The last post I (Tom) wrote, from Svetogorsk to Vyborg, was reasonably boring, and Katherine then took over with photos, making things much better. For now, she does the photos, as they are taken using her iPad, and I do just text because I do not have a download cable to import photos into the PC I am using.
I now cannot remember if we mentioned the bike shop in Vyborg, but I will assume we did and come back to it later if that turns out not to be so.
We had 5 complete days in St Petersburg, including the one where we saw a government office from a user's perspective (when we were trying to regularise our migration cards, or lack of them). I guess this was all part of the tourist experience, if an unusual one, and if unusual more valuable for that. Maybe. Otherwise, we went to church on Sunday morning. Beautiful music, some comprehension of where one was in the order of the Mass, and standing all the way through. Much time spent in the Hermitage and its extension across the square in the "General Staff" building. Missed the Picassos because they do not seem right now to be on display. The Russian museum was interesting. A good meal in the restaurant attached to the vodka museum, where the waiter decided we wanted beef Stoganoff and chicken Kiev; we chose otherwise. The museum had its interest but was basically someone's collection over the years - and you might imagine what that means. We also visited the ethnographic museum. The Hermitage also had stuff about neolithic finds, which we liked.
But, although we gave most of our time to museums, ST Petersburg is more; a wonderful place just to walk around. Weather varied, but one evening was mild and lots of people were just walking around.
Then, after the 5 days, on to Petergof, which is SW of the city so on the route to Estonia. Our bit of luxury here, in a posh hotel. One whole day there, with reasonable weather, and we went round the gardens of the Summer Palace, seeing the wonderful fountains which seem to have been something of an obsession of Peter the Great. He seems to have been a perpetually active man, always taking a new initiative and that sort of thing. He took an active role in designing the hydraulics for a great display of fountains.
No blog entry should be too long, so that's it for now.
I now cannot remember if we mentioned the bike shop in Vyborg, but I will assume we did and come back to it later if that turns out not to be so.
We had 5 complete days in St Petersburg, including the one where we saw a government office from a user's perspective (when we were trying to regularise our migration cards, or lack of them). I guess this was all part of the tourist experience, if an unusual one, and if unusual more valuable for that. Maybe. Otherwise, we went to church on Sunday morning. Beautiful music, some comprehension of where one was in the order of the Mass, and standing all the way through. Much time spent in the Hermitage and its extension across the square in the "General Staff" building. Missed the Picassos because they do not seem right now to be on display. The Russian museum was interesting. A good meal in the restaurant attached to the vodka museum, where the waiter decided we wanted beef Stoganoff and chicken Kiev; we chose otherwise. The museum had its interest but was basically someone's collection over the years - and you might imagine what that means. We also visited the ethnographic museum. The Hermitage also had stuff about neolithic finds, which we liked.
But, although we gave most of our time to museums, ST Petersburg is more; a wonderful place just to walk around. Weather varied, but one evening was mild and lots of people were just walking around.
Then, after the 5 days, on to Petergof, which is SW of the city so on the route to Estonia. Our bit of luxury here, in a posh hotel. One whole day there, with reasonable weather, and we went round the gardens of the Summer Palace, seeing the wonderful fountains which seem to have been something of an obsession of Peter the Great. He seems to have been a perpetually active man, always taking a new initiative and that sort of thing. He took an active role in designing the hydraulics for a great display of fountains.
No blog entry should be too long, so that's it for now.
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