Enas- Baltic Stop 3

St Petersburg, Russia was a wonderful two-day experience. The weather was perfectly 16 degrees and sunny.

On the first day in the city, we visited the Hermitage and the Gold Room (which they refer to as a “museum in a museum”). Unfortunately, photos were not allowed in the Gold Room... I also noticed the many beautiful sculptures on the outside of all the buildings. Notice the grandeur of the rooms.

I found out that the color Red in Russia symbolizes beauty, hence the red velvet material behind the throne and the coat of arms in the Hermitage. Another interesting fact is that in the old days, women could only smoke with their left hands, since their right hands were kissed by gentlemen (to avoid smelling like tobacco).

The biggest vase in the complex was thought to be used as a swimming pool because of its size (but it was just a vase). It is made from one piece of marble ( a second piece for the base), and they had to break down the wall to get it into the room because it would not go through the doorway.

Later in the evening, we went to a production of Swan Lake in the Alexandrenski theatre (also known as the Pushkin Theatre). It was a great performance. The story line is where Disney go the idea for the movie Swan Princess, so if you’ve seen that you’ll understand what the ballet is about.

On the second day, we visited Catherine’s palace. It was so grand with an amazing amber room; unfortunately no pictures allowed in there either. Luckily, that’s where Google Images come in.

In the next picture you can see chirrups located on either side of the main staircase. The one waking up was on the East side representing East, while the one sleeping represented West on the West side.

We also visited the next-door palace of Alexander (her grandson).

Next, the Peterhov gardens. The fountains in the park could easily be compared to (if they were not better than) those of Versailles, according to dad.


The last two both represent Russia defeating (Sweden I think). In the second one, you see turtles around the main statue, representing the enemy’s allies. (for the exact names try Google because our guide couldn’t remember them either).

Finally, we visited Nicolas I’s home (Anastacia’s father) where the last Romanovs lived before they were taken to Siberia after the revolution.

Commenting on the Disney movie:
1- Rasputin was not an evil man who made Alexis sick (the crown prince). Rather, he was the witch doctor treating Alexis for his Hemophilia.

2- Anastacia did not survive, as the movie tells. The woman pretending to be her was actually a dancer, as found out after her death. The real Anastacia was killed with the rest of her family.

They were told that they were taking a family portrait, and they were arranged accordingly. The picture was taken, and immediately the trigger was pulled on the whole family. (I can’t find the photo online unfortunately).