Morgan Mischief: The Sites in St. Petersburg

We spent NINE, count them NINE, hours in St. Petersburg. Three of those hours were spent at the Hermitage. We stopped several other places, but a chunk of our time was spent on a bus. I tried to click pictures as we drove, but could not get shots off for everything nor can I remember the names of everything we were looking at. So... I'll just let you take a look out the bus window with me. When there were stops, and I know a little bit about what was there, I will comment. Let me just say from the outset that St. Petersburg (called Leningrad a lot of when I was growing up) is a strikingly beautiful city. There are so many intriguing structures. COLUMNS, lots of columns, are used in their architecture. A lot of what I took pictures of were at one time the palace of so and so, daughter or son of so and so, or the government official who served under so and so. It was like if you had anything to do with the monarchy, whether by birth or appointment, you got a palace! There were lots of them.

St. Isaac's Cathedral (huge and gorgeous):

We stopped for lunch, quite tastey, which was served with vodka and champagne in the middle of the day! Yes, there was water as well. The extra treat was that we were entertained by instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers all dressed in national costumes. It was a delightful presentation. They even got some of our fellow cruise members on stage (see pictures below).

I took this picture because of the pattern of the flowers. Neat, huh?

Our first glimpse of Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral from across the River Neva:

Here's another shot zoomed in:

This is the Winter Palace, part of The Hermitage, from across the River Neva:

After a while we actually crossed the River Neva and went inside the Peter and Paul Fortress to see the cathedral. As luck would have it (because I left my camera on for so much of the day to catch shots), the batteries were dying so I didn't get all the pictures I would have liked. The cathedral is beautiful on the outside and despite the fact that it was being renovated on the inside, it still was lovely as well.

The tombs of a lot of Russian Monarchy:

Detail on a bridge (through the bus window, sorry for glare):

Our last stop was at the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The blood refers not only to that of the Savior's but also of Alexander II who was killed on this spot. His son had the church built as a memorial to him. Ransacked and looted after the Russian Revolution, this church was closed by the Soviets in 1930, used to store vegetables during World War II and later as a warehouse for an opera theater. It was restored to its original splendor, but it has never been re-sanctified and used as an operating church. This Russian Orthodox Church looks a little out of place in this city which is so largely baroque and neoclassical in it's architectural style. It was built to mimic St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.