SUNDAY 19TH - ST PETERSBURG AGAIN

For the second morning in a row, we had to get up at 5:00am for a 6:15 departure but we made it. We get to sleep in tomorrow in Helsinki where we plan a much more leisurely day.

We started the day with a canal and river cruise getting the opportunity to see the numerous grand and historic buildings from the water.

From there we headed out of the city to the Grand Peterhof Palace and Peterhof Gardens at Peterhof, a grand spectacle in both the palace and the gardens originally built in the reign of Peter, allowed to deteriorate during the revolution as so many palaces and grand buildings were but subsequently renovated.

 

The fountains rely entirely on a gravity fed water supply for their water pressure. No pumps are used.

 

After a Russian style lunch complete with vodka, we headed back to the city to the palace where Rasputin was assasinated. ABP – another bloody palace.

Our final destination was St Isaac's Cathedral, no longer used as a church, now a very popular tourist destination but spectacular in its construction and decoration. Once again, it was allowed to deteriorate during the revolution but since renovated.

St Petersburg – a great place to visit but we wouldn't want to live there.