Finland Russia Baltic Day 5
Finland Russia Baltic
Trafalgar Tours - Day 05 - October 07, 2008 - Tuesday - St. Petersburg, Russia
After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to greet another day in St. Petersburg. We had our breakfast and then met the group at 8:00 in the bus parking area. The hotel was going into a heighten security state as Vladimir Putin (past prime minister of Russia) was departing his penthouse suite.
It was another cool day, 46 degrees and 82% humidity but no rain so far this morning. Being right on the Baltic Sea, it seems so much colder and the wind stings! Most of us had been watching the weather before we came so we packed coats and winter gear.
Our first event of the day was to welcome Natasha and review our morning phrases in Russian. She told us that an Interpol official from South Africa was hit by a pick-pocket last night on the main shopping street and was robbed of 1500 Euros. So much for ignoring the usual tourist safety tips many travelers know by now!
We stopped at a high end gift shop typical of those we are used to with other travel companies. The shop catered to souvenir shoppers and had facilities for bus tours like ours.
While Gennie looked around and bought a few trinkets, I took advantage of this shop’s specialty; shots of vodka as a morning pick-me-up! Maybe I have had the wrong idea about shopping all along…
After our shopping spree, the bus rode a little heavier as many had contributed to the Russian economy. At 9:20 we set off across the river for the St. Peter and Paul Fortress. We walked through the fort while Natasha explained the functions of the various buildings.
We are continually amazed at the amount of restoration and preservation that is going on in this city. Because it is Prime Minister Putin’s home, he has encouraged the government and other foundations of the world to put a lot of funds into these projects.
We walked out to the Neva River and the ramparts of the fort. This is the widest part of this river which is really very narrow. We had an excellent view of the city across the river.
Our next adventure was an Optional Activity. We were divided into two groups and our group went with Natasha on a private tour of the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The other group went downtown for a free morning.
The St. Peter and Paul Cathedral was the worship center of the Romanoff Family and is now a museum housing the crypts of the Czars and some of their immediate families.
The interior suffered badly during WW II but the Russian government has spent a fortune restoring this historic treasure. Starting with Peter I, 32 individuals of the dynasty are buried here. The family of Nicholas and Alexandra, the last Czar of Rusia has been recently interned there with their ancestors.
In 1998, 80 years after they were assassinated, 5 members of the family and 5 loyal servants were brought here for burial. Officially the two children who were thought to have escaped are honored with plaques, but their remains are still going through DNA testing to verify the authenticity as the children of the last Czar.
Our special tour ended at 10:45. We had to wait a few minutes for our driver Nikolai to pick us up. Our next stop was the Yusupov Palace. This palace was built by an Islamic family thought to be direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed.
The patron of the family came to Russia to provide special services to the Czar. Mining of coal, iron, and running the textile mills were just a few of the industries that were managed by this family at the elbow of the Czar.
The family became very wealthy and built this palace. After the Revolution of 1917, like many of the nobility and their associates, the Yusupovs lost everything but a few paintings and gem stones they were able to flee the country. But compared to the Czar and his family, they at least escaped with their lives!
The basement of this palace is the fateful site of the murder of the Monk Rasputin, the infamous advisor to the Czar’s wife Alexandria. This was a political assassination in 1916 thought to ease the revolutionary crisis. However, it ended up flaming the fires of the uprising.
We walked up to the main part of the castle which has been completely restored. After the revolution the art work and valuable collections as well as in other homes of aristocrats were taken over by the state and are now housed in the Hermitage.
At 12:30 we finished our tour of the palace and went right to the Hermitage, the National Museum. We had 30 minutes to eat lunch and then spent 3 hours exploring the treasure on a whirlwind tour.
There are over 3 million exhibits and experts have calculated that it would take a person 3 years to truly see it all. We hit the highlights as we raced with our guide Natasha to see as much as we could.
We particular enjoyed seeing the pieces by Botticelli, DaVinci, Rembrandt, and the one piece by Michelangelo, The Crouching Boy. We also took a quick extra trip up to the 3rd floor to see the French Impressionists.
We finished our tour back at the rest rooms and coat room. We met Xavier and headed off to our final Optional excursion of the day. Natasha took us to see the interior of the Church of our Savior of the Spilled Blood and then St. Isaac’s Cathedral. For some unknown reason there were signs on the doors that they were both closed for technical reasons so our tour was cancelled.
We returned to the hotel, bought post card stamps, and went to the grocery store to get a few things for our dinner. Many of our travel mates went to see the ballet but we skipped that event and opted for a quiet evening to pack and get the journal ready for the day.
Accommodations: Pribaltiskaya Hotel - - - Meal: B
Comments
Faberge like Egg from Dinastie
St. Peter and Paul Fortress
Rasputin’s Last Meal
Hermitage Museum
Sunset Over the Baltic Sea
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