Da svidaniya Sankt Peterburg. Next stop Tallinn.
The time has come come to pull up stumps and leave this beautiful city. Initial concerns regarding recent events in the Ukraine evaporated no sooner had we arrived. This is a modern, thriving city where the average Russian inhabitant is just like you and I (although the ladies skirts are soooo much shorter, except for the Babushkas of course. Don't mess with the Babushkas!) Vestiges of the Soviet era remain but Peterburgers prefer to forget that and reminisce over old Imperial glories.
We now go by bus to Tallinn, capital of neighbouring Estonia, while Don and Siggy saddle up and cycle in the same direction. In preparation for such a feat we ate a great dinner last night complete with vodka and caviar just to add a bit of steel to their legs.
But first, some last minute sightseeing as we were determined to get the most out of our prepaid SPB visitor cards. Another building definitely worth seeing here is the Saint Isaac cathedral, built by Peter the Great in honour of his patron Saint Isaac of Dalmatia with whom he shared a birthday. It is an outstanding monument of late Russian Neo-Classicism and one of Europe's most famous churches. (OK, I got that from the book). During the Soviet era it was spared destruction, unlike many other places of worship but it was converted to a museum of religion and atheism. A giant Foucault's pendulum was erected to prove that the earth revolved around the sun and that, by Soviet logic, God did not exist. Another amazingly ornate gilded building decorated with malachite and lapis lazuli columns and loads of mosaic tiles. Buildings like this could not be built today as the materials ares simply no longer available, regardless of cost. A highlight was climbing up to the look-out platform for a great view of the city skyline.
But we couldn't go without posting a few more pics of that building - The church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood. Photographed many times on different days and under different lighting conditions. Did I mention before it was built on the place where Alexander II was assassinated, hence the name.
Well if you were thinking the inside of the St Isaac Cathedral was as good as it gets, you'd be wrong. The inside of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood leaves it for dead. The entire inside is covered with mosaic tiles - millions of tiny little glazed tiles the size of your little fingernail cover the entire walls and ceilings. None of the surfaces you see below are painted.
Next blog from from Estonia. Wonder if we'll bump into former TDF rider and Estonian champion cyclist Jan Kirsipuu?
Until next time.
The time has come come to pull up stumps and leave this beautiful city. Initial concerns regarding recent events in the Ukraine evaporated no sooner had we arrived. This is a modern, thriving city where the average Russian inhabitant is just like you and I (although the ladies skirts are soooo much shorter, except for the Babushkas of course. Don't mess with the Babushkas!) Vestiges of the Soviet era remain but Peterburgers prefer to forget that and reminisce over old Imperial glories.
We now go by bus to Tallinn, capital of neighbouring Estonia, while Don and Siggy saddle up and cycle in the same direction. In preparation for such a feat we ate a great dinner last night complete with vodka and caviar just to add a bit of steel to their legs.
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| Cheers, Salut and all that. |
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| Inside St Isaac's Cathedral |
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| St Isaac's Cathedral |
Well if you were thinking the inside of the St Isaac Cathedral was as good as it gets, you'd be wrong. The inside of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood leaves it for dead. The entire inside is covered with mosaic tiles - millions of tiny little glazed tiles the size of your little fingernail cover the entire walls and ceilings. None of the surfaces you see below are painted.
Next blog from from Estonia. Wonder if we'll bump into former TDF rider and Estonian champion cyclist Jan Kirsipuu?
Until next time.
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