Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Gold?

Our second day in St. Petersburg (May 7^th) began with a canal ride.  This seemed fitting given that the city’s nickname is “The Venice of the North”.  We started in the Neva River going past the Hermitage, the Admiralty and the Peter and Paul Fortress which we had seen the previous day.  With most the buildings lining the waterways being former palaces, it is no wonder it is reminiscent of the Grand Canal in that Italian city.  We continued into a smaller canal and saw the Summer Garden and buildings of the Winter Palace along with more smaller palaces.  It was all very grand!

 

The Winter Palace

The Fortress

The Winter Garden

After the canal tour, we were taken on a short tour of the city including a stop at a large souvenir store for shopping.  I bought a book on Russian fairy tales.  We also drove along Nevsky Prospekt (which means avenue in Russian), the city’s famous main shopping street.  Of course, there were the standard high-end stores like Max Mara and Prada. 

After that, we headed out of the city into the countryside.  The scenery seemed to be mostly row after row of Communist-style apartments, some shopping malls, and spare looking forests.  

After about 45 minutes, we reached Peterhof, the summer residence of Peter the Great.  This estate features meticulously maintained gardens and a collection of gold-statued fountains.  The front of the palace was impressive with its Neptune fountain and gardens (which I am sure would be much prettier if spring had been further along).

However, it wasn’t until we walked around to the back (probably actually the front) did the real impact of this site make its massive impact.  With ornate stairs lined with golden statues and amazing fountains leading from the palace down to a canal which flows to the Baltic, visually it was beyond gorgeous.  Gold was sparkling in the sunshine everywhere you looked.  Against the blue sky, the scene made for some pretty amazing photos.  Anyone could be an expert photographer here!  Originally, the canal would have been used as the main approach to the palace.  We continued on walking through the lower garden where there were more fountains as we made our way back to the van.

After a lunch stop, our next visit was to Catherine’s Palace located in a town renamed Pushkin after Russia’s “William Shakespeare”.  This Rococo palace was the summer residence of the Russian Tsars.  The blue and white exteriors were a contrast to the green and white of the Hermitage (the Winter Palace of the family).  

The palace represents the peak of imperial opulence – and there sure seems to be a lot of that around here!  I lost count of the gilded rooms but two that were very impressive were the throne room (not sure that is what it is called) and the Amber Room which is totally walled with amber.  During the war, all the amber was taken from the room and stored – somewhere which is not unknown.  The room was restored afterwards and that cost was about $11 million.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in that room but it was very impressive.  We learned about the Romanovs and their family tree dating from the 1700s and also about the damage done to this palace by the Nazis during the siege of Leningrad.  It was amazing how many of the treasures the Russians managed to save but there is an estimate that over 60% were lost.  On retreating, the Germans left bombs in the basement and there was also a fire that destroyed some of it.  Thankfully, the palace has been painstakingly restored over the last 70 plus years to its former glory.

We continued going through numerous other rooms including a study, dining room and bedroom as well as a very impressive staircase.  We gradually made our way downstairs, through a photo gallery and out the back to the gardens.
  

From there, it was a short walk to the van.  The entire group seemed pretty tired – I know I was – and, when given a choice between another photo stop or heading directly back to the ship, the majority opted for the latter  shouting “the ship, the ship”!  Back at the terminal, there were no lines and Passport Control took about 1 minute which made me wonder what all the fuss and delay was about yesterday!

I have seen a lot of palaces and mansions all over Europe but I have never seen anything quite so extravagant and opulent as these buildings in St. Petersburg.  To be frank, I found it almost sickening in its splendor.  Enough already!

As an aside, this private tour (with a company called SPB) was excellent.  The only negative is that was missing from the tour for me was any detail about WWII and the difficult history of this city during that time, other than the brief mention of trying to save the artifacts and treasures.  I will be giving the company a positive rating on Trip Advisor.

Below are the notes from the ship commentary on St. Petersburg:

Located at the tip of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg is Russia’s second largest city and serves as a major European cultural hotspot and a bustling port for the area.  Often described as the most “western” Russian city, St. Petersburg offers a gateway for trading along with an industrial focus on oil and gas grade.  With so many sites to see it will be hard to know where to start.  You’ll want to visit the Hermitage, which is the largest art museum in the world.

Founded in the 18^th century by Catherine the Great, the museum holds close to 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.  Head to the Griboedova Canal and marvel at the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood.  With its gold draping, intricate architecture, and haunting mosaics, this church has often been called an icon of St. Petersburg.  Prepare for long lines but plenty of photo opportunities abound inside and out.

Wander the historic city center, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991, and peruse collections of Baroque and neoclassical buildings.

Head to the shore of the Neva near Trinity Square and visit the oldest remaining historical building, which was erected for Peter I in 1703.  Make your way to Peterhof Palace and Garden and wander the grounds that were built for Peter the Great.  See more than 80 original statues and sculptures and a two-story building that displays many historical artifacts.