Upon the Baltic
Sea
Page 5
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September 2, 2008 Because it was
necessary to have an expensive visa to wander on your own in We did the Grand Two Day tour, and it was well worth it! Before I get into the wonders of Tsarist Russia, a couple of shots taken on the bus around the modern city. It’s a bustling, working class city with miles of worker flats, left over from the Soviet era. The newer apartment complexes are somewhat nicer, but very expensive. We drove into the city at the time when people were coming in to work on trams, cars and busses. |
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Our first stop on the
tour was Peterhof, once the summer The gardens and
rooms buildings were meant to surpass – and they really did, particularly since the palace has been completely refurbished and lavishly furnished.
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For the entire 2 day tour, we were given wireless headsets, so our terrific guide could narrate the information without yelling over the other tour groups. It was a very good way to do museum tours, especially when so many people were touring the same places. |
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The next stop on
the tour was the who with several of his friends, conspired to kill Rasputin, because they felt he was ruining the country. They lured him to this house and poisoned him, stabbed him and finally shot him. |
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On the right the Yusupovs, in the middle Nicholas and Alexandra. |
A replica of Rasputin and Yusupov before the murder, in the cellar dining room. |
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The rooms upstairs were lavishly decorated.
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On the right is our guide, showing us the stunning theater in the Yusupov’s palace. |
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For lunch, the tour took us to a large hotel, with a banquet hall, and proceeded to feed hundreds of tourists a simple, Russian meal, with live entertainment. It wasn’t elegant, but it was tasty, with vodka, caviar and champagne. |
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Passing the Kirov Theater, we walked across a bridge (it was very cold and windy) to see the Peter & Paul cathedral. The bridge was the “Hare” bridge because of the stature under it. People threw coins and it was good luck if they stayed on the pilings (not easy). |
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The grand finale of the day was the awe-inspiring, Church of the Spilled Blood. Completely renovated by the Soviets after WWII, it’s one of the most unusual and beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. By the way, the Soviets made it a museum, not a church, which it still is. All the art in the whole place is ceramic mosaic, nothing painted. And the detail is phenomenal. Photos can’t do it justice, but here’s a taste.
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At the top of 2 domes, are “portraits” of Christ at different ages. |
Back to the ship, exhausted but wholly gratified.
Go to the Day 2 of St. Petersburg page:
Go Back to the BALTIC home page