I'm a bit late with this post! I haven't really quit traveling since coming home from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia in late June. I couldn't move into the present until I posted a few photos of St. Petersburg, one of the most interesting cities I've ever visited. While there I read a wonderful memoir of Elena Gorokhova's childhood in Cold War Leningrad, called A Mountain of Crumbs. Leningrad has changed more than its name since Elena's time—there are bustling markets, luxury shops, a multitude of expensive cars and lots of tourists. The Soviet parts of the city triggered my "Tommy Turtle" response; training we elementary school students endured during the Cold War. The other reaction I had was of the extreme wealth of the Czars combined with the knowledge of the extreme poverty of the serfs.
Czar Nicholas and Alexandra's remains have been located and moved to Saints Peter and Paul Fortress Cathedral. Another good book is Nicholas and Alexandra, by Robert Massie.
Peterhof, the Summer Palace created by Peter the Great to compete with Versailles. The incredible fountains were the beginning of the study of hydraulic engineering.
Golden domes of the family church (hardly seems like the right word) of Peterhof. We didn't even go inside of this. Every room in the palace was decorated differently and packed with exquisite artwork and furniture.
Another favorite dome, The Church of the Spilled Blood (another czar meets unfortunate end).
So much gold in all of the cathedrals and palaces. This is not a miniature.
Rollie and I with the remarkable Hermitage behind us. These buildings are only a fraction of the entire line of buildings created by Catherine the Great to house one of the greatest art collections in the world.
This dog has had some training and didn't even flinch when people tossed coins into her begging bucket. She was really bringing in the money. Yes, we couldn't help ourselves.
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