St. Petersburg, Pt. 2

The evening of our first day in St. Petersburg was an absolute treat.  We signed up for an excursion to the countryside, to the town of Pushkin, where Catherine the Great had her summer palace.  I should probably say Summer Palace.  Everything about that place should be in caps.  It SCREAMS wealth and royalty, and the phrase that went repeatedly through my mind was, "Opulence. I has it."

Our first stop was the Carriage House, which was filled with carriage upon carriage.  Each Romanov had their own carriage.  I mean, who would want to share, right?  I suspect I know where the Disney artists got their inspiration for Cinderella's pumpkin coach!

When we left the Carriage House, we got our first glimpse of the Summer Palace chapel domes.  I think my jaw dropped when I saw that it acts as a perch for crows.  Crows!  I couldn't believe it!!

 I should probably stop right here and remind you that we were told that, "Everything that looks like gold IS gold.  Everything."  oh my.  When we approached the palace gate, it slowly opened and a band began playing.  They turned and marched to the entrance, with us following like rats and the Pied Piper.

 This is one of the best photos I have of the palace.  If you add 1.5 times to both sides, you get an idea of how large the front of the palace is.  It also has wings on either side, and the chapel seems like an afterthought, tucked back into the corner.  Like I said.  Opulence.

On the left of this photo is the front of the palace.  Can you see how it stretches further, and then the wings swing around?  I captured about half of a wing in this frame.

 The interior was a bit sparse.  You have to remember that the Nazis camped here during WWII, and then the Communists used it as a headquarters as well.  Much of the art was missing.  The past 26 years have been spent trying to restore it to its original splendor.

I think this is my favorite photo.  We were leaving the public rooms, and moving into the personal rooms.  Remember what I said about gold?  "If it looks like gold, it IS gold?"  We moved from plaster to gold, when we walked through this doorway.  Can you see all of the doorways inside doorways?  That is not done with mirrors.  It was golden doorways, as far as the eye could see.

 And then there was the Amber Room.  I did not know what to expect, but I did know that it was famous.  I should probably stop here and tell you that amber is fossilized tree sap.  It is a semi-precious material, very lightweight, and comes in a variety of colors.  Catherine the Great loved the stuff, and had a room filled with it.  Every inch of the room was covered with amber.  Even the picture frames were made from it.  And then, of course, it was accented with gold.  When the Nazis left after WWII, the Amber Room was "missing."  All of the amber had been stripped and removed.  What we saw was a replica.  No one has seen the original since the war.

 We walked through all of those golden doorways, and at the end was this incredible ballroom.  The walls were covered with gold.  The floor was parquet.  There was a string quartet playing as they handed us champagne and invited us to take a seat.

 We weren't sure what was to happen next, but after several selections, Catherine entered the room and welcomed us in Russian.  She invited us to watch the dancers, and the couple on the right danced several waltzes.

We then moved outside, where night had fallen.  The palace was lit up and a sense of magic was in the air.  Gates opened, and one of the carriages came through.  Two more dancers stepped out, and treated us to another dancing interlude. 

The marching band, who originally led us to the front steps, now escorted us back to the gate.  The royal portion of the evening was at an end.

I don't have any focused pictures, but we were whisked into one of the wings, where we were treated to a "traditional Russian feast."  caviar, vodka, fish...lots of things that I don't consume.  But the music was boisterous, and reminded me of the dancing scene from Fiddler on the Roof.  Or maybe Greek partiers.  It was lively and fun, and wow.  That ended Day 1 in St. Petersburg.  We were there for three days.  oh, the memories!