St. Petersburg--Peterhof and the City

Today we toured a little bit of St. Petersburg and visited Peterhof Palace, the summer home of the czars. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the palace, so I can't show you the gold leaf and the parquet floors. I can tell you that it reminded me of what I saw in the Armoury in Moscow. All the gold and expensive furnishings, stories of the czarina's 15,000 dresses....it's pretty easy to understand why the peasants would rise up in rebellion. There's an odd nostalgia for the czars--at least the "good" ones--as if those were the good old days.

After the Peterhof, we took a hydrofoil back to the city. For some reason we had to sit on the river breathing diesel fumes for 15 minutes before we could dock. Then we went to lunch--at the Radisson. Pretty disappointing.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the St. Peter and Paul Fortress and St. Isaacs Cathedral. The fortress was kind of weird. It is on an island that
was a main defensive position for early St. Petersburg. It contains the mint, a prison (closed) and a beautiful church. The church is where all the Russian czars are buried. There are some pictures from inside the church. From there we went to St. Isaacs Cathedral, the fourth largest church in the world. Only outside views there.

Here are some pictures.

One end of the Peterhof Palace.




The Grand Cascade. Then statues are bronze covered in gold leaf.




Peterhof gardens (the tulips were in bloom).




Peter the Great.



More tulips (the reddest I have ever seen).




The old stock exchange.




St. Peter and Paul Church.




A ceiling shot from inside.




Ornamentation.




A column.




St. Isaacs Cathedral.




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