Fezler Blog and Photos: Day 12- St Petersburg 8/20

This morning began early – 6:30am so that we could eat a quick breakfast and then head out for Day #2 in Russia. Our tour today is a full day focusing on the Hermitage Museum. We boarded our coach and found several of the couples on this excursion had actually done the trip to Moscow yesterday (this excursion was $700/ person where they took a 1 hr flight to Moscow to tour the red square, cathedrals, metro and have a find dinning dinner.) Our tour guide today had overseen the Moscow trip as well, so we rightly assume she was one of the best guides. Today’s tour was much more historical than political (contrary to yesterday's excursion), and we arrived at the Hermitage just before it opened. The Hermitage is in the Winter Palace, one of the most famous structures of Imperial St. Petersburg.

What an incredible palace! Gold gilded marble with rooms and rooms of fine art. Hermitage got its name because Catherine the Great stayed in the palace with all her artwork and refused to allow the public to see it. Hermit! Another interesting note is that it has the largest collections of Rembrandts in the world.

It was again another whirl wind tour as we swiftly traveled through room after room of art, antiques, and documents throughout the Hermitage. It was an impressive collection that included Picasso, Van Gough, Da Vinci paintings, Michelangelo, and hundreds of other works from Masters around the world.

Following the Hermitage we drove to the church of our Savior on Spilled Blood. This is the magnificent onion shaped domed chapel with amazing colors and mosaics that is the typical representation of Saint Petersburg. Following that stop, we visited a few shopping areas and picked up some nesting dolls as gifts. Back on the coach for our lunch we went to a beautiful stone restaurant and were fed typical Russian food (including a shot of Vodka and glass of champagne). Steve was in for a treat, as the older coupled next to us weren’t up for their vodka. So he took a few extra shots! Na zdorovje! (cheers) We got a small salad, a potato leek soup, and chicken with rice. The best part though was the entertainment. A beautiful Russian woman in traditional dress singing Russian folk songs with a small band.

Following lunch, we drove to see St. Isaac’s Cathedral. This Cathedral dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Seen from far out in the Gulf of Finland, the dome is covered with pure gold. It was built between 1818 and 1858 and is decorated with 14 kinds of minerals and semi-precious stones. It is also home to the only stained glass window in Russian Orthodoxy. It was an impressive sight.

Back and exhausted we ate another amazing dinner (DUCK!) and wine – then set sail for Estonia. What an incredible opportunity to see Russia. Although it wasn't our favorite city on this trip, it was an amazing experience to have.

This woman is appalled at Steve's drinking!