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. 

Russia 2012: St. Petersburg Cathedrals

The mosaics in Church on Spilt Blood are incredibly intricate and beautiful.

Kate inside Church on Spilt Blood.

Anna inside Church on Spilt Blood

Church on Spilt Blood - ever inch beautifully adorned.

The actual location of the assassination of  Tsar Alexander II.

Guide Natasha explaining to all what happened - another reminder to Anna why being royalty isn't always good.

Looking up at Church on Spilt Blood - the central domes were always a treat to see - absolutely beautiful.

Entry doors to Saint Isaac's Cathedral.

Inside Saint Isaac's Cathedral - pictures don't do justice to St. Petersburg's largest cathedral.

Inside Saint Isaac's Cathedral

One Mosaic to be raised to the dome of the Cathedral - the detail of these mosaics was incredible.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral.

Saint Isaac's icons.

Kate outside Church of Spilt Blood - the city is beautiful.

Outside Church on Spilt Blood.

Church on Spilt Blood.

Church on Spilt Blood at night - magnificent.

Family in front of Kazan Cathedral - one of Steve's favorites.

The adaption of the Byzantine Orthodox religion by Vladimir I in 988 was a profound turning point in Russian history for many reasons. It is said that Vladimir's appreciation of the beauty of the icons and architecture of the churches influenced his decision to choose Orthodox over other religions. We can understand why. We have seen many Byzantine cathedrals and churches before and they can be simply spectacular. The cathedrals in St. Petersburg are no different - from the Church on Spilt Blood, to St. Isaacs, to Peter and Paul - each cathedral is uniquely beautiful. Entering these places is a breathtaking experience - one cannot help feeling awestruck. The gilded domes dot the St. Petersburg landscape, adding to the uniqueness of the city skyline.

Russia 2012: St. Petersburg City Treasures

Enjoying an unusually sunny day on the Neva River outside the fort's walls.

Inside Peter and Paul Cathedral - notice there are no seats. Tombs of Tsars on lefts.

Nicholas II and family rest here inside Peter and Paul Cathedral. The last Tsar and family were murdered by Bolsheviks in July, 1918.

Statue of Peter the Great.

One of the entries to the fort - note the double eagle emblem above the arch.

Tombs of Russian Tsars inside Peter and Paul Cathedral.

View of Peter and Paul fortress from across the Neva River.

Tomb and Peter the Great.

Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Cruiser Aurora.

Theatre for National Dance show - formerly a palace.

The girls enjoying refreshment before the show.

Ready for the show!

Peter and Paul fortress was constructed at the height of the Great Norther War and was a bold move by Peter the Great considering it was built on land that, at that time, was under Swedish control. Charles XII of Sweden allegedly commented that Peter could go ahead and build it so the Swedish could enjoy using it. Well, Peter and his armies took care of that at the battle of Poltava. While the fort never fulfilled its true military purposes, it does contain Peter and Paul Cathedral - the final resting place of Russian Tsars following Peter the Great, including a special room for Tsar Nicholas II and his family - the last Russian Tsars. Its prisons also held notable Russians including Peter's son Tsarevich Alexis, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leon Trotsky.

St. Petersburg was at the heart of the October Russian Revolution of 1917, which ended with the storming of the Winter Palace. The takeover of the palace was started by the firing of a blank round from one of the guns of battle cruiser Aurora. We visited Aurora. Our tour guide has been giving tours of that ship for over 25 years, but her passion is undiminished. In addition to its role in the Revolution, it is one of only two Russian ships to escape Russia's naval disaster at the battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Traditional Russian folk dancing is legendary and seeing live is amazing. Now I can see why Russians are known for ballet - it probably started in the countryside with these dances. They are incredibly demanding for both male and female dancers.

Russia 2012: Novgorod

Russian forest - Just as we thought it would look like.

Dacha's on the road to Novgorod - typical 2nd homes.

Churches in the former Yaroslav's Court and market center. St. Paraskevi (not white) in background. 

Touching St. Paraskevi is a tradition of Novgorod women - it brings them husbands if they circle the church and touch it. There is a path around the church today - the tradition still observed.

Novgorod city walls and River Volkhov.

Novgorod city walls; Cathedral of St. Sophie in the background

The Russians are known for their bells - they all have names.

Novgorod administration building - typical of many administration buildings we saw.

The Russians made buildings from wood using no nails - easier to take them down, move them and build them again. Amazing craftsmanship.

Traditional Russian lunch. 

Cathedral of St. Sophie - built between 1045 and 1050. Full of icons and relics, it is the oldest functioning building in Russia.

Celebration of Novgorod's millennium - built in 1862 it depicts Russia's great leaders, fighters, artists and clergy.

The mote and city walls of Novgorod.

Traditional Russian village made from wood and no nails.

About 3 hours from St. Petersburg by car is the city of Novgorod. As Steve's dad said "For the Russians, this is where it all started." Written history mentions the city as far back as 859. From that point, its history is not unlike other cities in Russia - full of economic development, war, rebuilding, more war, and rebuilding. Still situated on the Volkhov River, it is now a city of over 200K people. We were fortunate that some of the older churches and city walls survive. Steve studied Russian history in college (taught by Steve's dad) so both he and his dad were in their element. For Steve, to be in the city that hired Alexander Nevsky to defeat the Teutons - an event depicted by Sergei Eisenstein in his 1938 film, one of Steve's favorite movies - was truly special. It was a day of churches, walls and traditional Russian wooden architecture - those buildings were made without nails!! We finished the day with a traditional Russian meal where Kate and Anna discovered Russian dumplings. Natasha came with us on the trip - it was her first time to Novgorod. She was excited to go and we were happy to have her along. A great day.