Trip 2, Day 14: Peterhof, St. Isaac's, Hermitage, and Disaster at Carls Jr.

Tuesday morning, we departed on our 2nd tour in St. Petersburg, Peterhof. Built as a vacation palace for Peter the Great, Peterhof was located about 40 minutes outside of the city, on the Baltic Sea.

We met our tour guide for the day, Ivyetta. She was much older than our guide from the previous day, and had a very different outlook on Russia, and the former Soviet Union. Ivyetta was in her mid-60s, and it was fairly evident that she had been a member of the Communist Party back in the day. As we drove through the city, she pointed out many monuments, praising "the spirit of the working people", and speaking of the great architectural marvels built during Stalin's reign. We just listened and nodded.

On our way to Peterhof, we passed a palace that (former President and current Prime Minister) Putin had rebuilt in the early 2000s. It was intended as the Russian Presidential Palace, so it was currently in use by Medvedev. However, we got the impression from Ivyetta that Putin really wants his palace back.

Our first view of the palace was the cathedral (the first picture). Words and pictures cannot come close to describing how vibrant these buildings are in real life. In the bright morning sunshine, the gilded spires seemed to reach out to the sky. The day was starting to heat up, but we were very excited to see the inside of the building.

Waiting outside, Ivyetta navigated her way through large tourist groups, taking us to the front of the line. Alan's Minnesota blood was cringing at cutting in line, but as a small group, we got priority. Unfortunately, there was a "no pictures" policy inside the palace. So while we went through one amazing room after another, we were unable to take pictures of them. However, if you Google "Peterhof Palace Interior", you can see what we saw.

After our tour inside, we were led through a number of small gift shops. We stopped to buy a DVD and some books, and were amused when our tour guide received a receipt also. Soon after, she showed us where the restrooms were, and told us we would meet up again in 5 minutes. With that, she took off like a streak, back to the gift shop (to get her commission, I'm sure).



Once we were done with our palace tour, we were given a few hours to walk the upper and lower gardens. This was where Peterhof became very impressive. Hundreds of fountains and ponds are laid out in geometric patterns behind the palace. The 2nd picture shows the grand staircase, descending to an extremely symbolic fountain of Sampson (aka Peter the Great) prying open the jaws of a lion (the King of Sweden, whom Peter defeated in battle when St. Petersburg was founded).

As impressive as Peterhof was, it suffered greatly during the 20th century. During the Siege of Leningrad, both Peterhof and Catherine Palace (tomorrow's trip) were captured by the Germans. Most of the artwork and furniture inside were evacuated, but the statues and the building were not. The Germans destroyed much in the 3 years they occupied the area, smashing statues, cutting down trees, even gutting and burning down part of the palace. The cathedral that is so beautiful from the outside, is still being renovated on the inside. The German soldiers used it as stables for horses.

Eventually, it was time to leave. On our way out of the city of Peterhof, we stopped at a small orthodox church to take a picture. Churches of this style are found ALL OVER Russia, but we felt compelled to stop at every one we could. The stylish exteriors just called to us.

Once we returned to the city, we asked our tour guide to drop us off at St. Isaac's Cathedral. This worked well for everyone, as our apartment was much deeper into the city than they needed to go. Although we had already been sightseeing for 6 hours, we were very excited to see St. Isaac's up close.

There are two different areas you can tour at St. Isaac's. The one most people choose is the interior, where you walk through the church's interior. We also chose to climb the 300+ steps up to the dome exterior. This climb provided us an impressive 360 degree view of the city.


Although Alan has an intense fear of heights, most of the 300 steps are in an enclosed circular stairwell. There wasn't anything to compare to, so the only worry was keeping up with the crowds in front of and behind us. The last 30 steps were a different matter. They were in a metal cage, rising at a very steep angle above the building. The stairs were metal grates with nothing below, so we could see the building drop with each step we took. Not surprisingly, the trip back down was worse.

Inside the cathedral, we marveled at the Stone Columns, the painted frescoes, and the gilded statues that filled the building. We didn't think that church services would have been good there; with such a large open space, and so many columns, most of the building would be considered "Obstructed View".

After getting our fill of St. Isaac's, we decided that we had time to visit one more historic location. The Hermitage is one of the largest art museums in the world, housing MILLIONS of items. Knowing that we had less than an hour before the museum closed, we decided instead to enjoy the immense plaza, and admire the exterior of the building.

Finally, it was time to head back to our apartment. We hadn't planned well for food that day; Kathy had skipped breakfast, we did not have a chance to eat lunch, and snacking had been sporadic and spread out. On our walk back, we decided to stop someplace that we don't have an opportunity to visit in Minnesota: Carl's Jr.

No, it wasn't authentic Russian. We really didn't care. As we walked in and saw the signs advertising Bacon Cheeseburgers, Fries, etc., our mouths were watering. Kathy was very excited to find that fast food restaurants in Russia serve beer. So while she was happily sipping away at her beer, Alan filled his soda cup.

Ah, the taste. So sweet, so cold. Soft drinks in Russia are usually served warm, still in the bottle. Ice is provided only by request, and some servers give you "the look" if you do. Filling one of those cheap paper cups with ice, and letting the soda spray into it made Alan very happy. So happy that he drank 3 full glasses of soda while they were in the restaurant.

BAD IDEA. (To be continued)