The morning of our second day we boarded the Metro and after a few transfers we arrived at Gorkovskaya station - a short walk from our destination, Zayachy Island. The small island is home to Peter and Paul Fortress which was founded in May of 1703 and also established Saint Petersburg as a major city. We arrived after eleven - giving us plenty of time to walk around before the daily firing of the cannon from Naryshkin Bastion. Coincidentally, our visit was on the same day as the changing of the guard (performed weekly on Saturdays). With two highly anticipated events, the standing-room area filled up quickly. Fortunately, we found an area by a stairwell which lead to the bastion. Shortly thereafter, our location was soon overcrowded with aggressive tourist.
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| Salute during the anthem |
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| Cannons pointed at crowded (not fired) |
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| Changing of the Guard |
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| Synchronized marching |
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The changing of the guard started with a beautifully choreographed march of soldiers trailing the military band. Once the soldiers stood at attention the crowd fell silent as the bells of Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral echoed off the walls of the bastion square. Everyone patiently watched the two guards standing behind the cannons, although, we didn't know which one to look at; where they both going to fire? The loud blast of the cannon made everybody jump, whether it was a startle reflex or the resounding reverberation hitting them. Promptly after the crowd's varied reactions, the band started playing and the soldiers continued with the ceremony. Following two songs and marching maneuvers, the changing of the guard began with the flags of the Russian Federation and Saint Petersburg being carried around the perimeter of the square. The band played again and the final military sequence ensued which ended with a gun salute. The guards carrying the flags made their way back and completed the weekly ritual. As the excitement subsided, we made our way towards the (presumably empty) cathedral in hopes of speeding past the gathered crowd.
We weren't the only tourist to have the idea, but we were able to get to the church before the larger groups entered. The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is the oldest in Saint Petersburg and was built a month after the city's inception. The cathedral is also the resting site of the (majority of) Imperial rulers from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. With a little bit of eavesdropping on a rarely heard English tour, we found the tombs of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. When we exited Saint Peter and Paul it was nearly 13:30 and was time to forage.
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| Cathedral column |
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| Pulpit |
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| Ceiling and chandelier |
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| Peter the Great |
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| Iconostasis |
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| More gold religious items |
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Conveniently, there are a few places to grab snacks or a quick meal on the island; better yet, a medieval festival was being held on fortress grounds. The regular food stands didn't offer many appetizing options, thus we tried our luck at the festival booths. There were local vendors as well as some Latvian and Lithuanian. The language barrier again proved to be a hindrance, however, we successfully facilitated our order - invariably communicating with international charades. Following lunch, we walked around the island - passed through the museum, observed the Mint, and toured Alexeevskiy Ravelin, a facility that formerly held political prisoners (some notable detainees, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leon Trotsky). As we concluded our visit to Peter and Paul Fortress we made our way around the Neva River and headed towards the hydrofoil docks near the Hermitage.
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| The Mint |
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| Leon Trotsky's cell |
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| Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral |
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| Peter and Paul Fortress square |
We boarded a hydrofoil (James Bond-esque name for large passenger boat) to the Peterhof, the "Russian Versaille" and summer palace of the Imperial throne. The Peterhof reminded us of the
Viennese summer palace of the Habsburgs, Schönbrunn. Both palaces are decorated with grandiose gardens and fountains throughout the properties - not to mention (but really mention) steep entry fees and pictures are not permitted (a double deterrent). We were content to walk the grounds and enjoy the delightful weather. It was late in the afternoon and in anticipation of our second performance at the Festival of the White Nights we returned to the mainland.
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| Neva River facing Peter and Paul Fortress (Hermitage not pictured on right) |
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| Street of Peter and Paul Fortress |
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| That's a lot of sail boats |
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| Hydrofoil docks and back of Hermitage |
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For the second consecutive night we were seeing a performance at the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, but again were pressed for time to dine beforehand. A culmination of factors kindled our increasing consternation; mainly limited food sources and the need to find more Rubles (ATM). The same Uzbek restaurant from a night ago was
"nyet" an option, leaving us with three choices; two Russian styled buffets, or Subway. I loathe Subway sans the cookies, therefore, we selected the more crowded of the two Russian-styled Sizzlers.
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| Peterhof |
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| Picture guy taking our picture (for free) |
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| Roman Fountain |
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After dinner, we made our way across the street to the Concert Hall, this time to see the production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's
May Nights. Given it is a Russian opera, we were fortunate to have English subtitles to detail the story. The performance lasted a little longer than the previous night's and allowed me to convince Julie to return to the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood to watch the sun "set" (inasmuch as hides for an hour).
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| Another fountain |
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| So many fountains |
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| Hey look! more fountains |
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A cab took us from the theater to the church, but it was still fairly light out at 22:00. We walked around the area, perused the souvenir stalls, and watched some street acts. One of which involved juggling Devil Sticks, a novelty as outdated as the dial-up modem; yet, setting them afire made for moderate entertainment. Before we knew it, the sky was changing from azure to fuchsia. Some cloud cover overcast the pastel night sky and we moved indoors to shop for gifts. We were in the store long enough that they closed for the evening when we left. Upon our return outside, the ephemeral darkness enveloped the the church which was lit with spotlights. We took some time to enjoy the transient twilight before returning to the hotel to rest up for another busy adventure.
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| 23:10 |
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| Good bye Onion Dome |
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| As dark as it will get |
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