russia: priozersk and st petersburg

 

September is a lovely time to travel north to St Petersburg. I don't think there is really a bad time of year to go to St Petersburg, but September is particularly lovely, because the trees are starting to change colours.

My train arrived on time at the early hour of 0539. It wasn't completely dark, but it wasn't light yet either. Even so, I felt comfortable starting to walk, because I've been to the city a number of times. My walk took me from one train station to another: Moscow station to Finland station. As it was still pretty early, there was very little traffic, neither foot nor vehicular.

When I got to Finland station it was easy enough to buy a ticket for the next train to a city called Priozersk. The cities are around 150 kilometers from each other, a two hour drive. The train ride was around 3 hours. The station building itself in Priozersk sits at one end of the tracks, I didn't even see it for a while.

On one side of the tracks you see water, on the other side you see woods. It's quiet and peaceful.

What is now known as Priozersk is a small town of less than 20,000 residents. In its history, it has been known as Kakisalmi and Kexholm, when the Finns and Swedes were in charge. This region has been part of several wars between empires, so the names switched regularly for a while. During WW2 it was mostly part of Finland, with a bit of Russia thrown in at times. The Russian name at the time was Korela, it wasn't changed to Priozersk until 1948, several years after the war.

Wikipedia tells me Priozersk was officially founded in 1295. Documents from the year 1500 show there were probably 1500-2000 residents at the time. The population of the city grew regularly, though there were five major fires, which always considerably shrunk the population. When the first courthouse was built (in the year 1800,) there were only 400 residents.

The main industry of the current city is a furniture production plant, which was originally a paper mill. If I dug around I could probably figure out other parts of the economy, but I don't care enough to do so.

After getting off the train I climbed down from the end of the train tracks, and found a path toward the city center. The path quickly connected to a road, which I only had to follow for 5 minutes or so to get right to the city center.

The city center is a platz, which at the time was covered with various stalls. It didn't take a genius to figure out Priozersk was celebrating its city birthday. (There were a couple signs telling me so, hee hee.) There was also a Lenin statue, which I intended to come back to soon enough. I always take a photo with Lenin, whether at the beginning of a city visit, or later on.

My first sight was an old Lutheran church. The signs out front give the history of the church, and also told me it is no longer in use. I was sad to read this, because I really wanted to go inside the old church, but that wasn't possible with locked doors. I wonder who has the key.

After my quick glance at the former church I walked back to the city center (a whopping 5-10 minute walk.) I wanted to take my photo with Lenin, and see if any of the booths set up for City Day had anything I wanted to buy. None of them did, but it was fun to wander around anywho.

On the other end of the main platz was a series of military vehicles for people to see and take photos. There were also a few men standing around in military clothing, though I have no way of knowing if they were active duty servicemembers or just wearing the clothing.

I kept going, another 10 minutes or so, to the main tourist sight in the city: the remains of a fortress. The Russian/Novgorodian name is Korela, the Finns called it Kakisalmi, and the Swedes called it Kexholm. When those names are used it is almost always the fortress that is being referred to, not the city.

The fortress sits between one side of a small inlet and Lake Ladoga, it's really photogenic. I walked around the entire exterior, which didn't take long. It's small, and I don't envy anyone who ever had to live inside the fortress. Entry into the area was 100 rubles, with no extra fee for foreigners, woo hoo.

The entry fee basically paid for the small museum in one building. The museum had uniforms and clothing worn back in the day, as well as maps and other items of use in the daily life of the fortress. I've seen so many local/regional history museums around Russia that they all tend to blend together. I only spent about ten minutes inside, it wasn't worth more than that.

After going back outside I walked up to the top of the fortress walls, and was able to walk all the way around. As I said earlier the fortress was quite small, so the only reason it took me longer than five minutes was because I stopped to take photos a few times.

Next up was a short walk along the part of the lake that the fortress sits on. Very pretty, especially because it was September. It didn't take long, again because the area is so small.

From there I intended to walk back to the train station, because I thought I'd seen everything there was to see. As I walked along I spied another Lenin statue!! This one wasn't marked on Google maps or Yandex maps, so I was proud of myself for finding it. He sits, leaning over a book to study.

Also on the way back I walked along a pedestrian zone in between two sides of a street.

There wasn't much to it, but the weather was lovely so I sat on one of the benches for a few minutes.

Then, I really had seen everything. I walked back to the train station, and didn't have to wait more than thirty minutes to hop on the next train.

When I arrived back in Moscow I had the choice between walking or taking the metro. Since the weather was good, I chose to walk. I think it was about an hour to get to my hostel, since I stopped to take a few photos. (Walking times are always longer for me because of my taking photos.)

The next morning I was quite proud of myself, as I got out the door of the hostel a little after 0900; this is at least two hours earlier than I normally get moving on the second day of a weekend trip. Part of the reason is that I knew the weather was good, and the first photos I wanted to take were at a spot I knew would have other visitors showing up sooner rather than later.

The first photos I wanted to take were at a pedestrian bridge with gold painted flying animals on either side. Not a spot that would make you think of St. Petersburg, or even Russia in general, but oh well.

It was still early enough on a Sunday for me to take pictures of the main side of a building called Gostiny Dvor without any people in the photo. This building is huge, and the street it is on is a main street, so it's rare to have a photo without anyone else in the background or on the side.

From there I walked to the front of another building in hopes of a good picture, but here my hopes were dashed. Not by people, but by a vehicle. It was parked just in front of the building, there was no way I could keep it out of the photo. This particular building is actually a hotel, with beautiful mosaic decoration on the exterior of the street level.

Next, I found my way to 'Friendship Square', which isn't a square at all. More like a small area that would more accurately be called a park, but it isn't that either. There was a so-called 'Chinese Gate' painted mostly red, with a few stone characters in front.

There was also a short wall of sorts, with mosaic tile decoration. I'm not sure what that was, but I loved the colours.

While looking at the map on my phone I noticed something listed as Mosaic Palace, or something along those lines. Wondering what it was, I decided to make that my next stop. It turned out to be a garden area between several apartment buildings, with each thing totally covered in mosaic tiles. It was really colourful, I loved the whole thing. I definitely want to go back in future trips to St Petersburg.

I kept walking, making my way to the Summer Garden, which is around the Summer Palace Museum. The museum used to be a royal residence, used in summers. (Which should be obvious from the name.) The museum wasn't open (probably for Covid reasons?) but the gardens were, and I enjoyed walking around.

There were various busts and statues placed around the garden. I took some photos of them, but I didn't find any of them very engaging. I know that's the architectural style of planned/royal gardens, but it doesn't do anything for me.

The pathways in the garden were made of tall hedges, which also created a bit of a labyrinth atmosphere. It was always obvious where to go, but there was also a sense of privacy.

After figuring out how to leave the garden, I walked across one of the many bridges in the city, stopping at the Solovetsky Stone. It came from the Solovetsky Islands, in the north of Russia, where the first Soviet gulag camps were created. The stone honours those who died in those camps. There is at least one 'partner' stone, located in Moscow.

One of the places I'd marked on my map of places I wanted to see in St Petersburg came up as being close by, so I walked over there. It was marked at the House of Peter 1^st, who was a pretty powerful character in Russian history. I was disappointed when I got there, because the entire building was surrounded by a construction fence. Clearly it was all under renovation, I have no idea when it started, and when it is expected to be finished.

I made my way to another spot I had marked on my map, a Lenin monument. This one ended up being just a bust, but I took my photos anywho. Across the street was a bakery, so I stopped for a break. Unfortunately the goodies looked far better than they tasted.

After that I made the long walk back to my hostel. It was a bit earlier than I originally would've called it a day, but my feet were swelling, which doesn't usually happen, even on a long walk day.

Even so, I still felt as if I'd seen enough, so it wasn't a horrible thing to go to bed.

The next day I left the hostel at my normal time, around 1130. My first sight of the day was another Lenin. I was happy to see that this one was a full statue, on top of a pedestal with propaganda carved into it. I've seen this phrase before, it translates to 'proletarians of the world unite.' While I don't agree with it, I love seeing this kind of stuff as a tourist.

Near the statue was a pretty church, this one was painted light pink on the outside, with a nice wood iconostasis inside.

Since this was Monday morning, it was a very quiet time to visit a church.

Next up was another church. This one was not small, and not simple. The name translates to Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, quite a mouthful. The sanctuary was really big, with a high ceiling, and colourful frescoes all over the entire interior. There were a couple signs saying photos were not permitted during services, but overall it seemed as if photos at other times were okay. Absolutely lovely. One of those places where you can really 'feel' faith.

This second church was close to a pavement that followed the closest canal for a while. Since the weather was gorgeous, I walked along the water for a while. I would be happy to do this in every city I visit, all over the world. There is something about water that calms me, every time.

There was one other big sight I wanted to see that day, so I started walking. It took me over an hour to get there, but I didn't care. I had been to Tikhvin Cemetery previously, but had only visited one side. This time I opted to enter the 'art and cultural masters' side. There were burial plots of famous musicians and writers, including Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky.

The monuments at those spots were big, but no more ornate than any of the others in that cemetery. They were howeva, more spaced out than the graves on the 18^th century side of the cemetery.

After getting my fill of the cemetery, I stopped at a random Korean cafe for dinner. Not the most amazing I've ever had, but Korean food always makes me happy. From there I walked back to my hostel to pick up my bag, then made my way to the train station.
This will not be my last visit to St Petersburg. I love this city.

russia: saint petersburg...again

My train from Vologda to Saint Petersburg arrived one minute early, which is quite a rarity. Russian trains usually arrive exactly as scheduled, far more often than not. My train came into the train station further out from the city center, and I could've walked to my hostel, but I didn't. The metro system in Saint Petersburg isn't as extensive as the system in Moscow, but its still better than most cities around the world. The metro ride wasn't long, and the walk from the metro station wasn't long.

I wasn't able to check into my hostel yet, but they were fine with me leaving my bag in a storage room, then sitting in the communal area for a while. I charged my electronics, wasted time online, then several hours later finally walked out the door to start exploring.

The list of sights I wanted to see during this visit to SP was completely random. This first day in the city I stepped into a number of closed courtyards, because I love the photos you can make by looking straight up while standing in the middle. Kindof putting a frame on the sky, if that makes sense. I knew of a few specific places with courtyards where I could do this, and got lucky with finding a few more throughout the day as I walked around.

One of the places I wanted to see was just a random apartment building, but a photo online showed a photogenic spiral staircase. I found the correct address, but I wasn't able to find the specific entrance to see that staircase, argh. 

Another sight on my list was a hotel with a beautiful tiled entrance. I wasn't able to get the photo I wanted, because a car was parked in a place where I couldn't keep it out of the frame. Foiled, again.

Not too far from this hotel was a big yellow church. I had high hopes for seeing something pretty, but only the lower level was open, and that wasn't that interesting. Argh argh argh. The next sight on my list was another church, this one Armenian. The main sanctuary was open, yippee. From there I ended up at yet another church, this one also big and yellow. I finally had a smile on my face because the main area of this one was open, and it was worth seeing. Woo hoo! The interior was mostly blue, with some gold highlights.

There was a metro station nearby, and I hopped on that to get me closer to a sight I've wanted to see for a while. The Lakhta Center isn't really a sight where you learn something or do something. It's just an 'insta-sight' where you try to take a perfect photo for Instagram. The Lakhta Center is a business center, with unique architecture.

After taking my photos I walked back toward the metro station, being stopped along the way by an old lady who told me I should be wearing more clothes. Keep in mind that it was 22C/71F, and I was wearing a medium to long skirt and a t-shirt. I was not cold, and it was the middle of summer. For all the stories of tought Russians when it comes to weather, I've had waaaaay too many experiences with old ladies telling me I'm not dressed appropriately, making me think they whinge far too much.

I took the metro to a stop on Vasilyevsky Island, as I'd found an address where I could see a huge mural on the side of a building. 

By that point I was rather tired, but I wanted to take advantage of the crazy long days Saint Petersburg has in summer. The mural was big and colourful, and I was happy I made the effort to see it.

That being said, I went home from there. Riding the metro back to my hostel, I was able to check in and relax for the evening. I was hanging out in the communal area when I looked out the windows and realized I could see a stunning sunset with the main rotunda of St Isaacs Cathedral in profile. Absolutely gorgeous.

The next morning, when I finally got moving, the first sight I tried to see was a Lenin statue. I was disappointed when I got close, and realized the statue was on a university campus, behind locked gates. Argh.

Next up was another place I went for the solo purpose of taking a photo. I think this building was just a random office building someone realize would look good on Instagram, and the address is listed in a few places. The building has an interior courtyard, with the exterior of those walls all being windows/mirrors. With the summer sun, it just looks nifty in a photo.

As I was leaving this building, two couples were coming in to take their own photos, so it definitely isn't a secret place to take photos.My walk took me past one of the iconic sights in Saint Petersburg, St Isaac's Cathedral. I've been in the church a few times, and climbed up to the exterior of the rotunda a few times, both are worth doing, more than once. This time I didn't go in or up, but rather to the landscaped area in front of the church. There were red roses planted, blooming beautifully. I framed them with the church, hiding most of the people hanging out.

I ended up eating lunch at a sidewalk cafe just because I saw someone with a bowl of soup that looks good. I don't normally stop for lunch, but sometimes it is good to do something different.

During my visit to Saint Petersburg over New Year's I wanted to visit the museum of printing, but it was closed for the holidays. This time I was determined to make that visit happen.

The museum is set up in several apartments in a building, I think some of the apartments used to be part of a newspaper printer. One of the rooms I was able to see was allegedly where Lenin worked when he wrote for a small newspaper. One of the docents figured out I am American, and was determined to practice her English, so I just went with it. She ended up giving me a private tour, I was even able to go behind the ropes in the last room where you can see an old printing press. Fun, but probably not all that interesting for most tourists.

I kept walking, crossing the bridge that took me close to Finlandsky train station, which has a metro station underneath. From there I took the metro a few stops out, to a park. I walked past the park, heading toward a building that houses the Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics. I wanted to see it because it is different from most 'Russian' buildings.

Instead of taking the metro back to the hostel, I walked. My feet were tired by the time I got back, but the weather was great so I was happy to do it.

I had every intention of doing a day trip the next day, but I couldn't get moving. Instead, I packed up and checked out at nearly noon, whoops. After leaving my bag for the rest of the day at the hostel, I took the metro, a long bus ride, and a long walk out to a place called Lenin Shalash. I never figured out exactly what it is, but since the name included Lenin, I figured why not go see it.

I ended up seeing three statues of Lenin, but the museum type thing was closed because of Covid. Darnit. In other words I wasted about 4 hours, but oh well. Maybe I'll go again someday. Maybe.

By the time I got back to the city center I was tired and hungry, so I went straight to dinner. Yay for cheap pizza. After eating I went back to my hostel, grabbed my backpack and went to the train station.

I was in Petrozavodsk for the next two days, then came back to Saint Petersburg for one more day. I had booked another night at the same hostel as before, so the front desk people remembered me. 

I dropped my bag in their storage room, charged my phone for a while, then went out walking.

My first sight was a cemetery where a bunch of famous people are buried, Tikhvin Cemetery. It is next to a monastery, the cemetery is split into two sections. One section is for 18^th century folks, and the other side is for Masters of Art and Culture. You have to pay entry fees for both sides, which didn't make me happy. The ticket lady wanted me to pay the foreigner fee, but I insisted on paying the local fee, since I live and work in Russia. I chose to visit just one side, figuring I'd be back to the city another time to see the other side.

The 18^th century side was pretty, some of the gravemarkers were in better shape than others. Nearly all of them were quite fancy, and some of them were quite big. Most of them were crammed together, there wasn't a lot of open space between each dead person. When I die I want to be cremated, I have no desire for money to be spent on me after I die.

After leaving the cemetery I visited the monastery, since it was right there. The Nevsky Lavra is an important monastery if such things are important to you. I love visiting monasteries, but didn't find this one any more impressive than others I've visited over the years. 

Even so, I am always happy to step inside a house of faith for a few minutes.

I went out the back gate of the monastery, trying to get to a couple Lenins marked on the map. The first Lenin ended up being a giant profile of his head, high up on the side of a building. The other ended up being another statue behind a fence, so I'm not even sure it was there. Darnit.

Even though I hadn't seen a lot, I walked back to the hostel from there, which ended up being over an hour. The hostel put me in the same capsule as a couple days earlier, it was practically home, hahahaha.

The next morning I was up early to catch a bus to my next destination: Veliky Novgorod. I will definitely be back to Saint Petersburg. 

russia: gatchina

The way I'd booked my train tickets, I had a day in St Petersburg but wasn't going to sleep there. My trains arrived and departed from the same train station, so I decided to leave my bag in luggage storage, and do a day trip.

Gatchina is a city of more than 90,000 residents, around 45 kilometers south of St Petersburg.

The city was first documented in 1499, when it was known as Khotchino. Then it was known as Gatchina. Then it was called Trotsk. Then it was called Krasnogcardeysk. The name was changed to Lindemannstadt when the Germans controlled the area during WW2. The name was finally changed back to Gatchina near the end of WW2.

By any standards, that is a rather long list of names for just one city. Most of the name changes occurred in the 20^th century, I wonder what those who lived through the changes think of all the names.

During the first couple centuries of documented existence, Gatchina was part of Sweden and Russia, as the two empires were fighting over the area for a loooong time.

In 1765 Catherine the Great bought the town and manor, then gave them to Count Orlov, who is said to be responsible for organizing the assassination of Tsar Peter III. 

The assassination is what made her empress of the Russian Empire, so it was basically a huge thank you gift.

Over the next twenty something years, Orlov built the huge palace (which has 600 plus rooms,) as well as the gardens surrounding the palace. After Orlov died, Catherine bought the palace/estate from the family, and passed it on to her son, the future Tsar Paul I. Paul focused his changes on developing the town from a village, giving it Imperial City status after he was crowned.

After the death of Tsar Paul I, the palace and city stayed in the possession of the royals, most of whom made at least a few changes to the palace. Some of the rulers spent more time in the palace than others, though Tsar Alexander III seems to have made it his main residence, and spent the majority of his life there. It was this tsar who introduced the modern concepts of indoor heating, telephones, electric lights, non-freezing water pipes, and a proper sewage system.

The last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II spent his childhood at Gatchina, but ended up making Tsarskoye Selo his main home.

In the early 20^th century the city was the home of one of the first airfield in the country, and was a center of aviation and engine technology, according to Wikipedia.

After the civil war, and ending of the imperial system in Russia, the palace became a museum, which was open as such until 1941. The Germans who left after controlling the area for around three years looted the palace and vandalized the gardens when they left in 1944.

When initial damage estimates were taken, much of the palace was considered irreparable.

Restoration was done in part of the palace, it took more than 60 years. Wikipedia tells me a good portion of the palace is still closed and unrestored, and this area includes the parts most important to Tsar Alexander III. The government was able to get back some of the looted artwork, though far from all of it.

I took one of the first elektrichkas from St Petersburg to Gatchina, arriving when it was still dark outside. At this time of year, even after the sun has officially risen, everything seems really dark for a few hours. Argh.

The front of the train station has a view of the street leading right to the palace, with the city itself basically behind and off to the right of the palace. I started walking, since I needed to kill a couple hours before the palace opened to tourists.

The city center of Gatchina isn't big. When I say city center I guess I mean the tourist center, which is really close to the palace and grounds. On my way to this area I passed a stelae designating Gatchina as a city of military glory. This stelae was just like most of those I've seen, with the stelae in the middle, and four cubes on four corners, with the sides of each cube showing a 'view' of what has happened in the military history of the city.

I passed a church, but there was a service taking place as I went in, so I took no photos inside. I passed multiple bakeries, most of which were just opening up. I was very tempted to buy multiple items as they all looked good, but for once in my life I used willpower not to do so. All these areas were in a pedestrian area, which was decorated for the holidays.

I took advantage of the lake of people to take a photo of myself sitting on a sled being pushed by a snowman, hee hee. I imagine many of the locals and visitors take the same  photo. 

I found another church, where another service was taking place, so I didn't even go in this one. Even though I'd been walking for a while, and the sun had officially risen, it was still so very dark and gray. This is the kind of light that shows up in photos as blue, yuck. When I looked at my watch I realized it was time to walk back toward the palace and gardens, as opening hours were coming.

I was thrilled to discover that there was no entry fee to the gardens at this time of year. Granted, everything was covered in snow or ice, and the lighting was all flat or dark gray. Sigh. Even so, I wandered around for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. I didn't explore all of the grounds though, I would consider coming back in summer, as I assume the landscaping would be quite nice. I decided to go in the palace before seeing all of the garden area for one main reason: I was cold. It was windy and cold, and my fingers were not having a fun time with trying to take photos outside.

The entry fee to the palace was only 500 rubles, which I think is a cheaper off season price. There was no foreigner price that I could see, which made me happy. As with other royal palaces in Russia, there is a huge coat check area, I was also able to leave my snack bag there.

In general, Gatchina palace wasn't nearly as fancy as some of the others I've seen, but it was still over the top of anything I'd ever consider for my own home. I wonder what it was like before the Germans looted the place. I did like the Greek Hall, which curves around and was particularly aesthetically appealing.

I'm not sure if there is a specific route for going through the palace, to see everything. I'm pretty sure I missed some areas, as I kept coming to 'intersections' where you had to choose which way to go, and who knows if I went the 'right' way.

In the middle of the palace there is a big marble stairwell, which is quite impressive, if you're into that sort of thing. Even though this palace was less grand than what I've seen previously, there were still grand ceilings and chandeliers, as well as nifty intricate wooden floors.

If you join a tour group through the palace, I'm pretty sure your tour guide will be in fancy dress (costume.) I saw a number of groups following people dressed in period appropriate clothing, none of which looked comfortable. Despite that, they were all smiling, which is impressive in a country where people generally don't smile at strangers.

After leaving the palace, I went straight back to the train station, as I knew there was a train leaving soon. I could've stayed in town longer, but if I'd missed that train, the next one was three hours later, or something like that.

When I got back to St Petersburg I made my way (by metro and walking,) to the Transfiguration Cathedral, which is quite big. The original chuch was built in the mid 18^th century, then was destroyed by a fire in August of 1825. Only the exterior walls and a few sacred objects were saved. A rebuild was done immediately afterward, lasting four years. Further renovation took place on the facades and interior took place from 1946-1948, after WW2 affected the church.

The transfiguration Cathedral is on a short list of churches in Russia that have had religious services through their entire existence, even during the wars, and Soviet times.

This church is dark yellow on the outside, with Greek looking columns in front. Very grand, but not too complicated. Wikipedia tells me this is Empire Style.

After that I walked to another church, but this one was much smaller, and far less grand. Even so, I liked it. From there it was a walk back to the place where I'd eaten dinner the few days earlier. I knew the food was good at reasonably priced, and it was warm enough for me to kill a couple hours.

The walk from dinner back to the train station was long, dark, and windy. Thank goodness for warm clothing :) As always, I know I'll be back, it's just a question of when.

russia: st petersburg

I love St Petersburg, I always look forward to another visit to the city. So far I've been lucky enough to have every visit occur at a slightly different time. Eventually I hope to be able to see the city during every month of the year.

When I started my holiday break, I didn't have everything sorted out. I only had the first ten days decided, so the last twelve days were still up in the air. When I finally sat down with a calendar and paper, I realized my cheapest way of getting to St Petersburg was to be on a night train on New Years Eve.

Since this date was a fair amount cheaper than the days before and after, apparently the night train is not the place to be on New Years Eve, which is a pretty massive holiday in Russia. Since I don't generally enjoy holidays, I was pretty excited to be in a place where any celebration was going to be fairly limited.

My train left at 2130 or so, I was asleep well before midnight. I didn't wake up, so I have no idea if anything special happened at midnight. Nor do I care.

Anywho, my train arrived on time (of course) in St Petersburg. I sat in the train station for a couple hours; the place was surprisingly busy, even though the shops and cafes were closed. At this time of year, the sun comes up quite late, I did not want to wait for daylight.

I started walking around 0730, the streets weren't nearly as quiet as I expected. I don't think people were going new places at that point, but I think a lot of people were finally heading home. I just took advantage to see the holiday lights were fewer people around to get in my way.

As I walked along I noticed that a few places were open, but most had small signs on their doors saying they'd be opening late, if at all that day. I admit to stepping inside a chain cafe to get something to drink and warm up for a couple hours. From there it was a quick walk to my accomodation.

I wasn't able to check in early, but I was able to drop off my pack, and sit in a communal area for a while. Since I wanted to spend as much daylight as possible outside, I walked to my first sight instead of taking the metro.

I went to see Lenin. Yup, another statue of the guy. There are so many of him, I've now decided to try to see one or two of them in each visit to St Petersburg. The city was named Leningrad for a while :)

This particular statue was in front of a government building, and was behind a set of gates. Darnit. So much for taking a photo with the statue. I was surprised that the statue was pretty small, considering it was in front of a government building. Those tend to be bigger, in my experience. 

Oh well, I took a photo through the gate and kept walking.

From there it was another loooooong walk, to another Lenin statue :) I walked all the way from a park near Smolny Cathedral to the big platz in front of the House of Soviets. Google maps tells me it was a little over ten kilometers, and I know it took over two hours. Since it wasn't raining, and I was wearing a warm coat, I was fine.

I got to see the so called Moscow Victory Gate, which is in the middle of a huge traffic circle.

Since this was New Year's Day, there was less traffic so I was able to take a photo without cars/buses in the frame. I suppose I could do the same thing at 3 in the morning in the summer, but this way was easier.

The walk took me past a beautiful library, I've never seen architecture like that on a library. Maybe during my next visit I should go inside and see what that's like. My walk also took me through Park Pobedy, which wasn't nearly as pretty in winter as it was during the summer.

That being said, there was no snow, which probably made a big difference in aesthetic appeal.

There is a big Lenin statue in front of the House of Soviets, but it had been surrounded by construction fencing for over a year. And the time before then when I'd seen the man, he was in the middle of a spring festival, so it was impossible to take a photo with him. Anywho, I finally got the chance to take the photo I wanted, yay!

After this, I went to get dinner. After spending the night on the train, then a whole lot of walking, I was tired. Instead of going to Namaste, I chose to go to a new (to me) restaurant. Gustogram had good food, good prices, and good service.

As usual, I crashed early after getting back to my hostel.

The next morning I got up and packed up, and eventually checked out. I was able to leave my bag at the hostel, which was handy. 

I thought about walking to my first sight, since the weather was good, but chose to ride the metro instead. It's never wrong to ride the metro in St Petersburg, even though it's not quite as pretty as the system in Moscow.

This metro ride took me to a completely new part of the city. To get to this Lenin, I walked across a car wash platz, and into a stone carving area. This Lenin definitely goes on the list of most unique versions of the man. It was a carving of his head, but the carving was big enough that it was almost as big as me!

When I got back on the metro, I decided to ride a few stations on this particular line, as I hadn't seen them previously. Nifty.

Then I went to another Lenin! If you're keeping track, this was Lenin #4 for the weekend. It took some walking, and he was almost hidden in a tiny tiny tiny park. When I see statues like this I always wonder why he is there, since there is no attention drawn to this statue.

As it was less than two weeks after the shortest day of the year, the sun went down fairly early in the day. 

As I walked along after seeing Lenin #4, I ended up walking toward sunset. I took a photo because it struck me that this particular view could've been in any big city in the world. There was nothing about the view that showed it was in Russia, let along St Petersburg.

I hopped back on the metro, and rode to the middle of the tourist area on Nevsky Prospekt. My first plan was to visit the Museum of Printing, but that turned out to be closed until after Orthodox Christmas. I ended up going to another nearby museum, which happened to be another former royal palace.

The first residence built in this spot for the Stroganov family was built in the 1720s. The second home had two floors, and was built in the 1740s. The current palace was built (or at least construction began, )nearly fifteen years later, in the mid 1750s. Through several generations of the family everything went well, until the October Revolution. Since that ended royal governance of the country, it also ended the system of nobility. The complete change of everything they knew must've been tough for all the noble families at the time. 

Going from being completely comfortable, having plenty of friends and food, to losing all of that would be rough. For the poor folks in the country (most of the population, of course,) it was just going from one system where they didn't have much to another system where they didn't have much. 

After the revolution the remaining members of the family emigrated, the family line no longer exists. At the same time the palace was nationalized, and was handed over to a botanical institute for 10 years. After that, the ministry of shipbuilding was in the building for fifty years. 

The palace was given to the Russian state museum system in 1988, becoming a branch with some of the zillion exhibits in the system. 

I've walked past the entrance to this palace quite a few times, but until this trip I never noticed it as a place to visit. The door is right on the street, it doesn't give the impression of being a former palace until you're inside.

I was happy to visit a former royal palace that cost only 500 rubles, there was no foreigner fee. The inside of the palace was similar to the other former palaces I've seen: a lot of big, grand rooms with really bright decorations. 

The smaller rooms all had solid colour walls, with artwork disaplayed. The big, grand rooms had chandeliers and wallpaper and gold everywhere. None of the furniture I saw looked the least bit comfortable, but since I wasn't living in those times, who am I to say?

The advantage of visiting a place like this on a national holiday was that there were fewer people around. I was able to take a few photos of the huge rooms without anyone else in the room. That rarely happens, so I guess holidays do have their use after all.

My favourite room was a library. There were books all over one wall, more than I'm used to seeing in palaces. I wonder if anyone ever gets to touch/read any of the books.

After leaving the palace I walked to get dinner at the same place as the night before. From there it was an easy walk back to my hostel to pick up my bag, then another walk back to the train station.

I know I'll be back to St Petersburg, I just don't know when.