An Early Start

We got home that night around 11 p.m. Around 4 a.m. we woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. Saint Petersburg was experiencing the "white nights" when the sky never get completely dark at night, so we decided to get up and go for a walk. This was our last day here and we knew it would be packed full, and I really wanted to do at least one walk from the book we had. This turned out to be one of my favorite things we did in Saint Petersburg. All these first pictures are just some of the little details that make the city beautiful (I must admit I’m not showing the complete picture, not everything was clean and beautiful, but you’ll have to see those pictures when you come and visit me). We spent 3 1/2 hours doing a walking tour and afterward I felt like I really understood the city. Incidentally, the city was beautiful at 4:00 a.m., the air cool and crisp with few people out. Very quiet (except for a few night clubs still going strong) and the street cleaners were starting to come out and clean the streets. We tried to go in a few gardens, but found out they aren’t open until 9 or 10 a.m. We later found out why. Any park or garden that was open was littered with trash and beer bottles.

The author of our guidebook, David Matlock, explained how the streets of Saint Petersburg are laid out as a series of ensembles and vistas. Buildings were built to be harmonious with the others around them and looking down the end of almost every street you end up either with a park or another building, specifically placed there to complete the view. We walked up and down these streets as he described this and told the history of the buildings, their architects and inhabitants. For example, in this is a picture of a view down Rossi Street (named for the architect Carlo Rossi who designed the buildings) to the back of the Pushkin Theater. As Matlock says, "Perfect symmetry rules: the street is 22 meters across, identical to the height of the two long columned buildings, which stretch to a length ten times their height, 220 meters." We then tried to do another walk that told about the gardens, but we had to view them from the outside (fortunately, we had been in them on our first day here).

We returned to the hotel just before eight, got ready and had breakfast. At 10:00 a.m. we met Sister Sandburg (the wife of the mission president in Saint Petersburg) at the Hermitage. The Hermitage, formally the winter palace of the czars, now houses perhaps the world’s second greatest art collection after the Louvre (well the Russians would dispute this, they think it’s the world’s greatest). The missionaries in Saint Petersburg volunteer at the museum and so she was able to arrange a private tour for us. This tour was so excellent (not to mention the fact that we didn’t have to wait for an hour to purchase tickets and enter the museum). Misha, a curator at the Museum took us on the tour and Abby, a BYU student who was interning at the museum for a few weeks that summer translated for us. The majority of the art was collected by the czars, and the art collection really can not be separated from their history. We saw the coronation carriage that was used only twice, once by Peter and once by Catherine the Great. (The words I described it with in my journal were "hideously lavish," not hideous in the workmanship, but in the expense). There are two works by DaVinci and a room full of works by Rembrandt. We were also able to see the "Treasure Room," which holds the treasure of the czars, most of it given them by other monarchs and kings. In the 19th century archaeologist uncovered Scythian (an early native people) gold work dating from the 7th -4th centuries B.C. Many of the gold pieces had magnifying glasses so you could see the intricate work. This necklace, 4th century B.C. is from the burial complex of a Greek priestess from the mounds at Bolshaya Bliznitsa. (Incidentally I got this picture from their website. And now you too can visit The Hermitage by visiting www.hermitagemuseum.org, the site is very well done, you can take virtual tours, see the outside of the building, look at and read about specific works of art and more.

The wood floors here were even more spectacular the Tsarko Selo. In fact Misha said this is the only Museum when the floors are worth more than the collections (tongue in cheek). Misha didn’t have time to show us the room with all the Rembrandts, but pointed us in the direction of the room and said if we wanted we could see it later. When the tour was over it was time for us to meet Brad’s Dad and President Sandburg for lunch, but I really wanted to take just a few minutes and go see some of the Rembrandts. Little did I know that without a tourguide it wasn’t quite so easy to get along. After we walked quickly through the very crowded Rembrandt room we spent 20 minutes trying to find our way back to the coat check. Well, I think this picture by Rembrandt was worth it. It is entitled "The Return of the Prodigal Son." You can form your own opinion of it, but I really like what the Hermitage Website says about it. "The subject comes from the Bible, The Gospel According to Luke, XV: 20-24. The artist had already turned to the theme several times in his graphic works, but in the Hermitage painting, created not long before his death, the painter endowed it with the sense of great tragedy elevated to a symbol of universal significance. Complex emotions are expressed in the figure of the bent old man and his suffering, kneeling son: repentance and charity, boundless love and regret at the belated spiritual awakening. These images represent the summit of Rembrandt's psychological mastery."

Yes, we really didn’t spend enough time here, but of course, now I have a reason to go back.

Peterhof--There and Back Again


We boarded a bus for Peterhof. It was pretty crowded so we weren’t able to sit together. Peterhof is a palace that Peter the Great built as a resting place between Saint Petersburg and his hunting grounds. It is famous for its water fountains. It took us almost an hour and half to get there. Several times our we were stopped or our route was redirected because a convoy of government officials was using the road so all other traffic had to be off. We arrived there around 4:30 p.m. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast (except for our snacks) so while some people used the restroom I decided I would buy something from this little stand (these words say hotdog and hamburger). I finally got her to understand that I wanted a pizza not a hamburger (she had to come out and look while I pointed), and I enjoyed my first (and probably only) pickle-hotdog pizza. (It actually wasn’t that bad, that shows what hunger will do to you!).
Since it was so close to five we didn’t have to pay to go in. But we soon found out why. We walked in and started looking at the fountains and then they went off. Peterhof is built on the edge of the Baltic Sea and the fountains actually drain in a sort of canal that runs straight out to the sea. We were planning on taking a boat back to Saint Petersburg, as this would be a lot quicker. When we realized everything was turned off we thought, "Great, we’ll be able to get back sooner so we can have some time on our own." (Although we really appreciated Luda we wanted to explore a bit on our own). We walked down to the pier and Luda went and talked to the ticket booth. She came back and said, "There’s a boat that leaves at 7:10 p.m. so we have some time to walk around." ("Ah, yes, just what we wanted, more walking!"). I was sure there was a boat that left earlier (it was maybe 5:30 p.m.) but she was determined to show us some things around Peterhof. We walked by the edge of the sea, through the woods and Luda showed us a few more fountains. While we were leaning out on a railing overlooking the Baltic Sea Brad had a deja vu experience. "That’s so weird," he said. "I feel like this conversation has happened before. Everyone was here and talking about what we just said and then we missed the boat to go back." "Well," I said, "We’re not missing this boat!" Dad and Luda went back to the dock and Brad and I walked around for a little longer. We agreed to meet back at the dock at 6:45 p.m. The grounds include a fishing pond that Peter used to stock with fish and have his friends over and they would go fishing (wasn’t the Baltic Sea enough?). You can still fish there today (for a fee!).
We met Dad and Luda at 6:45 and were eager to get going. We were rather hungry, but I figured out how Russians stay so slender. You don’t ever eat and you walk all day. We were waiting by the ticket booth and I said, "Let’s go get on the boat." For some reason Luda didn’t want to go get on the boat. We just waited and waited. Finally at 7:00 p.m. she started walking out toward the dock. That’s when we heard a horn and saw the boat start to pull away. We started running (everyone there started running) and the boat just pulled away. I couldn’t believe it! We had missed the boat! There were about 30 people on the dock who seemed quite displeased. After a few minutes we saw another boat coming toward us. The only problem was this boat was about 1/4 the size of the other one. All of a sudden 30 people ran toward the place where the boat would dock. Everyone was determined that they wouldn’t be left behind! The boat pulled up, but it didn’t get quite close enough to the dock. The front end was near the dock but the back end was about 8 feet away and the waves from the sea kept pushing it out further. The crew tried several times to pull it in, but couldn’t do it. The crowd decided to take matters into their own hands. Everyone ran over to the front of the boat and a couple jumped over the guardrail and started to climb on the boat. I’ll never forget the sight of a Russian woman wearing stilettos with one foot on the boat, the other on the dock, moving up and down up and down as the waves rocked the boat. I’m surprised she didn’t fall in. Evidently she didn’t think the odds were in her favor because she got both feet back on the dock pretty quick. Then everyone ran back to the other end of the boat where they were still trying to pull it in. This is where Brad decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed the rope behind the crew members and started pulling. A few other people joined in and they got the boat close enough to the dock so we could all get on. We had a pretty bouncy ride back to Saint Petersburg, but everyone was just glad to be back.
It was about eight o’clock when we got back and Dad went back to the hotel (the long way around) and Brad and I headed out on her own. We wanted to explore Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare of downtown Saint Petersburg. We stopped and ate some Turkish food (good) and then thought we’d go somewhere else and get a dessert. Unfortunately, the only two things available in Saint Petersburg after 9:00 p.m. are beer and cigarettes. The city was packed with people enjoying the night. We walked through a few parks on the way home and they were filled with youth drinking and smoking. We walked around for another hour looking at street artists, buildings and a nice bookstore then we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back we finally found a place that was selling dessert. After we finished eating Brad talked with the young man who took our order. He found out that he was a doctor that made $200/month so he worked in this bistro three nights a week to supplement his income.

Tsarskoe Selo

Thursday morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and then met Luda at 10 a.m. She had learned her lesson and told us to stop at a store for some snacks so we wouldn’t have to stop and eat. I bought the best yogurt I had there (vanilla pear) in a little store in the metro and also bought some popcorn from a vending machine that popped it while I waited. We rode the metro to the edge of the city and then we took a "bus taxi" to Pushkin, a city about an hour SE of Saint Petersburg. (This first picture shows babushkas selling their flowers outside of the metro. One of the sad things about the country is that older people are not taken care of and most must earn their own income or beg).

A bus taxi is a sort of minivan that holds about 13 people and travels along a preselected route. It’s faster than a bus because once it’s full it doesn’t stop, but it’s cheaper than a regular taxi. This was one of our what we called "Russian experiences--" traveling as the locals, crammed in this taxi with no air conditioning. (It wasn’t too hot, but a few people hadn’t showered either). This was definitely something we couldn’t have done without Luda as even if you spoke Russian it would be really easy to get on the wrong taxi and a little farther away from Saint Petersburg and a little closer to Siberia than you wanted to be.
Pushkin is where Tsarskoe Selo, or the Summer Palace of the Tsars, is located. It was built by Catherine the Great and is the Russian equivalent of Versailles. We got there and I saw a sign that said individual visitors were allowed through the palace only after 4:00 p.m. It’s a good thing Luda can’t read English. She went and bought us tickets and then took us to the front of a very crowded room where people were waiting to go through a door and go on a tour (just Brad and I were going on the tour). She said something to a couple of people in charge and then opened the door and pushed us in and gestured to us to go with a group of people up on the stairs. Well, this plan was fine except for no one told the group of the people on the stairs. When we tried to join their tour we were immediately told, "This is a private tour." We decided that was fine and we would just walk through ourselves. We walked into the big hall. I have to admit that palaces like these tire me. All I can think of is what a waste of money they are and how they symbolize the power of the ruling class who lived lavishly while their subjects suffered. Visiting these grand palaces just reinforces my thankfulness for the principles America was founded on--freedom, hard work, moral values and personal property ownership. Having said this, when I walked into the room I found something truly delightful. The gold trim and mirrors and painted ceilings, although extravagant and costly do not seem truly beautiful to me, but I loved the hardwood floors. (This trip definitely upped the ante for future flooring in our home). When the palace was first built, all the wood for the floors was its original color, nothing was stained. Every shade was just a different type of rare wood. (I’m not sure what happened to the floors during the war as parts of the palace were destroyed, I think some of the flooring is still original, but I think some was restored). Brad and I started walking around the big room, but we soon discovered that to get into the next room you have to be with a tour group. There were older ladies sitting in-between each room and they would let one group in at a time. We snuck in by tagging along at the end of a group for a few rooms, but at one room the lady thought too many people were going in. "Same group? Same group?" she excitedly asked while trying to keep people back. The tourist in front of us looked at us and said, "No," (as in they’re not part of our group). By now we were thoroughly versed in the Russian way of getting places and quickly responded, "Yes! Yes!" and walked into the room.
Besides the amazing floors each room has porcelain heaters/stoves made from Chinese porcelain. Most rooms were decorated in a neoclassical style. During WWII the Axis troops weren’t expected to get to Pushkin, but when they started getting close all the artwork, furniture and artifacts (like the original table and chairs and dishes used by Catherine the Great) were packaged in crates and sent by train to Vladivostock (on the eastern edge of Russia). There is one room made of a precious green stone found only in Russia and another room made all of amber. When they tried to remove the amber it crumbled, so they sandbagged it and built extra walls all around the sandbags. This room was still destroyed in the war, but has been restored to look exactly as before. Well the Axis troops did arrive and the castle was bombed and caught on fire. It wasn’t totally destroyed but probably about half the infrastructure was destroyed and almost all the interior was ruined.
What is most amazing to me about all of this is that when the war was over the people returned and almost immediately set about organizing for its restoration. Millions of dollars was spent restoring this palace when the people were suffering from the impact of the war. As we left the palace there was an exhibit documenting the restoration process. So many people gave time and money to restore the palace. The czars, despite all their cruelty and brutality mean so much to the Russian people. They are proud of them and the legacy they left of beautiful palaces, art and buildings. It made me ask, "What is the legacy our country’s early leaders have left us?" I decided they have given us a legacy of character--sacrifice, discipline, hard work, serving God and man. In addition they have given us the principles our country is founded on--that all men are equal and can have equal opportunity.

We left the palace and met Dad and Luda outside. Dad encouraged us to go and walk around the grounds. Luda didn’t think we had time, but we went anyway. This was one of my favorite places in Russia (the grounds--the ante has been upped for landscaping now, too--I want at least one lake:)). Tsarskoe Selo is surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods, formal gardens, paths and meadows. There is a large lake, and several other smaller castles, churches and buildings. We walked around for a short hour, and the left. We took a taxi back to the metro where we caught a bus for Peterhof.

From Romeo and Juliet to River cruise on the Neva


This is my fourth post but we’re still only on our first day in Saint Petersburg. That was a really long day. These first pictures show some streets in Saint Petersburg. Architecturally, it is a very beautiful city. After we ate we went back to the hotel and changed and then went straight to the ballet. We were seeing Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet performed by the St. Petersburg Mussorgsky State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. The production was excellent, what I would consider classical or traditional ballet with beautiful costumes and dancing and a live orchestra. It was also very long (3 1/2 hours). Brad and I both really enjoyed it but unfortunately due to our long day and jet lag we had a hard time staying awake. One amazing thing about the ballet company is that they have a repertoire of 18 ballets and they perform a different one every night.

When it was over at 10:00 p.m. we were really looking forward to going back to the hotel and sleeping. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the lobby and saw Luda waiting. She had planned an evening of sightseeing for us. I can honestly say now that I’m glad we did it (went out that night), but at the time I was very tired and not looking forward to it. She told us she had some things she wanted to show us and then there was an 11:30 p.m. boat ride on the Neva River that would last about 45 minutes so we should be back shortly after midnight. We started going but realized we were very hungry (the pancakes didn’t last past the first act of the ballet). We told Luda we needed to eat and she allowed us to stop at a small cafe. Fully nourished we started on a walking tour. We walked past the Kazahn Cathedral (only to look, no time to stop), through a park to the Admiralty and stopped at the Bronze Horseman. This statue is a symbol of Saint Petersburg. (incidentally this photo was taken after 11:00 p.m.). This "statue was commissioned by Catherine the Great in 1768-82 as a tribute to the czar she most admired" (Russia Walks). The base is inscribed simply, "To Peter the First, Catherine the Second, Year 1782." Luda told us that she did this because she wanted to be remembered with Peter, to solidify her greatness with his. It was very enlightening having Luda guide us. She is a true Saint Petersburger, very proud of her city and its history.
We then walked back to the Fontanka Canal where the boat ride was going to start. It was scheduled to leave at 11:30 and we arrived right about this time. After several loud and fast exchanges in Russian between Luda and the drivers she told us they would go but it would be a little later. (You just didn’t mess with her--she knew how to get what she wanted). We pleaded that we wanted to just go home, but to no avail. First of all, it’s pretty hard to convince someone through a translator and second of all, there’s no convincing Luda (but as I said, I’m glad now that we went). She insisted that going on a boat ride on the Neva River during the White Nights (For almost a month during June Saint Petersburg has what they call the "white nights," where it never gets completely dark at night) and seeing the drawbridge open was an experience we needed to have (and what can I say, she was right, though at the time I really thought I could have that experience some other time). After agreeing we would go on the boat ride Luda left to the comforts of home and bed. We walked around a bit more and came back about 12:15 p.m. We got on the boat and waited until about 12:45 p.m. when a few other daring individuals showed up and we left. The driver said since it was late the boat ride would be a little shorter (yeah!). It was still light out toward the north, but it was getting cold.
We slowly made our way out of the canal (with only one minor mishap, the driver ran into the canal wall) onto the river. We drove around slowly and joined the about twenty other boats out on the river. Then when I thought we should be heading back we just drove around the Neva. Finally about 1:30 a.m. the drawbridge opened up. This picture doesn’t capture the "white" sky, but some of our video did. Then the race was on as twenty boats tried to be the first ones through the open drawbridges and back into the canals. Our "short" boat ride lasted an hour and a half. Then after a half hour walk back to the hotel (the quietest I ever saw St. Petersburg) we went to bed around 2:30 a.m.

Mikhailovsky Castle


After we left the Summer Gardens we walked to the Russian Museum, looking at a few more sights along the way. We stopped at the Mikahilovsky Castle. It was built by the Emperor Paul, the son of Catherine the Great (incidentally she hated him). Paul was obsessed that people were always trying to overthrow him and didn’t feel safe in the Winter Palace. This castle was his answer. He had three to six thousand laborers working on it 24 hours a day during all seasons and it was completed in 3 1/2 years (pretty good for 1797, but the fast pace meant shoddy workmanship and the castle was impossible to heat, summer or winter). Unfortunately Paul made the mistake of humiliating the military. He was infatuated with Prussian uniforms and made the switch (his Field Marshall retorted: "Russians always beat the Prussians, so what are these changes for?"). The huge tricornered hats were uncomfortable and didn’t stay on. The soldiers had to spend all day preparing for military reviews, powder their hair with flour and sleep sitting up. Sometimes rats would try to eat the flour. Paul also regimented street traffic and lighting to accommodate his sleeping pattern (lights out by 8 p.m., no traffic by 9 p.m.). Thus, 41 days after he moved into the castle his own guards accosted and murdered him. (I refreshed my memory with the help of our guidebook, Russia Walks, less you think I remembered all these details. All quotes throughout are also from the book). The cobblestones are just outside the castle, but representative of those found in spots throughout the city. Notice the lovely vista to the castle (the picture with the flowers in front). This is another example of deliberately planning a street to end with the castle.







We ended up at the Russian Museum where Luda left us and we all traipsed through the Museum. This showcases Russian artists, from the earliest iconographic art to romantic periods. As they were all out of English audio tours and our Russian was still a bit rusty (still is) our enjoyment of the museum was purely visual. We were quite worn out, suffering from jet lag, and Brad and Dad had a little nap when they found a bench. There were some extraordinary oil paintings depicting biblical scenes (usually the bloody ones). They were about 20 x 15 feet. What is really interesting is that there was even this much art done in "realistic" styles, as the Russian Orthodox church strongly opposed realism. When Russian artists first started to follow the traditions of the Renaissance they were quickly told to keep to iconographic painting (told is probably a nice way of putting it).

After we finished at the museum we walked around to look at the Church of the Savior of the Blood (built from 1883-1907). It was built on the spot where Alexander II was mortally wounded from a terrorist bomb in 1881. The Bolshevik’s had their say, though when they named the bridge just behind the church for Ignacy Hyrniewicky, Alexander’s murderer. This church was built as "an ethnographic and art historical game." The artists and architects "mined the Russian past," studying folk woodcarving and medieval architecture. Thus this church is a short of "light charm" of all that is Russian, not the "full blooded, great work of art" that Saint Basil’s is.

Behind the church are vendors selling souvenirs and Russian Folk Art. I bought a watercolor of the Russian Museum and the Church of the Savior of the Blood. We bought the rest of our souvenirs and folkart at Izmailovsky Park, outside of Moscow. Things were generally more expensive here. We then went to find some dinner before we had to be at the ballet. We finally decided on a little cafe and ordered a few Russian pancakes (very similar to a French crepe--you can get all sorts of fillings from cheese to chocolate). They had some great hot stew and meat dishes on the menu but when we everyone we tried to order they said they were out of it. We didn’t have time to go anywhere else so the pancakes were going to have to do.