Another place that we didn't go to when we were on our trip 13 years ago was to the palace at Tsarskoye Selo in Pushkino. Yulia's friend, Vera, told us that we should really try to go there - especially to see the Amber Room, which had been restored relatively recently. The trip out to Pushkino was another adventure - we had to take the Metro out to where we caught it from our flight - the Moscow station - which is way out. Then we needed to take a bus for about 35-40 minutes. It was an even longer drive than our trip the day before to Peterhoff.
We arrived and bought tickets to see the grounds of the estate. The land was given to Peter's wife as a gift from him, and it was another summer palace used by the royal family. We really liked the gardens at this estate - they were simpler, but very beautiful and peaceful and had wide paths and ponds. The grounds have two connected palaces - the Catherine Palace and the Alexander Palace.
 |
| Chapel at Catherine Palace |
 |
| The palace from the outside |
 |
| Family photo outside Catherine Palace |
 |
| The day was beautiful as was the entire estate |
 |
| The landscaping was meticulous |
 |
| This was part of a walking gallery that was not restored |
 |
| Nika sitting on the steps of the walking gallery |
 |
| View from the gallery |
 |
| View of the palace from the gallery |
 |
| The walking gallery |
 |
| More of the grounds |
 |
| This small lake was great |
 |
| Bird Watching |
 |
| Resting near the lake |
 |
| These squared off trees were amazing. |
 |
| Ladies in waiting |
 |
| Little hermitage at the end of the park |
The main attraction is the Amber room, which is located in the Catherine Palace. It was a room with walls decorated elaborately and completely by amber. It was considered the 8th wonder of the world, but disappeared during WWII after being taken piece by piece by the Germans.
The room was rebuilt beginning in 1979 with donations from Germany and with many skilled craftsmen working. It was completed in 2003. The day on Monday was very warm - and since both the Hermitage and Peterhoff were closed, the whole complex was busy with tourists. We had to stand in line for two hours to get into the palace, and then buy tickets and take a tour. The palace system was very inefficient, and was quite frustrating.
 |
| Standing in line. For two hours just to get inside.... |
 |
| Picture of Amber room taken from just outside where photography was still allowed |
The palace was set up to show how it would look when in use - rather than simply as a museum, and we enjoyed seeing the fancy lives of the Russian royals. The Amber Room was amazing. We couldn't take pictures of it, but we enjoyed looking at it.
 |
| A dining room set up in Catherine's Palace |
 |
| Ballroom |
 |
| Dressed in period costumes |
 |
| Parlour |
 |
| Music room. Furnace in the corner. |
 |
| Art Gallery with the furnace. |
Once we were done, we had to walk back and catch our bus, which we did. It was hot and another 40-minute ride was in store for us. We got to the station and decided to eat at the McDonald's there. We ate and then took the Metro from there home. Yulia got some food for breakfast since we had to leave the next morning at 5:30 to be on the Metro when it opened at 5:40.
We enjoyed our whirlwind not-quite-three day trip to St. Petersburg. It was a good start to a summer trip adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment