We left St. Petersburg last evening. What a jam-packed 2 days we had there! Much of what we saw and experienced was so different than anything we’d ever seen or done before. Our ride on the Metro underground exposed us to 3 uniquely decorated stations, our canal boat ride allowed us to see the city from a different prospective, and our tour of the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood was something we’ll never forget. This photo shows part of the roof of this ornately decorated onion-domed church that was built on the site of the assassination of Czar Alexander II.
The inside, with brightly colored mosaics, is just as impressive as the outside. The intricate designs cover every inch of the walls and ceiling. Cobblestones (behind the gold gate) marking the spot of the czar’s death have been left exposed as a memorial to the slain monarch.
We had about 2 hours in the Hermitage which gave us just a taste of the huge art collections housed there. Besides the 15,000 paintings, there are 12,000 sculptures and hundreds of thousands of other art forms on display.
One of the buildings of the Hermitage is the former Winter Palace of the czars. Here, Bill & I pose at the top of the grand staircase.
Another highlight yesterday was our tour of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, which is the burial place for the Imperial family.
The story of the Romanoff dynasty is as complicated as it is fascinating. The flat ones studied this chart to try to get it all straight.
Our visit to St. Petersburg has been the highlight of the cruise for us!
2 comments:
this is definitely how 'retired' life should be! As jealous as I am to read your adventures - I continue to look forward to new postings....as I can plan my future trips - HA!
I'll have to add St. Petersburg to my list. You guys are going to be SO GREAT on The Amazing Race!
Post a Comment