Today we experienced three more modes of Russian transportation: the metro, the local train, and a bus. We got on the Metro right outside our hotel and rode a few stops, transferring in the middle of the city, and getting off at Batiyskaya Station and then taking an overground train to Peterhof Palace. The Metro was very different from the Tube. First of all, no order or politeness here; queues were non-existant and you better be ready with your elbows if you’re gonna make it onto the train. The stations were more ornately decorated than any London tube station with tons and tons of marble in each station. Also, instead of a ticket, we paid with tokens the way the NY Subway used to (or still does, haven’t been in years) work.
The train was another experience altogether. Based on the décor, the train had clearly not been updated since the Soviet era. The hard red seats, the sliding train doors that threatened to close on you unless you held them open with all your strength, and the graffiti in the car all pointed towards the 1950s or 60s. Also included on the train voyage was a troupe of police officers that escorted the ticket checkers through the train.
We walked from the train station to the palace through the suburb of Peterhof and past another beautiful Russian Baroque Church, this one the Cathedral of the St Apostles Peter and Paul, before arriving at Peterhof Palace.
Peterhof, which translates to Peter’s Court, is a complex of a palace and gardens laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. Known as the Versailles of Eastern Europe it was absolutely amazing. We approached the Palace from the back side, through the Upper Gardens. They were beautiful in themselves, with hedges of manicured trees, fountains, and flowers.
The Palace itself was imposing and seemed to stretch forever to both sides but it is in fact quite narrow and only has 39 rooms. We didn’t go inside and chose to spend our time in the Lower Gardens, a sprawling complex that filled the space between the Palace and the Gulf of Finland. Now when I say sprawling, I mean it. These gardens were massive. In three hours we didn’t begin to cover the whole thing.
The centerpiece of the gardens is the Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain. At the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories and the fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side. The water from the cascade flows into a circular pool and then out through a canal into the Gulf of Finland. Built in the 1730s, the large Samson Fountain symbolizes the victory of the Russians over the Swedes during the Great Northern War. This victory happened on St Samson’s day, hence the name, and from this statue of Samson tearing open a lion’s mouth shoots the highest fountain in Peterhof which reaches 20 metres in height. This statue/fountain is, however, a replica because the original was looted by the German army during World War II.
Through the rest of the gardens sit the remainder of the 150 fountains and 4 cascades. Some of my favorites included a rotation fountain of 3 ducks being chased by a dog (complete with sound effects), a fountain that looked like a tree, and a fountain that would periodically go off directly onto a bench and would soak unsuspecting visitors.
The Lower Gardens were situated on the Gulf of Finland and, despite the cloudy day, you could see quite far across the gulf. We just wandered around the ground trying to see as much as we could but there just wasn’t enough time to see everything. The weather was decent; started out cloudy, rained for a few minutes, then the sun came out at the very end. Its amazing how much better the palace looked with the sun and the blue sky; something we didn’t imagine could possibly look better did!
We then headed back into St Petersburg to rest up a bit for the rest of the evening. Once we were rested and rejuvenated we headed back out for Day 3 Part 2 which was as long as Part 1. We started with dinner at a restaurant recommended by Masha at which I have rice pilaf with dried apricot, raisins, tomatoes, chicken, and spices including cinnamon. It was really good, I think I won the prize for best order that meal. We then walked down to the Neva River by the Old Port where we crossed over the river to walk past the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Fortress was built after the Great Northern War to protect the city from the Swedes, however, they never actually used it as a military defensive establishment and instead it was used for prisoners who fought against the Tsar and his rule. Appropriately the prison for those who opposed the Tsar is directly across the river from the Winter Palace where the Tsar himself would live. The Fort was laid out based on European designs so as to maximize cover fire with a minimal use of cannons and artillery. The spire in the church at the fort is the tallest structure in St Petersburg, 122m high.
Also on the side of the river of the fortress was the coolest ship imaginable. It was an old three mast ship that had been elaborately restored and inside this single vessel was a fancy restaurant, a bar, a hair salon, and a gym complete with treadmills, stationary bikes, weight machines, and free weights. What more could you possibly want from one structure!
Anyways, we crossed back over the Neva at the next bridge and walked back along the river to St Isaacs. We were going to climb to the top but we didn’t really have time before we had to meet our guide for our Boat Tour. So instead we got some dessert and coffee/hot chocolate to keep us awake and met out guide at 12:30am for our 1am boat tour of the canals and river. We started in the canals and passed by the house of the family with the most famous name in Russia: Stroganoff. We then turned off the bigger canal and went through the narrowest canal in St Petersburg which opened up on the wide and expansive Neva River.
The River was incredible. First of all, despite it being just after 1am the sky was still not completely dark. The buildings alongside the banks were lit up and the water itself was packed with boats, most of them containing various parties in various states of soberness. As we cruised up and down the river and the canals we learned that St Petersburg was founded as a means of connecting Russia to Europe, a purpose which it still serves today. We learned a bit more about the various buildings we were passing (most of which, unfortunately I forgot considering how late is was while we were on this tour) and just enjoyed the beautiful St Petersburg night on our final night in the city.
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