St Petersburg, Russia

Russia may be changing, but there is still a weird sense of Big Brother watching. Long lines for immigration, sour faced officials, and RULES. No wandering around. You must stay with your tour – no deviations – having to pay for the right to take pictures in the buildings. On the first day our bus was stopped for no apparent reason and the driver collected dozens of papers to show the police officer. The tour guide mentioned the officers are known for extortion and bribery. They didn’t tell us the outcome, but after about 20 minutes, we finally continued on. The bus driver was very upset and muttering as he got back on the bus. The places we visited were exquisite. WAY over the top in opulence. No wonder the people rebelled against the upper class. Catherine's Palace had dozens of huge rooms and most were like the pictures above done in gold leaf and carvings. You can see the many golden doorways above the heads of the crowds in the picture above. The amber room was spectacular with the walls covered with intricate designs made of different shades of amber.

Peterhof had variety of styles but all done with opulence. I liked the room from China with jade, silk, carvings, laquer furniture and all the accessories. The grounds and fountains were spectcular. We had to wear shoe covers in both palaces to protect the beautiful inlaid floors.

There was even a lighthouse built here so the czar could find the palace by sea.

The Church on Spilled Blood was my favorite. I wish we had more time there or with less people. We were packed shoulder to shoulder as we constantly moved through the church. It was hard to get photos or even to appreciate what you were seeing inside. The architecture with the onion domes was exquisite and the mosaics covering the walls and celings inside were stellar and mostly original. Many of the palaces have been restored because of damage during the war. Since the mosaics in the church were not easily removed and it was not bombed, 92% survived intact. The blue and gold piture of Jesus above is just a small section of the stunning ceiling.

We visited with a local street seller when we were standing in one of the many lines. He was selling French language books to Canadians and Spanish books to Californians and Floridians. He had a great patter. Other than that, we were just herded, shoulder to shoulder with the masses of people and treated like cattle. Although the tour people were nice, there were no personal interactions, just strictly business.

We took a hydrofoil ride from Peterhof into the city. It is known as the "Venice of the north" and had many lovely canals. The metal railings on the bridges was exquisite and every bridge was different.

The Rostral Columns were two lighthouses flanking the river and had the forcastles of ships for decoration. Definately different.

This is a typical apartment building in the city. Although we didn't go in, they appeared devoid of any architectural appeal or charm. We were told there are waiting lists to get basic housing such as this and there will typically be many people and multiple generations per unit. This was in stark contract to the large amount of expensive cars driven by burly, suited men made you wonder if they make money legitimately or are part of the extorcian racket that appears to be prevalent. Those men were frightening. Russia was, and is still a study in contrasts.

We were there on Sunday and parked across from a wedding chapel. We caught a picture of a nervous bride and her bridesmaid outside for a smoke. It saddened me to see so many people smoking.

The nights are very short here. It feels odd to watch the sunset at 11:30 PM. This time of year is called “white nights”. The sun sets for such a short time, it never really gets dark and we won’t be able to see the Northern Lights.

We didn't have time to see the Hermitage but saw the lovely buildings and heard that the displays were exquisite.