Catherine's Contributions

Yesterday we saw Peter the Great’s contributions to the founding of St. Petersburg not only through the construction of this beautiful city in less than 10 years but also the creation of  Peterhof and the surrounding parks.

Today we turned to Catherine II who became Empress of Russia in 1762  through a coup that ended in the death of her husband, the weak Peter III.  Known more commonly as Catherine the Great, she expanded the empire west and south to the Black Sea via wars with Turkey, studied the writings of western Europe’s kings and philosophers resulting in new and improved laws and founded the Hermitage Museum, which we will visit tomorrow.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today –sunny and crisp with a hint of Autumn in the air.  We

drove out of the city to the more affluent suburb of Pushkin where we had iyr first glimpse of the elegant blue and white structure, known as Catherine’s Palace.  Originally built for Peter the Great’s widow Catherine I,  Catherine II remodeled  it and added gold-leaf dones  and room after room resplendent with mirrors, gilding and chubby cherubs.  The most famous room is the celebrated Amber Room whose walls are covered with panels of amber weighing 6 tons.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in this room.

The palace was occupied by the Nazis in WWII and dismantled and taken to Germany where many of the treasures were lost in the chaos after the war.  

The German government contributed financially to the restoration and it was reopened in 2003.  I was able to see it in 2004 but felt much more has been done in the last 10  years.

After an early dinner we were treated to a beautiful performance of Swan Lake in the Hermitage Theater.  It’s not a large theater but is lovely.  No one had assigned seats and we were one of the last to arrive but wound up sitting on the 2^nd row.  It was wonderful not only to see the dancers up close but also to watch the orchestra who were 6 feet in front of us.

There was an ‘after theater dessert table' with champagne but I had consumed enough calories for one day so plan to get a good night’s sleep before our tour of the Hermitage.  

We sail out of St. Petersburg tomorrow evening and really don’t expect any wifi for the next 5 days as we travel through smaller towns along the Volga on our way to Moscow.  I'll take good notes and fill you in our adventures as soon as possible.

Linda