Great...she is buried right next to her husband, Peter...who she loathed.
This is the tomb of Peter the Great on the right:
...I heard a woman giving a tour in English...so I stalked her. From creeping behind her, I learned that these medallions on Peter the Great's tomb were for doing things like starting the Russian navy.
Attached to St. Peter and Paul Cathedral is a room called the St. Catherine Chapel. This room holds the remains of Nicholas Romanov the II and his family. In 1918, Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their children; Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, their doctor and three servants were murdered by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg. Their bones were discovered buried in the forest near where they were murdered...but they were not officially put in the tomb in Saint Petersburg until July 1998. Long story...I read a book on it this summer. It's in Pittsburg...call my parents and you can borrow it from them if you feel so inclined.
It is interesting to me that the museum here is claiming that Anastasia's bones are here...but I have read many sources claiming that Anastasia's remains are missing. There were many debates in the 90s over which family member's bones were missing...I do not think they ever completely figured it out.
There were many sites in Saint Petersburg that I did not see..three full touring days was just not enough! My parents are planning to visit Russia in June, at which time I will return to this city with them! I look forward to more theatres, palaces, museums, cathedrals, and canal rides during the White Nights...which is when the city has maybe only a couple hours of darkness!
-Gina
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