Fwd: Trip Log #25: St. Petersburg Aug. 13

Hello all,

 

Here we are for the second day in St. Petersburg.  Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, this city was first known as Saint Petersburg, later changed to Petrograd (1914-1924) and then to Leningrad from 1927-1991.  St. Petersburg, as it is known today, is the second largest city in Russia (after Moscow), and was the capital of the Russian Empire for two centuries, from 1712 until 1918.  Today the city is an important seaport, cultural, and industrial center.  Because the site of the city is on low marsh land, an area prone to flooding, canals were built to assist in drainage, giving the city the reputation of being the "Venice of the North."  St. Petersburg owes much of its economy to manufacturing.  Foremost industries include production of armaments, electrical and power machinery and ship building.  St. Petersburg is also the largest port in Russia with major import/export traffic in commercial and industrial products.  Points of interest in St. Petersburg include: the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Summer Palace, the Winter Palace (Hermitage) and Saint Isaac's Cathedral.  

 

Today we took an all day tour called: Imperial St. Petersburg.

We drove around the city to see some of the beautiful buildings. Then we headed out to see Peter the Great's fabulous Summer Palace at Peterhof.  We walked thru the beautiful interior where we were not allowed to take any photos.  However, as beautiful as this place is inside, the real beauty in our opinion was in the gardens with all the magnificent fountains that were designed in the 18th century by Peter the Great.  We had a beautiful walk thru the gardens and saw lots of different types of fountains.

After our ride back to St. Petersburg in the hydrofoil, and a nice lunch, we drove to the Church of the Resurrection (Church on the Spilled Blood).  The mushroom type domes on the top are gorgeous.  And the inside is covered with all mosaic icon pictures.  It is truly amazing to see!!! 

 

We were tired after our two full days plus the evening of sightseeing in St. Petersburg, but it truly was amazing and well worth seeing!!!

 

Enjoy.

 

Jan and Dick

---

Fwd: Trip Log #24: St. Petersburg Ballet Aug. 12

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <JYETKE@aol.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 2009 at 3:29 AM
Subject: Trip Log #24: St. Petersburg Ballet Aug. 12
To: JYETKE@aol.com

Dear Friends,

 

Tonight we went to the Ballet.  As many of you may remember, our daughters both danced all thru high school.  They were in the dance companies as well including pointe (toe).  And most importantly, the method of ballet and toe that they learned and danced was the Vaganova method which is the Russian method.  So, of course, we really wanted to see a ballet in Russia.

We were so excited when we found out that what we would be seeing was Swan Lake - you can't get much more traditional than that we think!!!

 

It was a magnificent performance!  The dancing was superb.

I did not take with me my really good camera that has the 20x optical zoom since I didn't think I wanted to carry it with me.  So, I took the small one that fit in my purse but it only has a 3x optical zoom.  I am sorry since obviously my photos would have been much better if I had taken the big camera. Also, obviously, we were not allowed to use flash which wouldn't have been any good anyway.  We were seated about 2/3 of the way back so I had to zoom in all the way.  Therefore, you will see some blurriness. Sorry. I just had to send some photos anyway. 

 

Enjoy.

 

Jan and Dick

---

Fwd: Trip Log #23: St. Petersburg, Russia Aug. 12

Dear Friends,

 

We were in St. Petersburg, Russia for two days.  What a city!!! As most of you know, there are many beautiful things to see there.  I think we managed to see the most important in the two days we were there. In order to avoid having to get our own Russian visas, we were required by the authorities to take ship's tours.  Well, this was a no-brainer since we probably would have done it anyway.  So, we took two all day tours and the night we were there we went to the Ballet - wow, Swan Lake (classic ballet) performed in Russia - can't get much better than that we think!!!  I am going to send our separate emails for each day!!!

 

Just a little history first.  On May 17, 1703 (Russian calendar), during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans on the Neva river in Ingria.  A few weeks later, on May 27, 1703 (May 16, Old Style), lower on the river, on Zayachy (Hare) Island, three miles inland from the gulf, he built the Peter and Paul Fortress, whichh became the first brick and stone building of the new city.  He named the city after his patron saint, the Apostle Peter.  The original name was meant to sound Dutch due to Peter's obsession with the Dutch culture.  St. Petersburg, known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, is noted for its lavish palaces and grand cathedrals, as well as its waterways.  More than 300 bridges connect the various parts of the city.   Catherine (the Great), who succeeded Peter after his death, built most of the palaces and brought works of art. 

 

Our tour today was called: Glories of St. Petersburg.  First we drove out of St. Petersburg for about 50 minutes to the town of Pushkin where we visited Catherine's Palace, whose grandiose white, blue and gold facade stretches 978 feet.  This is a Russian baroque style palace that was built in the first part of the 18th century.  The luxurious structure was rebuilt by Rastrelli and is now a showcase for period art, architecture, and landscaping.  During WWII, the Palace sustained severe damage but has been restored to its original glory.  The Palace's magnificent rooms include the famous Picture Gallery and the Great Hall, as well as the unforgettable Amber Room which sparkles in unparalleled, breathtaking splendor.  The park-like grounds are embellished with a number of charming pavilions.  After a nice lunch at the restaurant there on the grounds, we headed back to St. Petersburg where we toured the Hermitage Museum.  The Hermitage, or Winter Palace, was built for Elizabeth, one of Peter the Great's daughters, but she died before the lavish mansion was completed.  Her nephew, Peter III, was the first Russian Czar to take up residence in the great palace.  The gold-trimmed, green and white palace houses one of the world's most massive art collections (more than 2.7 million works), begun when Katherine bought 225 paintings from a Berlin art dealer.  Its collection of Western European art is second to none.  The Hermitage occupies five buildings: the Winter Palace, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, the Small Hermitage, and Theater.  Its collection of French Impressionist art is unmatched.

 

These two places were incredibly lavish.  Hope you get an idea of what we saw from our photos.  I have only included a few of the famous art works.  I do have photos of many more.  It was a really amazing place.  Just to walk among all these beautiful things was spectacular.  And to see that they really don't do anything to keep you away from the valuable and famous things - you can walk right up and next to it all.

 

Enjoy.

 

Jan and Dick 

 

 

---