St Petersburg,Day 2

St Petersburg ,Day 2.

An early start at 7am today for the journey to the South ,to Pushkin, to see Catherine Palace. Our journey was through the city ,and all its sights ,the southern reaches seem more prosperous ,and spacious ,many Parks and flowers, spotless ,being hosed in the early morning with water trucks. Our guide, a tiny girl, called Anastasia, spoke of times past ,a tragic time in the history of mankind really, the Siege of Leningrad was one of history’s most dreadful things, where millions starved, died of the intense cold, in the coldest winter ever recorded, or of illness from all of the above ,they ate grass, leaves from the trees and burnt anything to be warm, we know of this, from the books of Paulina Simmonds ,The Bonze Horseman, and the others which many have been gripped to over time ,and it is good to have some understanding of that that history.
The Palace, residence of the Russian Tsars ,at Pushkin. Catherine and Peter [The Great] had 11 children, she was a Polish servant and they were humble people especially Catherine, who didn’t like grandeur ,and he loved porridge.. however.. the children were different, and the eldest Elizabeth, who had a roundabout way to being in charge, had this palace rebuilt several times. Pushkin is named for Alexander Pushkin a famous poet. It’s a pretty town, leafy and we were one of the first groups to arrive, to a rousing Russian brass band. The day was sparkling ,clear blue, and not so cold, this part of the world has a very poor climate, so we felt fortunate to see it at its best..
Entered this huge place, from one of many of the front entrances, Blue and White ,originally much gold ,on the outside ,but changed to be sensible, it is of course, simply beautiful, its light, streaming in, and much gold, and all the glitters here is gold.! The huge meeting rooms had very large “Stoves”, because you wonder how could they heat a huge place in times past, well these are made of the blue Dutch style tiles, 2 to each room, in some places, and they were the fashion of the times, this was more a home, so the furniture of the Family, their clothes in some cases, Elizabeth is supposed to have had 15,000 dresses… Their writings , beautiful handwriting, Family photos, and the paintings of these fine looking people, no fat emperors here ,the men were very trim…Elizabeth was not .The floors, the original inlaid wood and beautiful designs, it had precious stones , inlaid into furniture, in sapphire blues. The dining room set with their china, in delicate pinks and greens in a room decorated in cameo design in similar pale pinks and greens. The wooden furniture intricate and so beautiful ,in light wood. The frescos or gold parts of cherubs and the like, are of wood from the linden trees, shaped and crafted and covered with the gold leaf.. The Amber room, said to be the 8th Wonder of the World, was stolen by the Germans ,who occupied this palace during the war, but has been painstakingly restored, only completed in 2007, now said to be the 9th Wonder of the World. .No pictures allowed here, in this one room only, everywhere else ibeing so generous ,in pictures. Its huge extravagance but is wonderful to see, it’s been mostly restored ,and the Germans burnt a lot on retreat, and stole the rest. War is so stupid ,then and now…but on it goes…! We thought it more beautiful than the Hermitage ,because much was real, and the Hermitage is of course a Museum, so different. On to the rounds, just more wonder, huge and lots of symmetrical things, in perfect rows, the trees and the little reflection ponds, the Bath houses and the Pavilions, Buxus hedges ,rose beds, not in flower..Then the Lakes with views that were utterly gorgeous ,in a small pavilion with amazing acoustics, a Quintet of young men ,sang a folk song ,that gave you goose bumps, I have never heard such harmony, pitch perfect, I recorded and hopefully have I forever… Time then to walk in the grounds to further corners, of the lakes and wild flower parts, and at the last part before we left the gates, was a man in a long black coat, playing the Flute , Lara’s Theme from Dr Zhivago…What a day…walked past the sculpture of Alexander Pushkin ,who died young, in a dual, and was the naming of the small town this all began in.
On our journey back through an ordinary Motor way, we saw not such a pretty part of the city ,BUT, when we were almost here, we detoured and were suddenly right beside “The Bronze Horseman,” my favourite thing in St Petersburg, we went around him completely , he is huge, and I could not believe I had been able to see him once more ,he is unforgettable, and from the Book. he means so much…remembering it all… Someone smiled upon me today, so very special.!
I cannot remember it all of course, but when I read the book, which this becomes, it will remind of all and more ,that we have learnt along the way.
Tonight an Abba Tribute ,we all enjoyed, such full and great days ,sailing away in a calm evening ,into the Bay of Finland.Meer informatie