My first stop, Saint Isaac's Cathedral.
Took 50 years of construction from 1818-1858.
The exterior is a traditional Russian - Byzantine with the large gold-plated main dome and 4 subsidiary domes.
The rich interior, composed of multi-coloured granites and marbles from all over Russia. Columns, pediments and painting fill the inside of the church.
It was a bit overwhelming at first, but beautiful.
I lit a candle in prayer for my family and friends back home... but then got in trouble for trying to put it in he wrong spot. Oops.
One of the largest, oldest, art and culture museum.
Founded in 1764 and open to the public since 1852.
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| Piece from Central Asia |
It had everything: Egyptian collections; Italian renaissance art, which included pieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; Dutch, German, British, Swiss, Russian art collections; impressionist and post-impressionist art including work from Van Gogh and Monet; modern art with work from Matisse and Picasso and the list goes on and on and on.
The museum was so huge, it took me over 3 hours to walk through it.
It was incredible and I enjoyed it, but I don't think I need to go into any more art museums for awhile.
Friday Aug. 31/12
On my way to the famous Peter and Paul Fortress, I saw this beautiful building and figure that I should check it out.
So the entrance is along the side. I had to walk through a gate and just past the gate, leading up to the entrance, there were old ladies sitting on either side of the path.
And they started yelling at me in Russian. I stared at them with a dumb look on my face until I figured out they were telling me that I could not go into the building without a scarf over my head. I shrugged my shoulders trying to indicate that I did not have a scarf to use.
One of the ladies then went into her bag and gave me an extra scarf to use. She put it on for me too. Then I got her to take a picture of me with the scarf and the lady I borrowed it from. Not the best picture, but a very funny memory for me.
I learned that the building is the Saint Petersburg Mosque. Built in 1913 for the Muslim community to worship. The worshippers are separated by gender; females on the first floor and males on the ground floor. There wasn't much to see inside.
I gave the scarf back as I left the Mosque and gave them some money (because I saw someone else giving them money). They said many things to me that I didn't understand and I left.
Onto the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Founded by Peter the Great in 1703. The first settlement in St.Petersburg.
First the Cathedral. Built from 1712-1733, is the burial place for the Russian Imperial Romanov Family.
The fortress was used as a political prison from 1718 -1921. The prison is called the Trubetskoy Bastion.
This was an interesting tour. It had information and stories about the famous revolutionary and social activists that were imprisoned here. The prisoners would communicate to each other by stomping, but it was forbidden to do so. If they got caught they were sent to the punishment cell with no light or heat. This picture is what a typical cell looked like.
There were many different exhibitions within the fortress. I spent the entire afternoon wondering in and out of different museums and buildings.
Back on the ferry to Helsinki at 7pm. Luckily this time my roommates were not old naked Dutch ladies. There is a sauna on the ship. So I went there with my friends from the USA and Japan and enjoyed the night at sea.
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