July 26, 2013
July 26, 2013
Our next stop was the Peter and Paul Fortress. On a small island in the center of the Neva River is a sprawling fortress that was the start of St. Petersburg. It was never attacked and was used instead as a political prison. In the center is a small Cathedral where we spent most of our time. The church is filled with the sarcophagi of all the Czars from Peter the Great onward. Our guide gave us a chronological history of Czarist Russia.
From the fortress, we returned to St Isaac's Square for lunch. We found a local restaurant that served Borscht. This is a classic Russian soup made of beetroot. It was quite red and surprisingly both Aimee and I thought it was delicious. Since we have fifteen minutes before our next tour, we dash inside St Isaac's Cathedral. It is the fourth tallest church in the world and is quite magnificent inside. During Soviet times, it was turned into a Museum of Atheism. What an irony!
After lunch we are taken to the Neva River where we board a speedy Hydrofoil ferry that takes us downriver towards the Baltic Sea. Near the mouth we disembark at Peterhof, the summer palace of Peter the Great. The fountains on the grounds were built to rival and outdo the gardens of Versailles. The Grand Cascade is the most magnificent. Unfortunately the sun is right in our face making photography poor. Overall the grounds are very nice but our expectations were so high that we both feel kind of disappointed.
After returning to the hotel, Aimee and I make a beeline on foot back to the city center to see the inside of the Church of the Spilt Blood. From the outside it easily is the most beautiful church I have ever seen with its brightly painted onion domes. The inside does not disappoint either. The entire interior is one giant mosaic of religious art. Simply Magnificent. During Soviet times, it was used for storage and hidden from view. What a shame for the local residents.
This morning we start with our usual driving tour of the city. Our local guide is almost my age so she lived the first half of her life under Socialism. She told us many stories of her life. Everybody lived in apartments. The basics were usually provided but with a planned economy there were no extras and shortages were common. What a different (and stunted) life it was under Socialism. It is amazing that so many Westerners think they would prefer Socialism to Capitalism.
Finally the sun decided to pop out today. It is a beautiful day in an absolutely gorgeous city. What a treat it must be to live here in summer. Unfortunately winter is tough with 24 hours of darkness and every body of water freezing solid.
One of the tour stops is a nice souvenir store. I usually don't like stops like this but it was very interesting to see the crafts of Russia. Popular are the nesting wooden Matryoshka dolls, decorated eggs (Faberge-like), and finely painted lacquered boxes. They are beautiful but quite expensive. My favorite part is the free vodka samples. I am not a big fan of hard alcohol but this went down very smoothly.
Our next stop was the Peter and Paul Fortress. On a small island in the center of the Neva River is a sprawling fortress that was the start of St. Petersburg. It was never attacked and was used instead as a political prison. In the center is a small Cathedral where we spent most of our time. The church is filled with the sarcophagi of all the Czars from Peter the Great onward. Our guide gave us a chronological history of Czarist Russia.
From the fortress, we returned to St Isaac's Square for lunch. We found a local restaurant that served Borscht. This is a classic Russian soup made of beetroot. It was quite red and surprisingly both Aimee and I thought it was delicious. Since we have fifteen minutes before our next tour, we dash inside St Isaac's Cathedral. It is the fourth tallest church in the world and is quite magnificent inside. During Soviet times, it was turned into a Museum of Atheism. What an irony!
After lunch we are taken to the Neva River where we board a speedy Hydrofoil ferry that takes us downriver towards the Baltic Sea. Near the mouth we disembark at Peterhof, the summer palace of Peter the Great. The fountains on the grounds were built to rival and outdo the gardens of Versailles. The Grand Cascade is the most magnificent. Unfortunately the sun is right in our face making photography poor. Overall the grounds are very nice but our expectations were so high that we both feel kind of disappointed.
After returning to the hotel, Aimee and I make a beeline on foot back to the city center to see the inside of the Church of the Spilt Blood. From the outside it easily is the most beautiful church I have ever seen with its brightly painted onion domes. The inside does not disappoint either. The entire interior is one giant mosaic of religious art. Simply Magnificent. During Soviet times, it was used for storage and hidden from view. What a shame for the local residents.
We then walked to nearby Kazan Cathedral which like St Isaac's looks more like our Capitol building. Unlike the other churches, this one is still active and had a service going on.
Having seen the major sights, we now relax and return to the main avenue of the city, Nevsky Prospect. There we stop at the beautiful old Singer Sewing building which is now a bookstore and cute cafe. We get a table with a magnificent view of Kazan Cathedral. Our dinner was great too.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 9:14 PM
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