Saint Petersburg Russia not St. Pete, FL

June 12 started off with great weather.  We left the hotel to catch a hydrofoil boat to Peterhof Palace.  We arrived the way that the guests of the Tsar arrived, by boat.  We started on the Neva River crossed part of the Gulf of Finland and landed from the Baltic Sea.  Peterhof, built by Peter the Great was built to rival Versailles.  We toured the Monplasir Palace a small palace right on the water.  The rooms were more personal sized and decorated in a simple style.  The Tsar and his wife would come here, cook their own meals and not be “on” all the time.   There were many personal items that had been preserved on display.

Peter and Paul Fortress from the hydrofoil boat.

In front of the hotel

We walked through the beautiful formal gardens and ended our tour seeing the Grand Cascade Fountain.  By the time we got to this part of our tour there were thousands of people in the fountain area.  We had arrived before the official opening for our tour of the small palace.

I would like to give a brief overview of the history of the Tsars and the Romanov family, but there were so many coups and intrigues and slight of hands that I was never able to get it down in my notes.  The city of Saint Petersburg has had many names over the years: Saint Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad and now Saint Petersburg again.  It was once the capital of Russia but the capital was moved to Moscow in 1918.  During World War II, the city was under siege for 872 days.  The Germans cut off all food and supplies.  Many people died.  

After lunch we toured the Faberge Museum.  There are 9 of the fabulous eggs on display along with many other beautiful items.  This museum is only 4 years old opened by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.  The collection was quite amazing.  We then went to the 19th century Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.  The walls and ceiling are covered in intricate mosaics.  All that glittered here was gold.

After a quick dinner we were off the the Mariinsky Theatre for a performance of Giselle.  The theatre was very ornate.  We enjoyed this excursion a lot.

Fitbit – 13423 steps, 4 floors and 6.36 miles