Palace Tour in St. Petersburg: Fairytales Do Exist

     Once upon a time, Jasmine stepped off her palace balcony for a curb-side carpet ride, Cinderella fled from the castle losing her one-size-fits-only-her shoe, and Ariel swam from her castle in the sea to trade her fins for legs and a little silence.  Disney produced these fairytales for our viewing entertainment causing little girls to play princesses and older ones to wonder where their prince charmings are.  Although the magic may be a fairytale, the castles and palaces most certainly are not; as in, people actually lived (live) as extravagantly as these stories tell.  I guess it is a little more overwhelming to someone from the US to find out that palaces, exquisite fountains, golden ballrooms, and royal families actually did (do) exist.  My once upon a dream was made a reality on our palace tour of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Peterhof

     After searching for a great many touring companies, we came across Best Guides, who were able to organize a day just for us and exactly what we wanted to see for a decent price.  We started the day with a ride to the outskirts of St. Petersburg landing at Peterhof Palace, also known as the Russian Versailles; it consists of a series of palaces built by Peter the Great and expanded by his successors.  Like Versailles in France, the grounds are packed full of fountains for beauty and fun.  The main palace is a small one having only 30 rooms, but each has been restored to its original decor (WWII damaged the palace greatly).

At the entrance to Peterhof Palace, the church of the grounds in the background.  Yes, that is real gold plated on those fancy things.

Preparing for the fountains to begin.....again, real gold.

Some of the gardens with some pretty creative designs.  I plan on incorporating this into our terrace next spring.

Sound in my head: Opera singer backed by full orchestra.

Canal empties into the Gulf of Finland.

It only took us 5 tries to get this picture due to the interference of East Asian tour groups, their umbrellas, and own picture taking.

The fountains are completely natural (no pumps), powered by gravity and natural springs (hills sure do make a difference).

Swirls and shooting water.

I'm not sure which is prettier (the fountains or us).  Sheesh PDub, did you pack anything other than the track jacket?

Samson tearing into a lion; special to Peter the Great because he was considered Samson and Sweden the lion (he had just won a war against them).

Fountains with the Grand Palace in the background.

The view guests would see when they arrived from the sea.  Peter the Great would greet them with fireworks to make them feel special and him appear super loaded.

One of the many fountains on the grounds of Peterhof.

Peter's more modest villa and his favorite, Monplaisir.  (Still on the grounds of Peterhof).

Overlooking the Gulf of Finland, from Monplaisir.

One of the trick fountains where getting to the bench without triggering the fountain was the obstacle.  Little do the players know that an "onlooker" is triggering the water flow.

Another trick fountain.  Peter the Great would take his guests down this pathway where they would be surprised (and drenched) with the activation of this fountain.  The individuals here thought they were prepared for it, but the full-blown super-soaker firing squad looked to be a shock.

One of the beautiful fountains.

Checkerboard fountain aka Dragon fountain.

Pavlovsk Palace

     After lunching on some Russian pancakes, which happened to be exactly like French crepes, we headed for the next palace on our list, Pavlovsk Palace or Paul's Palace.  Catherine the Great ordered this palace to be built for her son, Paul, and his second wife, Maria.  Although this one was not as ornate as Peterhof, it was probably my favorite; I could actually picture myself living in it.  Again, WWII drove the palace into ruin; however, it has been completely restored to its original state.  Unlike the well landscaped grounds of Peterhof, Pavlovsk has more natural grounds, something that I also prefer.  I did not take many pictures at this one....

I could not capture the entire palace seeing that it wrapped around in a partial circle, but you get the gist.

Catherine Palace

     Our last stop for the day was the Catherine Palace, built by Catherine I and later revamped by Empress Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was well-known for her need for luxury and excess; she is reported to have owned 15,000 dresses!  Therefore, this palace was truly decked out with 100kg of gold for the exterior and an impressive interior including the well-known Amber Room (walls completely made of amber).  After Empress Elizabeth passed away, the palace was passed on to Catherine the Great, who it is named after; it was her favorite palace.  Again, the palace has been restored since its destruction during WWII.

The golden gates entering into the palace grounds.

Some fun photography of the palace.

More fun.

Catherine Palace.

So pretty...

I think this might be a new addition to the front door of our dream house.

Yes, the Beauty and the Beast ballroom does exist.

PDub wouldn't waltz with me.

The Amber Room with wall panels made of amber.  Restoration of this room alone cost over $12 million.  The original panels were most likely stolen by Germans and never returned during WWII.

The grounds of Catherine Palace.

Catherine Palace from the gardens.

The Hermitage with a dumbwaiter mechanism dining.  The food is elevated to the guests from the floor below.  No waiters necessary.

     I am still in awe as to the lifestyles of the Romanov (royal) family in Russia.  With their extremely lavish ways, I do not blame the peasants for overthrowing them back in the early 1900's sadly falling into communist hands.  I thank Russia for taking the time and money to restore these palaces to their original state; it makes Disney's happily ever after all the more realistic.

White Nights and St. Isaac's Cathedral St. Petersburg, Russia

     Fact: St. Petersburg, Russia is the northernmost city to have a population over 1 million.  Based on its northern location, St. P experiences a phenomenon known as white nights between the days of June 11th and July 2nd.  The sun dips barely below the horizon creating a dusk-like sky before it rises in full again.  The night hours remain so bright that the street lamps are never turned on because they are just not needed.  Strolling along the canals and meeting several fellow-walkers, it is hard to believe that your watch is correct and that your body is not tricking you with its need for sleep.

     Although we felt like it was bedtime at the 11 o'clock hour, PDub and I fought the need for slumber and headed for St. Isaac's Cathedral (built 1818-1858); the colonnade is gratefully open until 4am during white nights.  The cathedral is the largest in the city of St. P and can be seen from afar due to its elevated location and pure gold-plated dome.  No worries, I did not bring my chisel to doggie bag some goodies.    During WWII, the dome was painted over with gray so as not to lure in the enemy.  Architecturally, the cathedral was an influence to the Cathedral in Helsinki (visited there earlier in the trip) and the Wisconsin State Capitol (cheese!).  Although the cathedral currently contains both a museum and a place for worship, it originally was built solely for religious purposes; however, under the soviet government, all religious statues were removed, and the building was turned into a museum.  Thankfully, it now doubles as both.  From the colonnade, we were able to see fantastic views of the city as well as the sunset at 11:45pm.  You can see how the sky changes in the pictures.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

One of the religious statues at of St. Isaac's Cathedral.

They wouldn't let me ring the bell, and they didn't get my Quasimodo joke (I guess that's for Paris).

The Mariinsky Palace and Senate Square (where the Decembrist Revolt occurred).

Moon!

The Triumphal Arch at Palace Square (building now contains government offices).

Sunset!

Winter Palace and Hermitage is the blue building on the far left.

Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood in the distance.

Sun is almost gone!  (But not really.)

JDUB!!!!

     Sleep tight white nights!

Getting Sentimental....and a Russian Ballet

     When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, the highly entertaining answers generally range from astronaut to princess.  When I was asked that question, my answer was always "ballerina" (a typical girl answer).  At the age of 5, my parents enrolled me in dance classes so that I might pursue this dream, just like most little girls.  At the age of 9, they began taking me to the Broadway season series performed at the St. Louis Fox Theater.  I was lucky to have parents who saw my passions and helped to feed them.  By the age of 18, I was still dancing (unlike most girls); it was at this time that I chose the brains instead of the arts route, attending a private university and studying biology.  I was never able to give up dance completely; even to this day, I still torture my body with a class here and there.  Because of this love for the arts and even possibly for my own regrets of not becoming that ballerina (some would support that I have grown up), I still push myself to attend performances and enjoy the other world.  When I heard St. Petersburg was on our itinerary, I immediately purchased tickets to the ballet.

My first tutu.

Tap was never my favorite but who could hate the fringe, sequins, and excessively large bows?

     Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th century.  In the 17th century, France created the first theatrical ballet company coupled with opera, also generating its vocabulary.  In the 18th century, Russia took ballet to a completely new level, establishing one of the first independent companies, and becoming very influential in the art form.  This company, the Imperial Russian Ballet, was founded in the 1740's following Russia's first ballet school in 1738.  Although the Imperial Russian Ballet has changed names, now known as the Kirov Ballet or Mariinsky Ballet, it still thrives and is recognized as one of the world's greatest ballets.  You have probably guessed it by now, PDub and I attended one of their performances (Cinderella) at the new Mariinsky Theater (II).

A scene from the performance.

The little cinder girl (Diana Vishneva, who performs with the Mariinsky Ballet and the ABT....currently, one of the best ballerinas in the world).

The curtain call at the performance we attended.

The Mariinsky Theater (dating back to 1783) where individuals such as Anna Pavlova, George Balanchine, and Mikhail Baryshnikov danced.  We did not get to visit this theater, but it is at the top of our list for next time.

The Mariinsky Theater II sits right next door to the old one and is considered one of the largest theater venues in the world.  The $700 million stage opened merely a month before we visited.

In the auditorium of the Mariinsky Theater II awaiting the 49th performance of Ratmansky's Cinderella.

     I sat in the audience with tears in my eyes but a smile on my face.  I may not have grown up to be a ballerina, but my dreams came true that night.  I got to see one of my favorite stories performed by the best and oldest ballet companies on one of the newest stages with the most historical one right next door.  I realized that I am apart of that world even if I can only call myself a spectator, feeling the emotions and cheering on those who did become ballerinas.

I hope you don't get so emotional over what you wanted to be when you grew up.....a ninja, Indiana Jones, a monkey, etc.