Sailing Into Russia

Finally the day of our most-awaited stop had arrived and we watched from our verandah as we sailed into St. Petersburg, Russia. In the past few years, Janie and I had set foot in many places we never thought possible, like Belfast and now East Berlin, but getting to go ashore in the former Soviet Union was definitely something we never thought we would be able to do.

Moyka River

We had heard a lot of horror stories about Russian immigration, so we went down to the lobby early and got in line. The ship said they would not let us off until 8:30 unless we were on an excursion with Celebrity. One guest was arguing heavily that the ship was in violation of immigration law. We ended up leaving the ship around 8:15. They were pulsing people through the immigration lines and we moved through quickly with little wait. We met our tour guide Nina outside the terminal and soon were in the TJ Travel van for our first day in St. Petersburg. Our first stop was along the Moyka river.

Admiralteyskaya Metro Station

Nina took us to one of the St. Petersburg Metro stations, the Admiralteyskaya (Admiralty) stop. The station is connected via two consecutive escalators. One is 125 meters long and the other is 25 meters. The station itself is 86 meters below the surface, the deepest in St. Petersburg.

Outside St. Isaac's Church

After the Metro stop, we were off to St. Isaac's Church. Originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia, it was built between 1818 and 1858 to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital.

Yusupov Palace and St. Isaac's Church

Before our inside tour of St. Isaac's, we headed down the street to Yusupov Palace, one of two surviving St. Petersburg residences of the wealthy Yusupov family. The palace itself is most famous as the scene of the assassination of Grigory Rasputin, and is one of the few aristocratic homes in the city to have retained many of its original interiors.

Following Yusupov, we went back to St. Isaac's to tour the inside of the church. The church took 40 years to build and required driving 25,000 piles into the sand under St. Petersburg. The church was stripped of its religious trappings under Soviet rule and turned into a museum. The pure gold dome was painted gray during World War II to prevent it from being a target of German aircraft.

The interior features multicolored granite and marble from all over Russia and malachite and lazurite columns along the iconostasis. The many paintings by Russian masters deteriorated quickly in the cold, damp cathedral and so were recreated as mosaics.

St. Peter and Paul Fortress

Our next stop was the Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul, the second-tallest buildings in the city and the site of the first structure built in St. Petersburg. The cathedral at the fortress is home to the graves of nearly all the rulers of Russia since Peter the Great.

The fortress gained a reputation as one of the most feared prisons in the Russian Empire, as well as the headquarters of the Secret Chancelleries, the ruthless secret police of the Tsarist era. The first prisoner to be held in the fortress was purportedly Peter's son, Tsarevich Alexei, who was accused of leading a reactionary conspiracy against his father. He died in the fortress while awaiting execution in June 1718. The fortress also was the prison for dissidents such as Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Today, the Peter and Paul Fortress is the central complex of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, and the only building to retain its historic function is the Mint, the oldest money-printing company in Russia.

Grand Cafe Neva

After the fortress, it was time for a traditional Russian lunch at Grand Cafe Neva. The soup was very good but the chicken was overcooked.

Church On Spilt Blood

It had started to rain while we were in the restaurant but we had a van ride ahead of us to the Church on Spilt Blood and the rain stopped by the time we arrived there. Sadly, the magnificent church was shrouded in scaffolding so we couldn't get the full effect. But the beautiful decorations inside made up for our disappointment at the outside.

Hydrofoil To Petergof

Next up on our agenda was a hydrofoil drive on the river out to Petergof.

Petergof

The palace and park at Peterhof are often referred to as "the Russian Versailles" and after seeing the park, grounds and fountains, we certainly agreed.

Faberge Museum

We were running significantly behind schedule and this wasn't helped by our van driver not being ready to pick us up. Traffic back to the city delayed us even further. We made it back to the port and had a few minutes for a restroom stop before we were back in the van for our visit to the Faberge Museum. Becca was disappointed for a couple of reasons even though she had originally been excited about seeing shiny objects. First she hadn't realized that seeing a Russian ballet was an option, although we explained it really wasn't as we would have needed time to dress up and it was fairly expensive. Second, they were bringing a Russian dance troupe on board the ship for the evening show, something we didn't know about until the night before.

Our delay getting back meant we only had an hour at Faberge but it ended up not mattering as there was really not that much to see. Seeing the famed eggs was fantastic, but all in all, it probably wasn't worth the cost.

Faberge Eggs

Bay Tree Easter Egg

The Bay Tree Easter Egg (with key) was presented by the Emperor Nicholas II as a gift to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter, 1911.
St. Petersburg, 1911, House of Faberge. Gold, nephrite, diamonds, quartz, rubies, amethysts, citrine quartz, pearls, enamel, feathers; casting, embossing, engraving, polishing.

Cockerel Easter Egg

The Cockerel Easter Egg-Clock was presented by the Emperor Nicholas II as a gift to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter, 1900.
St. Petersburg, 1900, House of Faberge, craftsman: M. Perchin. Gold, diamonds, pearls, feathers, guilloche enamel, casting, embossing, engraving, edging.

Fifteenth Anniversary Easter Egg

The Fifteenth Anniversary Easter Egg was presented by the Emperor Nicholas II as a gift to his wife, the Alexandra Feodorovna, on Easter, 1911.
St. Petersburg, 1911, House of Faberge, craftsman: H. Wigstrom, miniaturist: V. Zuiev. Gold, diamonds, glass, ivory; guilloche enamel, embossing, watercolors.

Egg Clock of the Duchess Marlborough 1902

The Duchess of Marlborough egg, also known as the Pink Serpent egg, is a jewelled enameled Easter egg made by Michael Perchin under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberge in 1902.

Heart-shaped Frame with 3 Miniatures

The Heart-shaped Frame with 3 Miniatures was the surprise from a lost egg, presented by the Emperor Nicholas II as a gift to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1897.
St. Petersburg, 1897, House of Faberge, miniaturist: J. Zehngraf. Gold, diamonds, pearls, ivory, glass: embossing, engraving, guilloche enamel, watercolors.

Hen Easter Egg

The Hen Easter Egg was the first of the Imperial series. It was presented by the Emperor Alexander III as a gift to his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter, 1885.
St. Petersburg, 1885, House of Faberge. Gold, rubies, enamel, suede, casting, embossing, engraving.

Imperial Coronation Easter Egg

The Imperial Coronation Egg is a jeweled egg which was made to commemorate the Coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. The egg was presented by Nicholas II as a gift to his wife, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, on Easter, 1897.
St. Petersburg, 1897, House of Faberge, craftsman: M. Perchin. The miniature carriage is an exact copy of the coronation carriage. Miniaturist: G. Stein. Gold, platinum, silver, diamonds, rhinestone, velvet, champleve enamel, guilloche and painted enamel, casting, engraving.

Lilies-of-the-Valley Easter Egg

The Lilies-of-the-Valley Easter Egg was presented by the Emperor Nicholas II as a gift to his wife, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, on Easter, 1898.
St. Petersburg, 1898, House of Faberge, craftsman: M. Perchin, miniaturist: J. Zehngraf. Gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls, guilloche enamel, glass, ivory; casting, embossing, engraving, gilding, watercolors.

Order of St. George Easter Egg

The Order of St. George Easter Egg was a gift from the Emperor Nicholas II to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter, 1916.
St. Petersburg, 1916, House of Faberge. Gold, silver, glass, ivory; champleve and guilloche enamel, painted enamel, casting, embossing, engraving, edging, watercolors.

Renaissance Easter Egg Jewelry Box

The Renaissance Easter Egg Jewelry Box was presented by the Emperor Alexander III as a gift to his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna, on Easter, 1894.
St. Petersburg, 1894, House of Faberge, craftsman: M. Perchin. Gold, diamonds, rubies, agate; champleve and guilloche enamel, painted enamel, casting, embossing, engraving, carving, polishing.

Resurrection Egg

The Resurrection Egg. St. Petersburg, 1886-1898, House of Faberge, craftsman: M. Perchin. Gold, crystals, diamonds, pearls, painted enamel, champleve and guilloche enamel, embossing.

Kelch Hen Egg

The 1898 Kelch Hen Egg is made of gold, rose-cut diamonds, portrait diamonds, translucent strawberry red, opaque white and matt yellow enamel, and suede lining. the miniature hen is made of gold and brown and white enamel. The miniature ease is made of gold, rose-cut diamonds, cabochon ruby, and watercolor, possibly on ivory.

Dinner

When we returned to the ship, we went up to the buffet where they were still serving a Russian dinner. After a long day, we decided to have a last drink and then go to bed with another day in Russia ahead of us.