Day 37 - Wednesday 12 July

Our tour today was to Catherine's Palace and Gardens. Talk about obscene wealth! When these palaces were built the disparity between the nobility and the rest of the population must have been extreme - no wonder the nobility came an extreme ending!

The palace was ransacked and many parts deliberately damaged by the Germans. Most of it has been beautifully renovated at huge cost. The amber room has large panels of amber with ornate amber decorations. The originals were removed during the war and are presumed to have either been destroyed or hidden. Photos were not allowed in that room. The picture is of one of the many buildings in the large gardens. The palace itself is so long a wide angle lens is needed to capture its size.

The crowds were huge again but managed fairly well by the staff at the palace. The Russians are not happy the Chinese bring their own tour guides who know nothing of the history and are not able to provide an informed commentary. The staff were also very unhappy with an American man in our group who used flash photography despite having been clearly told no flash.

We have been so lucky with the weather - all we had today was a little drizzle as we walked through the gardens back to our bus. It rained this afternoon when we were safely back on board. Some Americans complained about the weather but yesterday we had one of only 60 sunny days that occur each year in St Petersburg. In winter it gets so cold the river and seas freeze over for months.

Comments

Unknown said…
It is amazing isn't it. Built like Versailles. Ironic to think it was put in w9 authorised the expenditure to restore the palace.
13 July 2017 at 23:27
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Drive Napier to Whanganui

Image
Our first stop was at the Hastings Farmers' Market, which is so popular it is held every Sunday - sun, rain or hail. The queues for coffee were too long for us to wait, but we bought two lovely croissants from a French baker's stall. We picked up coffees in town at the cinema cafe. Something we don't see at home is milk being sold in reusable bottles. It is decanted from a bulk container so is labour intensive. We stopped for lunch at Palmerston North. There are several wall murals in the city but none were very good. The art deco style "Ladies Rest" was built in 1937. Inside there are arm chairs in a lounge area, original tiles and some original plumbing. When first built it was just rendered, but the current colours work really well.
Read more

Fingal Bay

Image
I scootered 4kms along the bike path to Fingal Bay. This bay is outside Port Stephens but I was surprised to see a Surf Life Saving Club because the sea was absolutely flat. The sand spit can wash away during high tides stranding people on Mount Stephens.
Read more

Wanganui

Image
The town's name is spelt without an h, but the river is Whanganui. There have even been referenda about the spelling, with or without the h. Finally the powers that govern such things decreed either is acceptable for the name of the town. This must be a challenge for computer mapping programs and manufacturers of GPS guidance technology. These wonderful old buildings are in Victoria Avenue, down near the river. They date from the mid 1800s and have been well preserved. Earthquakes caused significant damage in 1843 and 1897, but not to the same extent as the destruction of much of Napier. In the past month there have been dozens of earthquakes rated weak to moderate in New Zealand and nearby waters, including a magnitude 4.1 quake 30 kms south of Wanganui (in the Cook Strait between the north and south islands). Fingers crossed there won't be another disastrous event.
Read more