Saint Petersburg, Day 1

St. Petersburg began with an hour in line to clear immigration – and that was with our head of the line privileges go get off the ship.  

 

We started out late on our tour, but still had time for a two-station ride on the Metro.  The subway was begun in 1955 and is full of artwork, statues, and brass.  They still have the 1955 cars though.  

Oh, yeah, when we emerged above ground we found a Subway. 

Our guide pointed out various levels of soviet apartments.  New ones that people can apply for a mortgage and purchase; temporary apartments which were built in the Kruschev era, and soviet bloc apartments which were given to families... and you might have multiple families together.  

new apts

60-year old temporary apts

Soviet Bloc assigned apts

On our way to Peterhoff we saw a palace which Putin has used to host visiting dignitaries.

Putin's Palace

Our first stop were  the formal gardens of Peter the Great’s Palace…the leaves were turning, so it was very beautiful. 

 

Neptune Fountain, Upper Garden

Peter's Palace

the domes on the Palace Chapel

We went down to the Lower Garden, full of fountains.  It seems that Peter was a bit of a card.  He had walkways and benches built that when his guests would get there, sprays of water would greet them.  The guests could stroll in the gardens, ride horseback or even hunt (game provided).

smelling these flowers would get you a spray of water

 

an aviary

The big draw is the more than 175 fountains that he built.  They are gravity fed, with the water coming down from the bluff above.  Many are quire ornate. 

a chessboard cascade

Our second stop was Katherine’s Palace, in Pushkin.  You enter via the Egyptian Gate.

The town is named for Alexander Pushkin, a well known poet.  There are several statues, including one as you approach the palace.

The palace is painted blue, and many of the outside fixtures are gilded, so it is quite dramatic.  At some point Katherine decided that there was too much gold, so they went with a natural shade for the plaster on the outside.

the palace front courtyard

domes of the chapel

They are serious about keeping the place in good shape... everyone had to put on slippers.

You first come up a staircase. All the decoration is plaster.

Inside was another story – gold everywhere and chandeliers made of candles.  (Today they are electric lights, but it took an army of servants to keep the candles burning during big events.)  

the ball room

the door at the end of the ballroom

one of the stoves

Many of the side rooms hand floor to ceiling stoves made of Delft tiles from the Netherlands.  The servants could feed the fires from passageways in the walls so they could not be seen.)  And no two stoves had the same tile.

This was an area that was damaged in the war, and is being restored.  Many of the statues and artwork were taken by servants and hidden in Siberia, or buried nearby,  They recently finished the restoration of the Amber Room… every wall is covered in mosaics made out of amber.  

They do not allow photography in that room, but I did get a picture of the restoration work.from the next room.  You can see a bit of the amber color to the left of the door.  It is quite something to see

after the Palace tour, walking through the garden -- just one of the bath houses

the chapel domes

We finished off the day with a photo stop at St. Isaac’s Square.  This dome, unlike other places that had gold leaf, was made with a mix of gold and mercury.  They would heat it up, the Hg would vaporize off and the gold would stay. 

Santa Claus at St Isaac's Church

the golden spire atop the Maritime Administration  

We walked our legs off – Dianne had on her FitBit watch and tracked us at 12,500 steps. 

When we got back to the ship, I got a good picture of the oil company "Pogrom" new headquarters building being created at the port.  When we first arrived the top was in the fog.