Trips

Mon., 9/21/15 – St. Petersburg
        This morning we visited churches – and I forgot to bring along my headscarf.   Marge opted not to tour today and enjoyed the day of relaxation in our room.
        Catherine took us first to the blue and white Russian baroque style St. Nicholas Church.  It is an unusual church because the bell tower is separate from the church and the church has two stories. 
        Next we stopped at a place where the canals criss-crossed and seven bridges and the yellow Estonian St. Isidore Brotherhood Church with green domes could be seen and photographed. We finally got time to go inside St. Isaac’s Cathedral with our guide. The three large doors are oak covered in bronze with panels of scenes from the Bible.  Inside is both a museum and a functioning church.  There are displays of the scaffolding used to erect the massive one-piece granite columns outside and of the three-layered dome.  Hollow clay pots were used between the layers to improve acoustics and reduce moisture.  The religious oil paintings on the walls are being replaced with smalt glass tiles.  The process allows all the shades of color to be created to replicate the oil paint colors.  The gold of the dome was created by firing mercury with gold. The church will hold 7,000 standing people and during WWII it was used for storing grain and in the Soviet period was the museum of atheism.

St. Nicholas Church - Bell Tower	St. Isidore Holy Church
St. Isaacs Cathedral	St. Isaacs Cathedral
St. Isaacs Cathedral	Church on Spilled Blood
We had 1½ hours of free time for lunch and to wander around.  I headed first to the Church on Spilled Blood.  On our two previous trips we did not have time to see the inside of the church.  I paid 250 Rubles (about $4 US) and went inside.  There is a black canopy over the spot where Emperor Alexander II was killed, hence the title of the church.  The four inner columns are decorated with mosaics of saints.  The dome and walls are all mosaic.  It was splendid.
Church on Spilled Blood - Iconostasis	Church on Spilled Blood
Church on Spilled Blood	Church on Spilled Blood
I walked back to the Eliseev’s Food Emporium, which is quite a memorable experience.  The Eliseev brothers ran a catering business of exotic foods for the Romanovs. There is a small theater on the second floor.  The three front windows have animated figures that reminded me of the Wanamaker windows at Christmas time in Philadelphia.  Inside were old glass counters displaying cookies, candies, cheese, meats, bakery items, and lots of fine liquors.  I took pictures and bought a spinach quiche for my lunch.  It cost 130 Rubles or $2 US.	Eliseev’s Food Emporium
Eliseev’s Food Emporium	Eliseev’s Food Emporium
Eliseev’s Food Emporium	Eliseev’s Food Emporium
Eliseev’s Food Emporium	Eliseev’s Food Emporium
Statue outside the Chocolate Museum	At 1:30 we boarded our minibus in the rain for our hour long drive out to the Catherine Palace.  It was raining seriously as we waited for our group ticket and then stood in line waiting to enter the palace. The cloakroom was a mass of large Chinese tour groups.  The lines for the toilets were reminiscent of China – they kept trying to butt in ahead of us.  It was quite unpleasant.  We had on our whisper devices and Catherine did an excellent job of chasing the Chinese individuals back into their groups and herding us along the tour with swarms of Asians ahead and behind us.  The Chinese need to be taught some manners before leaving home!      The tour of the palace was a repeat of our last two trips through the place.  The large mirror and gold ballroom is opulence in excess and the replicated amber room is really unbelievable. On today’s tour we did not see the photos of the German destruction of the palace.  The Nazis set fire to everything before they left.  We took a short walk through the manicured gardens of the Catherine Park.  Too bad it was still dripping rain.
Catherine Palace	Catherine Palace - Gardens
Catherine Palace - Gardens	Catherine Palace
Tonight was our Farewell dinner.  Victor drove us a long way through city traffic to a fine restaurant in the basement of a former noble’s home.  We had a toast with Russian Belaga vodka.  I figure it killed any germs in my throat.  Dinner and dessert were wonderful.  Two dancers, a violinist, and guitarist dressed like gypsies entertained us.  It was a late night but we packed up to be ready to fly to Moscow tomorrow.	Farewell dinner
Farewell dinner	Farewell dinner

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