Saturday, October 24, 2009
St Petersburg - The Summer Palace (Tsarskoe Selo)
The former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, done in incredibly gaudy Rococo style.
St Petersburg - The Winter Palace (Hermitage)
We went to the Hermitage 3 times, and I could have gone 3 times more and not been the slightest bit bored. The art collection is stupendous – but actually it became so enormous only after the Revolution, when it increased threefold with confiscated property. The Yusupovs' collection alone had over 1200 paintings (we visited their palace).
I think I very justifiably went loco with photos here. Actually, you can even photograph the art (without the flash, but many extremely rude people leave the flash on!). But of course it's never the same looking at a photo afterwards, so I didn't bother. Instead, I took photos of the amazing interior.
I think I very justifiably went loco with photos here. Actually, you can even photograph the art (without the flash, but many extremely rude people leave the flash on!). But of course it's never the same looking at a photo afterwards, so I didn't bother. Instead, I took photos of the amazing interior.
Friday, October 23, 2009
St Petersburg - Part 2
St Isaacs Cathedral
St Isaac's Cathedral is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built (took 40 years to construct!). Under the Soviets it was turned into a museum of atheism, but now the interior has been restored back to its former glory. I must say I am impressed by the thought, care, and attention to detail which which Russians renovate their cultural relics – no comparison with the slapdash Dulux job on the Forbidden City.
Great thing about this church is that you can climb to the top, and the view is magnificent in all directions. The green and white building is the Winter Palace (Hermitage).
Yusupov Palace
The Yusupov Palace is notorious as the site of Rasputin's murder in 1916 by Prince Yusupov and gang, but actually I just wanted to see how the other half lived. I wasn't disappointed. It's unbelievably luxurious - everything was custom made in Europe, every room is decorated in the different style. There is even a private theater where the bests artists of the day gave private performances for their illustrious audience. But surprisingly, it also had a family home feel to it.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The rather gruesome name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on the site in 1881. I am not sure why such a psychedelic building was used to commemorate his death (it's modelled on St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow), but it does look cool.
Peterhof – the "Russian Versailles"
After Peter the Great spent time in Europe (the first Russian Tsar to visit Western Europe) he was much impressed by Versailles and decided that Russia needed something similar to raise its prestige. This is the result - a series of palaces and gardens with formal fountains in the front. The fountains were turned off for the winter by the time we got there, but very beautiful anyway.
Stolle's Pies
This is not exactly a tourist attraction, but it was such a large part of our visit to St Petersburg I have to mention it. THE BEST PIES I'VE EVER HAD!!! We would willingly go till 3pm or 4pm to eat lunch just so we could eat it there. I miss it already :(
St Isaac's Cathedral is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built (took 40 years to construct!). Under the Soviets it was turned into a museum of atheism, but now the interior has been restored back to its former glory. I must say I am impressed by the thought, care, and attention to detail which which Russians renovate their cultural relics – no comparison with the slapdash Dulux job on the Forbidden City.
Great thing about this church is that you can climb to the top, and the view is magnificent in all directions. The green and white building is the Winter Palace (Hermitage).
Yusupov Palace
The Yusupov Palace is notorious as the site of Rasputin's murder in 1916 by Prince Yusupov and gang, but actually I just wanted to see how the other half lived. I wasn't disappointed. It's unbelievably luxurious - everything was custom made in Europe, every room is decorated in the different style. There is even a private theater where the bests artists of the day gave private performances for their illustrious audience. But surprisingly, it also had a family home feel to it.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The rather gruesome name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on the site in 1881. I am not sure why such a psychedelic building was used to commemorate his death (it's modelled on St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow), but it does look cool.
Peterhof – the "Russian Versailles"
After Peter the Great spent time in Europe (the first Russian Tsar to visit Western Europe) he was much impressed by Versailles and decided that Russia needed something similar to raise its prestige. This is the result - a series of palaces and gardens with formal fountains in the front. The fountains were turned off for the winter by the time we got there, but very beautiful anyway.
Stolle's Pies
This is not exactly a tourist attraction, but it was such a large part of our visit to St Petersburg I have to mention it. THE BEST PIES I'VE EVER HAD!!! We would willingly go till 3pm or 4pm to eat lunch just so we could eat it there. I miss it already :(
Thursday, October 22, 2009
St Petersburg - Part 1
This city is just so beautiful, I can't help but start with a few random photos. For a city of 4.6 million, the historic city centre doesn't actually feel that big, perfectly walkable in a day. Apart from it being quite cold at times (check out the photo of our first snow day below) there is really nothing I didn't like about it.
Russian Museum
I am guessing most people who come to St Petersburg would get their fill of art museums after the Hermitage, but they would really miss out by not going to the Russian Museum (formerly the Mikhailovsky Palace, residence of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich). The nature of the collection, which as the name implies, contains only pieces by Russian artists is quite different to what you see in the Hermitage – here the art reflects and traces Russia's history.
I am afraid I went a little crazy here buying up reproductions of Soviet-era propaganda posters. The museum has a large collection of originals and they print very good quality reproductions. I haven't actually seen such reproductions for sale anywhere else in Russia, and I've been looking. So we ended up sending two big tubes home... hopefully we will sell a few on Ebay, which would pay for the rest + postage.
Russian Museum
I am guessing most people who come to St Petersburg would get their fill of art museums after the Hermitage, but they would really miss out by not going to the Russian Museum (formerly the Mikhailovsky Palace, residence of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich). The nature of the collection, which as the name implies, contains only pieces by Russian artists is quite different to what you see in the Hermitage – here the art reflects and traces Russia's history.
I am afraid I went a little crazy here buying up reproductions of Soviet-era propaganda posters. The museum has a large collection of originals and they print very good quality reproductions. I haven't actually seen such reproductions for sale anywhere else in Russia, and I've been looking. So we ended up sending two big tubes home... hopefully we will sell a few on Ebay, which would pay for the rest + postage.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Moscow and St Petersburg
Today is our last day in Russia; tonight we are catching an overnight train to Kiev. Since my last blog, we've been to Moscow and St Petersburg, and we've enjoyed both, but it's St Petersburg I found to be absolutely amazing. It helped also that this is the off-season, and there are almost no other tourists. Yes it is a little cold, but if you don't mind that, this time of year is a great time to come here. For example the Hermitage, which sometimes sees 4 hour qeues, we had almost to ourselves. But I will start with Moscow:
The Red Square and Kremlin
The obligatory part of any visit to Moscow is of course Red Square and the Kremlin. They both look exactly like their postcard images, which I am sure everyone is familiar with. Actually, the Red Square is much smaller in real life than what it appears on TV. Compared to Tiananmen Square, it's tiny! We also saw pickled Mr Lenin, with a lot less fuss and pomp than what surrounds pickled Mr Mao. He looked much more real than Mao did, or maybe he is just in worse shape because he's been pickled for a lot longer. It's funny how the Communists have always professed to despise religion, but have created a place of worship and a God just like any religion!
The most impressive part of the Kremlin was the Diamond Fund and the Armoury exhibitions. Until the transfer of the court to St Petersburg, the Armoury was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the tsars. Having been to Egypt the seen the treasures of Tutankhamun, I have to say that this was more impressive, maybe because there was so much MORE of it (starting from the time of Ivan the Terrible onwards). The most famous items of the collection are probably the Faberge eggs, but that's just one display amongst what seems to hundreds (if not tonnes) of kilos of gold and precious stones. It's actually very hard to believe that they are all real, they look just like sparkly cheap things in the souvenirs stalls.
State History Museum
I don't normally take photos of museum exhibits, but this one was fascinating. This globe was made in Amsterdam in 1690 for the Swedish King Charles 6. When Charles 7 came to the throne he refused to pay for it, and Peter the First bought it brought it to Russia. Check out the accuracy with which the West Coast of Australia is charted - this is 80 years before James Cook is credited with "discovering" Australia in 1770! You can't see it on this photo, but New Zealand and Tasmania are also on it (though less distinctly).
Moscow Metro
The lament of a Melbournian - why don't we have a decent train system? The most fantastic thing about the Moscow Metro to me is not the frequency, speed, or punctuality (although all are perfect), it's the RING LINE. It links all the other lines to each other, making the whole system useable for getting around town, not just getting to and from the city. Why is that such an impossible thing for us?
And ofcourse it's also beautiful:
Sakharov Museum
One of the most interesting afternoons spent in Moscow was at the Andrei Sakharov Museum. I would really recommend a visit for anyone who has an interest in Russia's political part. Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist who helped to develop Russia's atomic bomb program, but afterwards became a dissident and human rights activist. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The museum focused less on his personal story however and more on the history of Russia's repressions under the Communists and the subsequent human rights movement. I was stunned again and again at the courage some people possess. To dare to organise the first public protest in Russia in 40 years, to be imprisoned, and then straight after release to get back into the human rights movement, be imprisoned again, and still not repent! Not everyone can be a hero, some people just want to live their life and no one can fault them for it. But isn't it wonderful that there are heros in this world.
Another thing I liked about the museum is that it's still part of the human rights movement today; had loads of free literature published by the Moscow Helsinki Group (one of the first Human Rights Organisations in Russia) and many left-leaning student-types hanging around.
Relics of Communism
Which leads me straight into the subject of my pet hate:
- Why is there still a Lenin statue in every city?
- Why is Stalin's grave still in Red Square?
- Why are there still streets and a town named after Felix Dzerzhinsky (the founder of KGB)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dzerzhinsky
- Why is this plaque still on the outer wall of the former Lubyanka prison in Moscow (where to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was once a prisoner)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andropov
To me, this is akin to Germany leaving monuments to Hilter in place.
The Red Square and Kremlin
The obligatory part of any visit to Moscow is of course Red Square and the Kremlin. They both look exactly like their postcard images, which I am sure everyone is familiar with. Actually, the Red Square is much smaller in real life than what it appears on TV. Compared to Tiananmen Square, it's tiny! We also saw pickled Mr Lenin, with a lot less fuss and pomp than what surrounds pickled Mr Mao. He looked much more real than Mao did, or maybe he is just in worse shape because he's been pickled for a lot longer. It's funny how the Communists have always professed to despise religion, but have created a place of worship and a God just like any religion!
The most impressive part of the Kremlin was the Diamond Fund and the Armoury exhibitions. Until the transfer of the court to St Petersburg, the Armoury was in charge of producing, purchasing and storing weapons, jewellery and various household articles of the tsars. Having been to Egypt the seen the treasures of Tutankhamun, I have to say that this was more impressive, maybe because there was so much MORE of it (starting from the time of Ivan the Terrible onwards). The most famous items of the collection are probably the Faberge eggs, but that's just one display amongst what seems to hundreds (if not tonnes) of kilos of gold and precious stones. It's actually very hard to believe that they are all real, they look just like sparkly cheap things in the souvenirs stalls.
State History Museum
I don't normally take photos of museum exhibits, but this one was fascinating. This globe was made in Amsterdam in 1690 for the Swedish King Charles 6. When Charles 7 came to the throne he refused to pay for it, and Peter the First bought it brought it to Russia. Check out the accuracy with which the West Coast of Australia is charted - this is 80 years before James Cook is credited with "discovering" Australia in 1770! You can't see it on this photo, but New Zealand and Tasmania are also on it (though less distinctly).
Moscow Metro
The lament of a Melbournian - why don't we have a decent train system? The most fantastic thing about the Moscow Metro to me is not the frequency, speed, or punctuality (although all are perfect), it's the RING LINE. It links all the other lines to each other, making the whole system useable for getting around town, not just getting to and from the city. Why is that such an impossible thing for us?
And ofcourse it's also beautiful:
Sakharov Museum
One of the most interesting afternoons spent in Moscow was at the Andrei Sakharov Museum. I would really recommend a visit for anyone who has an interest in Russia's political part. Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist who helped to develop Russia's atomic bomb program, but afterwards became a dissident and human rights activist. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The museum focused less on his personal story however and more on the history of Russia's repressions under the Communists and the subsequent human rights movement. I was stunned again and again at the courage some people possess. To dare to organise the first public protest in Russia in 40 years, to be imprisoned, and then straight after release to get back into the human rights movement, be imprisoned again, and still not repent! Not everyone can be a hero, some people just want to live their life and no one can fault them for it. But isn't it wonderful that there are heros in this world.
Another thing I liked about the museum is that it's still part of the human rights movement today; had loads of free literature published by the Moscow Helsinki Group (one of the first Human Rights Organisations in Russia) and many left-leaning student-types hanging around.
Relics of Communism
Which leads me straight into the subject of my pet hate:
- Why is there still a Lenin statue in every city?
- Why is Stalin's grave still in Red Square?
- Why are there still streets and a town named after Felix Dzerzhinsky (the founder of KGB)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dzerzhinsky
- Why is this plaque still on the outer wall of the former Lubyanka prison in Moscow (where to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was once a prisoner)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andropov
To me, this is akin to Germany leaving monuments to Hilter in place.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Goodbye car...
Today we sold the car. It's hard to believe we won't be driving anymore, but at the same time driving in Moscow is not everyone's cup of tea. In fact, it's a bit of a nightmare and requires headache-ensuring concentration. Plus it was getting rather cold at night. Still, I will miss the convenience and the freedom it offered.
It wasn't easy selling it either, so in a way I am also happy it's gone and not our problem anymore. We spent a full day at the car market yesterday, and didn't get a single offer (two people who seemed sort of interested took our number and I never heard from them again). Apparently, Moscovites don't go for right-hand drive vehicles, especially not manual ones. People would come up to us, shake their head and tell us that our car won't be easy to sell. We were just discussing what to do if it doesn't, when an Azerbaijani walked over, and in a seemingly random way told us what he was willing to pay for it and did we want to sell?
He was a strange buyer - asked no questions about the car, didn't look at the engine, didn't take it for a test drive - never even got behind the wheel! The whole transaction took about 5 minutes.
It wasn't easy selling it either, so in a way I am also happy it's gone and not our problem anymore. We spent a full day at the car market yesterday, and didn't get a single offer (two people who seemed sort of interested took our number and I never heard from them again). Apparently, Moscovites don't go for right-hand drive vehicles, especially not manual ones. People would come up to us, shake their head and tell us that our car won't be easy to sell. We were just discussing what to do if it doesn't, when an Azerbaijani walked over, and in a seemingly random way told us what he was willing to pay for it and did we want to sell?
He was a strange buyer - asked no questions about the car, didn't look at the engine, didn't take it for a test drive - never even got behind the wheel! The whole transaction took about 5 minutes.
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