Yesterday was a very full day with lots and lots of walking (about 20 kilometers)! We set off from our hotel to Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in St Petersburg. There is certainly a lot to see around this area. We started in the Kazan Cathedral, which is built in a very distinctive semicircular shape. We were lucky to find a service going on, and a wonderful choir singing. Next, we set off to see the Church of Our Savour of the Spilt Blood. Very odd sounding name but it is the most magnificent church. I have attached a photo of it. The church was built on the site (in 1883) where tsar Alexander II was assassinated on 1 March, two years earlier. We saw the exterior of the church, but have yet to see the interior. Our timing didn’t allow for it yesterday, so we will return.
We made a long trek to see the St Peter and Paul Cathedral. On the way there, we passed a sign saying WC and it turned out to be two old buses which had been modified into toilets, one for men and one for women! It was really rather funny! We crossed the Neva river, on the way to St Peter and Paul. The cathedral was built in 1712 and was the tallest structure in St Petersburg for many years, (until the TV tower was built). The architecture is more Baroque than others in St Petersburg and was very ornate. All but two of the tsars have been buried in St Peter and Paul. More recently, the family members and servants of tsar Nicholas II were also buried there. This cathedral was clearly a very important place for Russians to visit, as there were lots of people there.
We had great views of the Winter Palace as we were walking back across the river. We walked past the Hermitage, which we are yet to visit, then walked through the Alexandrovskiy gardens, on our way to St Isaac’s Cathedral. The large dome of the Cathedral stands out so you can see it from whichever way you are approaching.
By this time, we had to make our way back to our hotel, to have a quick shower and change, then walked to the ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre. The ballet was Jewels, a ballet in three parts, performed by the Mariinsky Ballet, with choreography by George Balanchine. The costumes matched the colours of the three ballets (emeralds, rubies and diamonds). The music was by Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. The ballet dancers and the orchestra were tremendous and enthusiastically received. The Mariinsky Theatre was very quaint, dating back to 1783.
For today, we had previously organised a private tour guide to drive us out to Catherine Palace and Pavlovsk palace. Catherine Palace was almost destroyed by invading toops in WWII. It was built in 1717 for Catherine I and has been updated numerous times to reflect the personalities of each royal resident. It was reconstructed after being gutted during the war. The interiors were very extravagant, with lots of gold (in fact, the tour guide said there was too much gold!). The rooms of gold leaf and mirrors give the illusion of no walls. I took photos throughout but everyone was forbidden to take photos in what was known as the Amber Room, lined with amber mosaic of various colours and shades. The Amber Room was largely reconstructed after being destroyed and most of the original amber was stolen. It was a magnificent room, and I bought a postcard of that room (which I am sure everyone does).
We walked through some of the expansive gardens, then drove to Pavlovsk palace, which is not as frequently visited by the tourists. Pavlovsk used to be the imperial residence for a short period of time of less than 5 years. It was built in 1777 for Catherine II’s son Paul and his wife Maria on the birth of their son Alexander. Our tour guide is promoting this palace to customers, because it shows the living areas, as reconstructed, but include a lot of artefacts that were rescued and restored. It sits on 600 acres, with magnificent grounds.
Today was quite an experience, having been driven out from St Petersburg, through the siege area of Leningrad, and past the territory held by neither side, to the area of the palaces, which was occupied by the Germans. The Leningrad symphony of Shostakovich came to mind, as we drove through this area.
The country around the palaces is now absolutely beautiful, with green pastures and magnificent trees.
We were told so much history about both palaces we visited today, and it we can’t possibly articulate it all here.
