Russia 2012: St. Petersburg City

Russian shawls purchased with Natasha's help. Each has a name - Kate's is called Foreign Woman, Anna's Sunny Summer.

Just off the train from Moscow - ready to see this new city.

Meat pies at Stella's for our first lunch.

St. Petersburg is Russia's most western city.

Kazan Cathedral at night.

One of many statues commemorating Russia's history.

Kazan Cathedral.

Fancy desert for Anna.

Kate has one too.

Evidence of the Soviet era - Mr. Lenin.

Shopping for scarfs.

Nevsky Prospect at night.

Bridge near our hotel. 

Natasha Kulagina - our guide for the week. We really enjoyed her.

Statue to honor Dostoevsky who wrote his books near here.

Another beautiful cathedral near Dostoevsky's flat where Crime and Punishment was written.

Plaque marking the location where Dostoevsky lived.

The apartment where Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment.

St. Petersburg is simply an incredible city. Even with more than 5 million people and bustling economy, the city has preserved its history - and what a rich history it has. From name changes - St. Petersburg to Petrograd, to Leningrad then back to St. Petersburg; to its revolutions in 1917; to its seat of the Russian Empire for almost 200 years; to the 3 year siege by the Nazi armies during the Second World War; to its Soviet Era then back to market economy - it has many stories to tell. We enjoyed our time here immensly. When not seeing it palaces, museums and cathedrals with Natasha, we enjoyed walking its streets and exploring. Near our hotel is where Dostoyevsky wrote Crime and Punishment, and a 10 minute walk put us right on the famous Nevsky Prospect. We took advantage of the longer and longer days to enjoy evening walks, but enjoyed the city at night, too. The people were wonderful. We simply adore St. Petersburg and its people.

Russia 2012: St. Petersburg Peterhof Palace

View of the church - the gilded domes incredible.

Peterhof Palace grounds - front.

Peterhof Palace grounds - front.

Peterhof Palace - fountains leading to the sea.

Peterhof Palace.

Peterhof Palace.

Kate and Peterhof Palace.

A great way to start the day.

Driving up to the palace. 

More of the Palace grounds.

Some refer to Peterhof Palace as the Russian Versailles; I can see why. Though the gardens and fountains weren't in full bloom, it is easy to imagine what the palace grounds and gardens would look like during the summer. Peter the Great built this palace as a place for him to stay en route to Europe. It is  strategically close to Kronstadt fortifications. It was important for Peter to have the fountains, one of the main beauties of the palace, so site selection was time consuming - legends say it took two years to find the ideal location. It took another 11 years from 1714 to 1725 to complete it. Construction continues today as,  like Catherine Palace, the Nazis captured the Palace in 1941, looted and destroyed anything that remained at the Palace. Restoration began after the war continues today. The splendor of this Russian treasure is truly a site to see. No photos are allowed inside, so we can only share the exterior.

Russia 2012: St. Petersburg Catherine Palace

Kate outside Catherine Palace.

To protect the beautiful flooring, booties are used to cover shoes.

Staircase at Catherine Palace.

One of many ballrooms.

Heating element based on Delft design Peter the Great loved.

Reception room - note the beautiful flooring.

Recreated period eating arrangement - in here all that glitters is gold!

Dress of Empress Elizabeth.

Each doorway carefully adorned - next room is famous Amber Room.

The rooms get changed to adjust to changing fashion. 

Outside the palace the grounds are works of art - one can only imagine them in the summer.

Even on a cloudy day, the Palace shines.

Palace gates give you an idea of what the inside will look like.

Like most Russian places, Catherine Palace has a long history dating back to 1717 when Catherine I built a palace on the current grounds. In 1733, Empress Anna expanded the palace. Finding the Palace outdated and not to her liking, Empress Elizabeth ordered it raised and rebuilt. Bartolomeo Rastrelli was given the job and he designed the current palace in the Rococo style. Construction lasted almost 4 years. The end result was magnificent - over 100 kg of gold was used in gilding the 1,000 ft long exterior, more inside. The structure was almost entirely destroyed by Nazi forces during Second World War, however careful documentation and removal of most of the items enabled Russia to restore the building to its prior beauty, including The Amber room, which was only recently opened again. We are grateful this was able to be done for Catherine Palace is certainly a wonder to be seen. 

Russia 2012: St. Petersburg Winter Palace & Hermitage Museum

Even the floors are beautiful.

Throne - it was an amazing feeling to be in the room where the Tsars used to rule Russia.

Anna with a sample of the treasure that can be found in the Hermitage.

Winter Palace stairs. Magnificent.

Anna in the throne room of Winter Palace.

Hermitage Museum.

Winter Palace staircase. 

Kate in a Winter Palace ballrom.

The family in front of Winter Palace.

Alexander Column and Winter Palace - one has to back-up quite far to get the whole palace into a photo.

Painting commemorating the defeat of Napoleon; center is General Kutuzov.

Throne room in Winter Palace.

Alexander Square in front of Winter Palace.

St. Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia from Peter the Great's rule in 1713 until 1918. As a result, it is the home of the Tsar's palaces. We visited Winter Palace, Catherine Palace and Peterhof. All of these palaces have unique histories, but they are uniformly beautiful and reflect Russia's desire to position itself as a global power. Winter Palace was the official residence of the Russian monarchs until 1917. It is enormous - over 800 feet long, 100 feet high and containing 1,500 rooms, 1,786 doors 1,945 windows. It now also houses the Hermitage Museum.