Beach in the heart of the city
by Soili
The cobbled stones in the front of the Petropavloskaya krepost (the fort, the ex-prison..) made me feel relaxed. People on the beach at that time were not at all interested in their appearance on the beach. They were just having a day off.
Never before or after have I seen anyone sunbathing whie standing. Yet it makes sense: your entire body will be tanned.
The marines were out at the end of July. Lots of them. Lots of drunk marines. The fireworks, the people...
Sometimes the same thought of people drove you crazy as you couldn't feel alone anywhere. It helped a lot to stay in one of the many beautiful parks in St Petersburg.
DId you know that during the WWII the marble statues in Letnyj Sad were buried under the ground? And that there was a potato field next to the Isaakievskiy Sobor - that's what three old ladies sitting on a bench told me.
They also advised me to marry either a professor, a doctor or a general and my worries would be over for the rest of my life. Note that this was still the Soviet Union times... The man who was swimming and singing at the same time. He had a good voice. It happened on a pond in Vyborgskaya storona; a warm summer evening, people gathered to enjoy the evening, lovers sitting hand in had on the benches...
And the man siniging, to all of us and to himself. I recognised the song as it had been a hit when my mother was a young woman. We all cheered him when the song ended. He didn't sing anything else but it was enough.
***
A groom sleeping in the front of the hotel. Stone drunk. The bride crying next to him, the mothers comforting her : "ne nado, ne nado plakat.." (No need to cry..) Life...!
Kunstkamera
by bugulma
It is the first Russian public museum (1718-1734 by Mattarnovi, Herbel, Chiaveri and Zemtsov). The museum is far-famed now with collection of anatomy (including the collection of freak of nature), now it is museum of anthropology and ethnography. The ticket is RUR 100 (EUR 3 around) but it is prohibited to make photo in the famous rooms of freaks. Besides here is an interesting collection of mode of life of different nations of Asia, Africa and Southern America.
Russia Rocks!
by sophiebeans
All over St. Petersburg, you can see billboard signs advertising various concerts and performances to go to. The first day in St. Petersburg, I saw this poster for Dio, which is one of my husband's favorite heavy metal bands. It made me feel at home to see it!
Peter's legacy
by TheWanderingCamel
Although the impressive building that houses St Petersburg's Central Naval Museum and the curious red pillars ( Rostral Columns - they celebrate naval victories) bedecked with ship's prows that flank it feature in many a tourist's photo of the city, judging by the number of people who had actually ventured inside on the day we were there, I'd say the museum's exhibition halls are definitely an Off the Beaten Path activity for most visitors. Which is a pity because it is a fascinating museum with a wonderful collection illustrating Russia's 300 years of naval history. Founded in 1709 by command of Peter the Great, the museum is one of the oldest in Europe.
Starting with the grand building itself - inspired by Classical architecture, it was built in on Vasilyevsky Island in 1805, when this area of the island was still a seaport. The pre-revolutionary city's Stock Exchange, the importance of the sea to the city's wealth was acknowledged by the fine sculpture of Neptune that still adorns the pediment over the main door. Quite fitting therefore that it now houses the country's main naval museum.
As with all good maritime museums, there are superb models of ships of all sorts and sizes. The walls are hung with maps and naval paintings, naval colours and banners hang from the ceilings and wall brackets and everywhere there are displays of maritime artifacts, weapons and naval memorabilia.
The ground floor is devoted to the pre-Revolutionary period. Standout pieces include the boat in which Peter the Great learnt to sail - setting in motion his lifetime's love of the sea, he called it "The Grandfather of the Russian Navy" - and a 19th century submarine.
Figureheads line the staircase to the upper floor where you'll find an equally fascinating array of Soviet-era displays including WWII fighter planes and enough hammer and sickle banners to start a revolution.
Whether you're a ship-lover, a naval-history-buff or simply an interested tourist, this is a museum not to be missed. Personally, if my time in St Petersburg was short, I'd forgo a couple of hours of the time most people devote to the Hermitage to fit in a visit to this excellent museum.
Closed Monday, Tuesday and the last Thursday of the month, opening hours are 1030-1730 (last admission 1645),
Address: Birzhevaya Ploschad 4
Metro: Vasileostrovskaya or Nevsky Prospekt and walk over the bridge)
You can't miss it, directly across the water from the Winter Palace,
Petrodvorets is only an hour...
by K1W1
Petrodvorets is only an hour or so out of town and makes for a very pleasant day trip. The grounds can be reached by either bus or directly across the water by hydrofoil. The Palace, fountains and parks aren't exactly off the beaten path, in fact, they're very popular. Mondays are quieter as the palace is closed, so for those who have had their fill of royal palaces, Monday is the day to go. The golden statues/fountains were all destroyed by the Nazis but have been replaced with exact replicas, and look stunning.
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Inside the Hermitage
Peter's dream
Trinity Cathedral gets a new gold cross
The Summer Garden looking not so summery!
