Saratoga

After a long 15 hour flight from Moscow to San Francisco, it was nice to touch down to a somewhat warmer climate and cleaner city in San Francisco. Mum and Dad picked me up from the airport, and we took the 45 minute drive on the freeway to our house swap in Saratoga. Saratoga is in the Santa Clara County of California directly West of San Jose. It is also right on the fringe of Silicon Valley - which is the high-tech hub of the world with many of the leading technology companies having their headquarters based here (Google, Microsoft, Apple etc.) The land in Saratoga was originally used for orchards and vineyards. We have a plum and apricot tree in the backyard here, and they have very yummy farmers markets every Saturday selling locally grown organic stone fruit. Given we are staying more in the suburbs than the actual city of San Francisco, there are plenty of shopping malls, conveniently all have their Summer sales. I have definitely done the economy good here!

Novodesky Convent & Moscow University

On my last day in Moscow, we took the Metro out to visit the Novodevichy Convent. The Convent was founded in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasili III in commemoration of the conquest of Smolensk in 1514. It was built as a fortress at the curve of the Moskva River, and became an important part of the southern defensive belt of the capital, which had already included a number of other monasteries. The Novodevichy Convent was known to have sheltered many ladies from the Russian royal families, who had been forced to take the veil. In 1922 the Bolsheviks closed down the Novodevichy Convent and turned it into a Museum of the Woman’s Emancipation. By 1926, the monastery had been transformed into a history and art museum. In 1943, when Stalin started to make advances to the Russian Orthodox church, he sanctioned the opening of the Moscow Theological Institute. In 1945 the Soviets returned the Assumption Cathedral to the believers. In 1994, nuns returned to the convent, which is currently under the authority of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna.

The oldest structure in the convent is the six pillared five domed cathedral dedicated to the icon Our Lady of Smolensk. The Cathedral may be a focal point of the monastery, but there are many other churches. The blood-red walls, crown towers, two lofty over the gates churches, a refectory and residential quarters were all designed in the Muscovite Baroque style. The other stunning feature in this convent is the Bell Tower built in six tiers to a height of 72 metres, making it one of the highest structures in Moscow.

We then hopped back on the metro to the Moscow State University, which is the largest university in Russia. Found in 1755, it also claims to be the oldest university in Russia. Elevated in a hill on the outskirts of Moscow, the University also provides a great lookout point for panoramic views of the city.

Jen and I then took the Metro back to the city to Pushkin Square, where the busiest McDonald’s in the world is. They have 26 cash registers, 2 full kitchens and 900 seats in the dining room! In 1990 when the store opened as the first McDonald's in Russia, a queue of more than 5000 people had formed around Pushkin Square. It is still as busy as ever, with over 600 crew and 50 managers employed there now.

After a leisurely walk from Pushkin to Red Square, and some more snaps, we met Jacqui at Arbat for dinner at a Georgain Restaurant

White Nights Festival - The Scarlet Sails

White Nights are the few weeks around Summer Solstice in June where in areas of high latitude darkness is never complete. White Nights are a time of celebration and St. Petersburg is famous for the spectacular fireworks and massive show celebrating school end held at this time of year. The major celebration, called The Scarlet Sails, is held in the Palace Square, with smaller celebrations happening simultaneously all around the city, and this happened to be on the weekend we were in St. Pete’s.

The huge concert in the Palace Square consists of a series of classical ballet, opera and music events and includes performances by Russian dancers, singers, musicians and actors. The Scarlet Sails celebration is the largest public event anywhere in Russia with annual estimated attendance about one million people! The event doesn’t start until 11pm and goes through until 4am. We opted to watch from the comfort of our TV at home given the crowds!

After a late night watching the Scarlett Sails, we spent Sunday morning with a nice stroll around Vasilevsky Island and before we knew it, it was time to take the train back to Moscow.

Peterhof

On Saturday we took the hydrofoil out to Peterhof – Peter the Great’s summer palace about 30 kilometres west of St. Petersburg, containing a series of palaces, gardens and fountains. The Lower Gardens contain the majority of Peterhof’s fountains. Near the middle of the Lower Gardens stands the Grand Palace and below the Palace is the Grand Cascade. These features are the centrepiece of the entire complex.

At the center of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains a modest museum of the fountains’ history. The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side of it. Their waters flow into a semicircular pool, the terminus of the fountain-lined Sea Channel. In the 1730’s the large Samson Fountain was placed in this pool. It depicts the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Russia’s victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade. The Samson Fountain is supplied by a special aqueduct, over 4km in length, drawing water and pressure from a high-elevation source.

After returning from Peterhof, we walked down to the Church on Spilled Blood to check out the Vernisazh Markets. We found plenty of traditional Russian Souvenirs here, and had fun bargaining with the stall holders and their limited English.

We then made a stop off at our favourite Russian pastry cafe – Smolesky to pick up some dinner before walking back over the Palace Bridge to our apartment to watch the White Nights Festival – The Scarlet Sails.

State Hermitage Museum

Palace Square, connecting Nevsky Prospekt with the Palace Bridge leading to Vasilevsky Island is the central city square of St. Petersburg and of the former Russian empire. It was the setting of many events of world-wide significance including Bloody Sunday in 1905 and the October Revolution of 1917. The center of the square is marked with the Alexander Column. This red granite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47.5 metres high. It is set so well that not attachment to the base is needed. The earliest and most celebrated building on the square is the baroque Winter Palace of Russian tsars, built between 1754 and 1762. The palace is now part of a complex of buildings known as the State Hermitage Museum, which holds one of the world’s greatest collections of art. As part of the Museum, many of the Winter Palace’s 1057 halls and rooms are open to the public. We spent the afternoon after our city tour exploring the exhibitions in the Hermitage Museum.

The State Hermitage Museum boasts a collection second in size only to that of the Louvre. The vast Hermitage collections are displayed in six buildings, and include noted works of art from Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Poussin , Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse. There are several collections that also include Russian imperial regalia, and an assortment of Faberge jewellery.

St. Petersburg City Tour

After meeting our guide and driver nice and early, our first stop was on our side of the river at the Old Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns. The Old Stock Exchange is sited to fill the majestic sweep of the Spit, where the Neva River splits around Vasilevsky Island. The interior features a large colonnaded trading hall, now used as exhibition halls. Opposite the exchange building on the Neva is a hemi-circular overlook with circular ramps descending to a jetty projecting into the river. This formal approach is framed by two rostral columns centered on the portico of the Stock Exchange. The Doric columns sit on a granite plinth and are constructed of brick and decorated with bronze anchors and four pairs of bronze ship prows (rostra), each representing the major rivers of Russia. Seated marble figures decorate the base of each column. They were originally intended to serve as beacons and were topped by a light in the form of a Greek brazier and lit by oil. The braziers have since been removed and the tops of the columns refitted with gas torches that continue to be lit on ceremonial occasions.

Looking straight out from the Rostral columns across the Neva River, is the Peter and Paul Fortress (above) – the original citadel of St. Petersburg. The fortress was established by Peter the Great in 1703 on a small island by the north bank of the Neva River. Built at the height of the Northern War in order to protect the projected capital, the fort never fulfilled its martial purpose. From around 1720 the fort served as a base for the city garrison and also as a prison for high ranking or political prisoners. In 1924 most of the site was converted to a museum.

From here we crossed the Palace Bridge to the main centre of the city to St Isaac’s Cathedral. Saint Isaac’s Cathedral is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built. It was ordered by Tsar Alexander I to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. The cathedral took 40 years to construct from 1818 to 1858. Under the Soviet government the building was abandoned, then ironically turned into a museum of atheism. With the fall of communism, the museum has closed and regular worship activity has resumed in the cathedral.

Rearing fearlessly over the Neva River at the opposite end of Decembrists’ Square from St. Isaac’s is St. Petersburg’s most famous rider, the Bronze Horseman.. It depicts Peter the Great commanding his city in a rather fierce and autocratic interpretation favoured in the era of Catherine the Great who commissioned the monument. Alexander Pushkin made the statue come alive to generations of Russians with his brooding, stormy poem of the same name. The statue’s pedestal is the enormous Thunder Stone, which is claimed to be the largest stone ever moved by man, with only 1/3 visible above ground.

From here we drove to Mikhailovsky Castle. Also called St. Michael’s Castle, this is a former royal residence in the historic centre of the city. It was built as a residence for Emporer Paul I in 1797. The castle looks difference from each side, as the architects used motifs of various architectural styles. Afraid of assassination plots, Emperor Paul I didn’t like the Winter Palace where he never felt safe. Due to these constant fears, the new royal residence was built like a castle with rounded corners in which a small octagonal courtyard is located and surrounded by specially dug canals which transformed the castle area into an artificial island which could only be reached by drawbridges. Ironically, Paul I was assassinated only 40 nights after he moved into his newly built castle.

In 1800, the bronze equestrian Moment to Peter the Great was erected in front of the castle. By order of Paul I, the inscription "From Great Grandson to Great Grandfather" was made on the pedestal that is decorated depicting scenes of two Russian victories over Sweden during the Great Northern War. After Paul’s death, the imperial family returned to the Winter Palace and the Mikhailovsky Castle was given to the Main Engineering School. In the early 1990’s, Mikhailovsky Castle became a branch of the Russian Museum and now houses its Portrait Gallery.

Directly opposite the Castle is the Summer Garden, which occupies an island between the Fontanka, Moika and Swan Canals. The park, first conceived by Peter the Great in 1704, was laid out in a Dutch Baroque style with the walks like with hundreds of allegorical marble sculptures. The park now remains one of the most romantic and evocative places in St. Petersburg.

Our final stop on the tour, was the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. This is one of the main Russian Orthodox churches of St. Petersburg. It’s official name is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, however, it is most commonly referred to as the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. The name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II who was mortally wounded on that site on March 13 1881.

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia, located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, it was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than 200 years, until the Russian Revolution of 1917. St. Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.

After arriving at Moscovisky Train Station, and meeting our taxi we were taken to our apartment on Vasilevsky Island (right), which is just across the Neva River from the Hermitage. At one time, Peter the Great considered basing his capital on Vasilevsky Island, but its location made it too vulnerable to storms and flooding as the Western shore of the island is buffeted by winds from the Gulf of Finland. Two of the most famous St. Petersburg bridges – Palace Bridge and Blagoveshchensky Bridge – connect it with the mainland to the south. All in all, it was a very central location. After a long train journey we headed straight to bed, ready for our early morning expedition – A city tour of St. Pete’s.