Russia in the Rain

By our third day in St. Petersburg, Katie and I felt a little bit like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. The rain has really seemed to follow us on this trip, and St. Petersburg has been no exception. Nonetheless, it was impossible not to be impressed by the city. Large domed cathedrals seem to tower over every other block and the streets are lined with beautiful buildings in every color of the rainbow. As noted before, the city spreads across many different islands so you often find yourself crossing various rivers and canals to visit the sites.

We were told to spend more time in St. Petersburg than Moscow because of all the city has to offer. After only 4.5 days here, I can say with confidence that it is definitely on my "return to" list.

Some of the highlights include:

• The Winter Palace and the palace square which serve as the engrave to the Hermitage
• The Hermitage - which is basically the Louvre of Russia. Unfortunately we visited this one after I wrote the last entry so probably didn't appreciate it as much as I could have. I personally found the building and some of the rooms themselves (including the state rooms from the last imperial family) to be more impressive than the painting collection. Supposedly the museum covers several miles of floor space, which is still only enough to display 5% of the collection
• Peter and Paul Fortress - the resting place of all of the Russian czars and the site of a former prison
• The Peteroff Palace, which is reminiscent of Versailles and had the most spectacular grounds of almost any palace I've seen. The centerpiece leading up to the palace was the "grand cascade and water avenue" that boasted over 64 fountains and 40 bronze statues... Maybe a little over the top but if it wasn't cold and dreary (and if there was no risk of getting thrown in a Russian jail) I would have jumped in.
• The Church of Spilled Blood: the picture of the facade of this one says enough and the entire inside is covered in mosaics
• Numerous other cathedrals but this entry is already really long...