Thursday, September 08, 2005
Today's Trip Pic
Welcome to our final day in Russia. I could go on for a good deal longer, but this is enough. As I said earlier, we did not visit the most famous of the suburban palaces this trip -- Peterhof, or in Russian "Petrodovets." This palace is located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland slightly out to sea from St Petersburg itself. It is most convenient to travel there by boat. I could not help but be strick by the similarity in this way to London where the rulers would travel from Westminster Palace, to the Tower, to Greenwich on the River Thames.
Peterhof is best described as "Versaille on steroids." The place is enormous! All these pictures are from my '91 visit. The interior is incredible, but on a room-by-room basis, not that extraordinarily different from other palaces, though the number of rooms is amazing.What sets this palace apart is its size and its grounds.
"Why walk on stone or concrete when you can climb stairs made of gold?" that's what I always say. I think the Romanovs had a standing order that if it did not move in ten minutes it was to be gilded. I mean look at this thing.
The grounds are littered with fountains -- these being perhaps the most spectacular. But there are hidden ones as well, designed to soak you when you least suspect it. Playfulness is a good thing I think -- particularly on a hot summer day. Though I wonder what it did to all the clothes they wore in those days.Peterhof is a marvel. Sometimes I am regretful that I did not take my wife there, but then it gives us an excuse to go back - doesn't it?
