Summer and Winter are like day and night......
by sswagner
This visually appealling city is most likely to be visited by tourists in the summer. The "White Nights" take place in the summertime. Literally, there is very little night since you are at such a high latitude. It will be light out at 10PM as well as long before you wake up in the morning. Therefore, make sure you have thick curtains in your hotel or a way of blocking the light from coming in.
Conversely, if you visit in the winter, it is going to be cold and dark. The nights will be much longer then, and daylight will be scarce. However, I believe that the wintertime would have its own beauty here. Also, you can expect to visit the major sites minus the crowds. Just make sure you are well dressed for it. This is the same Russian winter that helped stop the advance of the French and German armies into this land. I really enjoyed everything about this place. It produced quite a few pleasant memories. Obviously, getting engaged at Peterhof was the single most important memory of this place.
Aleksandro-Nevskaya Lavra, Blagoveshenskaya Church
by bugulma
The oldest church of the ensemble is Blagoveshenskaya Church, built in 1717-1725 by Tresini. It is a bury vault for famous people of XVIII century such as Shuvalov, Vyazemsky, Naryishkin as well as Suvorov.
Mind your tongue
by bobs12
If you're learning Russian, or happen to know some Russian phrases, be sure to watch what you say.
If you don't have full command of the language, never swear at anyone for any reason, ever. Even 'milder' expletives such as 'kozel' (goat) may have hidden cultural meanings.
Calling someone a goat may not seem hugely offensive, and in most cases it isn't. But it has a second meaning- in Russian prisons, 'kozel' is the guy who always gets abused in the showers by the other inmates. Enough said.
Call anyone who has been to prison a 'kozel', and you may be lucky to get away with fractures and concussion.
Never use the contraction 'devka' to refer to a 'devushka'. 'Devka' is generally used to refer to sluts and prostitutes.
Russians are singularly unforgiving to foriegners' linguistic mistakes, and are easily offended by such unintended 'insults'.
Fitness Centers
by multi
At last time it is very popular to visit fitness centers. Now we have some huge centers wich have some points in different districts of the city and many small sport clubs.
The most known clubs are:
Planeta Fitness http://www.fitness.ru/
Sport Life www.sportlifeclub.ru
Reebok http://www.r-fitness.ru/
New Age Fitness http://www.newagefitness.ru/
Lider Sport http://www.lider-sport.ru/
you can buy year card, half year card or single visit..
Samson
by Sharrie
Ok, you can't clearly see Samson due to the jets of water.
This fountain statue is the main one that no one will miss if he/she enters Peterhof.
Designed by Mikhail Kozlovsky in 1802, it features Samson rending open the jaws of the lion.
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awful champagne ---my wife forced it down!
Russian Creme Brulee ice cone
sign on Nevsky Prospect
Queuing at the Hermitage
