Today is Russia Day, a public holiday (like our 4th of July) so we’ve had to make adjustments to our schedules to allow for travel disruptions.

After breakfast (delicious chocolate chip muffin!) I departed for a tour of Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets).  We took buses to the river and then took a hydrofoil to travel to Peterhof by water.   It was delightful to approach the property by water where there were no other tourists entering (they were all walking in from the front of the property). so we had the back gardens to ourselves at the start of the morning.  Peterhof lies on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland 18 miles from St. Petersburg.  The palace and park at Peterhof are often referred to as “the Russian Versailles.”  Peter I (the Great) founded Peterhof in 1709 as a country estate.  We toured the Lower and Upper Gardens and Peter’s “pleasure palace” home which was somewhat like a “man cave” in today’s terms.  The “home” much less grandiose than Catherine palace and was decorated with numerous dark paintings of hunt scenes, almost had the feel of a hunting lodge.  It sits beside the river with balustrades lining the waterfront (almost a Mediterranean feel).  There are hundreds of grandiose fountains in all sizes and numerous statues and tree lined avenues throughout the property.  The opulent gardens are absolutely stunning.   The highlight of the outdoor tour was the Grand Cascade Fountain, an intricately designed structure with over 200 polished golden statues.  We were not able to tour the large palace today due to the enormous crowds, but I was happy just sitting in the gardens and could have easily hung out there all day.  No wonder Peter loved it so much.  It’s a beautiful serene place.  So sad that it was also ravaged by the German troops during the WW II.  Thankfully, it was resurrected by military engineers and thousands of volunteers in 1945.  Natalia was my excellent guide today throwing in funny little tidbits throughout the morning and teaching us Russian words.

Jim went off with the photography group under Sisse’s guidance to take some local photography shots.   He got some stunning photo’s.  We met up for lunch at the hotel for in the Italian restaurant.  Nice that we got to sit down and order instead of a buffet today, however, service wasn’t quick enough so we had to dash out without our desserts for our afternoon excursions.

While enroute on the buses to our afternoon destinations, we passed busloads of riot police along with several groups marching across from a park that we were passing by.  We found out later tonight that Navalny (who organized protests that rattled the Kremlin last month) organized another round of nationwide protests against corruption today in an attempt to unseat President Putin at the ballot box next year.  Navalny was arrested in Moscow on his way to the main demonstration and hundreds of protestors were arrested here in St. Petersburg.  So glad we weren’t loose in that park at the same time!

We toured the Peter and Paul Fortress (i.e. Peter and Paul Cathedral), the city’s oldest structure, the historic cathedral with its needle-thin spire and Baroque
interior.  It was so incredibly packed with people, we could barely move much less appreciate the lovely art and decor.  The rain had begun to fall so in addition to massive crowds we are now getting soaked. Even though it’s pouring and we’re being rushed too fast by the tour guide, I’m hoping Jim was able to get some good photo’s.  We quite literally ran through the 19th-century Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
whose walls and ceilings are completely covered in stunningly intricate mosaics.  Happy to get back on the bus at 4:30pm and return to the hotel for dinner.

We decided to skip our Neva River Cruise this evening.  It is pouring buckets of rain.  Hate to be duds, but we’re just not in the mood to get soaked.  So we stayed in, along with several others, and had a casual dinner buffet in the hotel and then a few hours of relaxation.  There isn’t much down time on these trips to catch up on emails or anything else.

When we returned to our room, we hear music playing and can see tents set up on the square near our hotel as the national holiday celebration continues this evening.  Will have to turn on the sound machine tonight to drown out the party revelers, although the continuing rain seems to have put a damper on the attendance.
Overnight: Four Seasons Hotel Lion’s Palace St. Petersburg

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