DAY 5 – Wednesday 21 August

We woke to a bit of a grey day, but not cold with an expected high of 22 degrees. We headed down for breakfast which is in a noisey and crowded canteen type room hall. The food was on one side with a small egg cooking station with a choice of fried or omelette. Bit of a come down from the lovely dining room at Peter 1 with chandelier!

The food quality was also poor – only one small jar of herring and some salmon – the latter being ok. No lovely cheese pancakes or range of pickles. Cheap sausages and only one variety, disgusting scrambled eggs in a watery separated state and I could go on. To be fair, I have seen worse, but this is not of the expected standard. Of course we still managed to eat moderately well and enjoyed chatting to an Aussie couple next to us – exchanging tips, travel plans and experiences.

After breakfast we had free time until 1pm so I tried to catch up on blogs but the internet failed so I didn’t manage to load up two days ago – the internet is still down so I am doing this off line and will post later.

Our guide arrived early and we were escorted to a small dirty Hyundai with a pleasant enough driver. We all set off to Pushkin which is 24km south of St Petersburg. It was the summer residence of the Tsars from the beginning of the 18th century until the end of the monarchy in 1917. The big attraction at Pushkin is Catherines palace, named after Peter the Great’s second wife. It is one of the finest examples of Russian Baroque architecture and was built to rival Versailles (France). Designed by Italians under the guidance of Elizabeth (Peter the Great’s daughter) it is a delight from the decorative and distinctive blue and white exterior to the gilded and chandelier sparkling interior.

The opportunity to visit here was actually one of the reasons we went to a tailor made tour – so we could see both this palace and Peterhof – other tours do not usually do both. Also Catherines palace has the famous ‘Amber room’ which I was particularly interested in.

A lot of restoration has taken and is still taking place as it was badly damaged and plundered in WW2. We have seen a few palaces and do enjoy the floor to ceiling beauty and craftsmanship of tradesman from parquet floors, to silk wall papers and painted ceilings. And of course the opulence of crystal, gild, fine porcelain, timber furniture, and all the intricate detail. Catherines palace had it all and it was a delight to glide through with our slippers and take it all in with marvel and wonder.

Some of the interior design was by a Scottish man called James Cameron and is in the English style. I particularly loved his green room. The Grand Hall room is a very impressive 9,000 sq ft and inspired by the hall of mirrors at Versailles with 300 mirrors and up to 7,000 candles that were lit up for the special events.

The Baroque apartments have lovely silk wall paper, precious porcelain, and sumptuous curtains. Some rooms feature stunning tile clad Dutch stoves that were used for heating. One room was filled edge to edge with 114 classic paintings including many originals that were squirrelled away before looting took place.

Vern and myself were both blown away with the highlight of the magnificent Amber room which has over 6 tons of this precious petrified tree resin. It is the one place you cant take photos – grrr again – but worth the visit alone. To try and describe it would be difficult as there are many features and different techniques used within the room. Commissioned in the early 1700’s by Frederick the Great of Prussia and then shipped to the Romanovs as a gift. Essentially there are mosaic panels covering the walls from floor to ceiling.

Then there are some large ‘picture’ frames and pictures intricately and highly decorated with figurines, heated and shaped amber beads – ranging from red to honey – and even some opaque thin sheets over etched foil creating mini 3D scenes. Amber is very difficult to work with being very brittle and when you see the detail of colour and mosaics it makes it even more amazing. Well worth googling some pictures.

The original room was plundered by the Nazi’s in 1944 and they have never found where the panels went – a mystery yet to be solved. Some parts were recovered but basically the whole room has been restored. Restoration commenced in 1979 from black and white photos and it was completed in 2003 with a cost of around $350 million USD. The Russians treasure amber and call it Russian gold.

Time disappeared in the palace despite the quick pace we were moved through it, so we didn’t have a lot of time to view the lovely park like grounds. They feature manicured English style formal wooded gardens, a small lake, a few fountains and statues and a small area with roses and flowers planted French style. We needed to be back in town by 6pm for the driver’s knock of time so got moved along in the gardens as well by our guide. Along the way we took the opportunity to enquire about recommended dining and were happy to hear a of good Georgian restaurant a few doors down from our hotel. Wonderful – dinner sorted.

It was indeed good and we will be back for more from the menu in the next few days. I enjoy Georgian food – it’s deceptively simple yet has lovely delicate layers of flavour. Hints of a combination of some Greek, Spanish, and Croatian herbs and spices. Coriander, cumin and some other ones I cant quite identify – but am working on that. We started with the turban shaped dumplings like big steamed wonton – mutton and herb flavour. Nomy nom nom. Another go at the feather light and crisp borek feather delight. Something new was a Georgian salad with nuts and pomegranate like a pesto dressing (very good) and we finished with a seasoned and grilled spatchcock or small chicken. I tried a lovely white wine from somewhere in Russia and it was also very nice.

Our impressions of St Petersburg continue to be that it is not as affluent or modern feeling as Moscow and definitely not as clean or safe. Whilst not as populated as Moscow (12 million and 6 million) it is huge and feels more crowded, chaotic and bigger. Of course we have seen very little of both – but it is a reflection of what we have experienced so far. I am sure we are yet to see the best of the city. St Isaacs is just down the street and again I keep repeating but it is huge! We are anticipating positive things tomorrow as we explore the city.