The Amber Room

No it is not the title of a spy or mystery novel but more of an anniversary of a room given, yes an entire room from a Palace from one Sovereign to another. In 1716 King Frederick William of Prussia, known as the Sergeant King made a gift of a entire room made of precious amber stone to Peter the Great of Russia in return for a contingent of very tall Russians for his Grenadier Regiment. The room was designed by Andreas Schlüter and Gottfried Wolfram and amber masters Gottfried Turau and Ernst Schacht. In all 6 tons of amber was used, it was installed in the Catherine Palace in 1755. We visited the Catherine Palace and the Amber Room in 2012, it is as spectacular as these pictures.

 Black and White photos of the Amber Room c. 1932

This last photo by Novosti Press shows the room with the statue of Frederic the Great in 1932.

This room created a sensation in Europe, no Palace had anything quite like it. Until the Second World War or 1942 it remained intact. Then disaster struck, the invading Nazi Army from Germany attacked the City of Saint-Petersburg (Leningrad) and the outlying area known as the Golden Ring with its Palaces and bombarded and destroyed all in its path. Palaces were looted and any precious object was shipped back to Germany as war booty.

Detail Amber Room restored in 2003, Gold leaf and Amber.

in the 2003 restoration you can see that the equestrian statue of Frederick the great is missing and so is the bureau and chinese vases.


The Soviet Government had already evacuated a lot of art works to a safe haven far from the war theatre in the interior of Russia, but the amber room with its fragile wall panels could not be dismantled quickly and was left behind, the walls were recovered cotton and other protective material.

As early as the Spring 1944, the Nazi army are pushed back but the area in and around St-Petersburg was nothing but devastation, buildings lay in ruins, most had been repeatedly looted, bombed and burned. The Nazi practiced a scorched earth policy, leaving nothing behind them.  The Soviet Government realizing the important historical value of these monuments and Palaces decided to start re-building and at the same time gave work to hundreds of artists and craftsmen, work that went on for decades. Today teams of artists and restorers continue their work in preservation of the past.

About the mystery of the rooms disappearance after the end of the war. A Soviet report indicated the room had been destroyed probably in the bombing fire of Konigsberg Castle (Kalinigrad) and in 1997 the family of a German soldier who had been part of the team who had removed the Amber Room from the Catherine Palace found a piece of the original panel of amber in his house. He had kept a piece as a war souvenir.  In 2003 the German Government returned to Russia 3 paintings which had hanged in the room as part of the original setting.

 These photos from Novosti Press shows the difficult puzzle work by artists

The Amber Room is located in the Catherine Palace in Tsarkoe Selo (Tsar's Village) about 25 Km outside St-Petersburg. Built by the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth I, she will name the new palace after her mother Catherine I.

In 2013, the 400th Anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, the re-built Amber Room celebrates its 10th anniversary.

more on Florida visit

I went to Florida at my brother and his wife's invitation. They had invited us to visit them in their new home in Clearwater. I nice bungalow in the Florida style, nice garden. They just repainted the whole inside, quite a nice job of it too. My brother also as a green thumb and has planned improvements to the garden by buying some nice plants and a few palm trees, which he will plant himself, quite a job on your own but he has done it before and enjoys it.

We drove around quite a bit, since the distances between places makes walking very difficult. He owns a huge F-150 truck. We went to the beach, Clearwater has a bay and is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a causeway. In the same fashion Clearwater itself is connected to Tampa by a causeway. If you do not have a car, renting one is imperative since Florida is notorious for its poor public transport.

Most nights I cooked for them at home, there is a strange paradox in the USA, if you want to eat healthy it is expensive but on the other hand junk food or processed food is dirt cheap, though it is not good for you at all as it is loaded with fat, sugar, salt and many unpronounceable items on the label.

We did go to a restaurant I liked on North Beach called Calis, which is slang for California. The breakfast and lunch menu was very good and the wait staff where very pleasant.

We also drove to St-Petersburg just south of Clearwater about 30 km away on a Saturday to attend on open air art show, though that day the weather was terribly cold around 7 C with high winds. As the name indicates the city was founded by a Russian émigré about 120 years ago. Sarasota and Bradenton are just a little further south on the Gulf. If you look at the map it looks like one large city spread over 80 Km. you never actually leave the urban space while driving around.

The only other cities I had visited in the past were Miami, Sarasota and Bradenton which are all very different from one another.

We also went to a Greek enclave called Tarpon Springs known for its natural sponge and Greek community who have made a business of diving for sponge.

The North Beach area has lovely homes and is very quiet, no traffic to speak of, distances are walkable.
Lots of Canadian SnowBirds of a definite age, who rent or own homes in that area.

 My brother's kite on the beach, it is quite big and with the strong wind flew high. The tail of the kite is 4 meters long, gives you an idea of the size of this kite.

He also has a motorcycle, you cannot say a bike since that would imply something for a kid who pedals around. A Harley-Davidson, quite powerful, I did not try to ride it around.

   

Wisdom on 31 December 2012

Here is a message from my friend C.P. this morning, words of wisdom on my entering a new phase of life in retirement. Thank you C.P.

To invent the life you want to have rather than the life someone says you must have. It takes time.

And on this note here is the year in photos, not a bad year at all, lots of travelling in Europe throughout the year and then retirement, with photos of the actual site where the decision was made.

The first month of the year was the usual blah, mild winter and not much happening, work was not that interesting and by March I decided it was time to return to Rome and consulted friends to see what was going on in the Eternal City.

The two domes of the Churches in Piazza del Popolo as seen from the Belvedere of Villa Borghese.

I also had my birthday in Rome with friends at a lovely luncheon in Capena just a few minutes outside the Città.

Cake was Linda's creation and it is not on fire.

Because March is Artichoke season, she also made Stuffed Artichoke Roman Style. A favourite of mine.

Now I did walk a lot in Rome, something I truly enjoy doing, the City is built like a theatre set and anywhere you look there is always something to attract your eyes.

Looking down this street that morning in March I was just waiting around for Nancy de C. to start one of her private tours of the Convent at Trinita dei Monti, top of the Spanish stairs. So I was just looking down the street, Via Sistina, this would be around 9:55 am and if you look all the way you can see at the other end the steeple of Santa Maria Maggiore. The street changes names twice before you arrive at the other end, to Via Quattro Fontane and then to Via Agostino DePretis. It was busy that morning like all morning in Rome are and I do not know why, but a little voice told me, you know retiring would not be such a bad thing after all, you had a wonderful career. Rome and it's sunlight can inspire.
That is when I decided that I would retire by year end.

Vincent Lam in Ottawa at Fraser Café at the launch of his bestseller book, The Headmaster's Wager. During the Ottawa Writers Festival. A wonderful book to read. Vincent is a writer but also a E.R. doctor at Toronto.

In early May we had the annual Tulip Festival in commemoration of the Royal Family of the Netherlands who spent the Second World War in Ottawa. Carpets of  tulips everywhere in city parks can be seen, beautiful.

Nicholas and Nora in the morning after breakfast, a little snooze.

Of course this year was the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in June in Canada.

Then in June we went on our cruise with AZAMARA from Amsterdam to Hamburg to Copenhagen, to the Island of Ronen and on to Helsinki, St-Petersburg and Tallinn finally arriving in Stockholm.

From Kevin M. apartment and B&B beautiful view. We also met M.J. in Amsterdam.

Before coffee in the morning in a lovely café just down the street from our B& B.

Copenhagen Palace Square in the morning.

We then sailed to a small island of Ronen to see smoke houses where fish is smoked like herring. It is very fresh and delicious with a glass of wine.

 A very traditional method of preparing and preserving fish and it was very interesting to see. Such a lovely small island, very green, a beautiful picture of Scandinavia.

 We then sailed on to Helsinki, a beautiful small Capital, friendly people and wonderful pastries.
The excitement was building as we were now approaching Imperial St-Petersburg the city built by Peter the Great, what a jewel and thanks to massive renovations by Vladimir Putin, the city once again shines on the Baltic.

Here we are across from the Winter Palace by the Sphinx on University Embankment. If you touch the Sphinx you are likely to return to St-Petersburg. I wish we could have stayed at least one more day, two days was simply not enough for this magnificent city.

Our last stop was Stockholm, which for Will meant going to Drottningholm (Queen's Palace) to see the famous 17th century theatre. He waited almost all his life to see it and I had heard of it for the last 35 years, so the expectation was great. We were not disappointed, it was magical, to be able to step back in this perfectly preserved small theatre.

My favourite photo of 2012, Will at the entrance to the Royal Park, he was so excited, like a little kid.
Of course Sydd appears in the photo, he accompanied us throughout the trip.

 Talk of green environment in Stockholm Harbour.

But this was not all for my travelling, in the Fall I went for a few days to London to see friends. Wonderful visit and how nice to see the City with a lot less tourists. Staying with C. in the Marylebone area near Selfridge's on Baker street.

 The West facade of St-Paul's Convent Garden, Market area, known as the Actor's Church built by Inigo Jones in 1633. A beautiful Church well worth a visit.

How many times in my career, Will and I said this, so true and it continues to be.

December, the first snow in Ottawa. We have had so far more snow in December 2012 than in the entire winter of 2011. It promises.

On the 29 December, the retirement party with a few friends at home.

and the year ends, on with the new......

It's -22 C. on this photo, Happy New Year to All!

On a foggy, cold drizzle of a Sunday

Today is one of those terrible winter days in Ottawa I dislike so much, dark, foggy, freezing drizzle, unpleasant and gray. So I keep busy reviewing my lecture notes for my presentation on portraits that I prepared for the National Gallery of Canada Volunteer program. I have 2 presentations to do this week.

I also look at YouTube to see what might be interesting. I found this July 1942 recording by the American NBC Orchestra under the baton of Arturo Toscanini of the newly composed Symphony no 7  by Shostakovich. It speaks to the 900 day siege of Leningrad ( St-Petersburg) by the Nazi army and of the terrible suffering of the Russian people. It was a desperate fight to save the city, a poem of resistance against a terrible enemy. I read a few months ago a wonderful book on the Hermitage Museum and what happened during the siege and how the employees sacrificed themselves to save the art works. Our guide during our visit in June had spoken to us about the siege and how in her own family there had been many dead. The cruelty of war is often difficult to understand for someone who has not experienced it.



Shostakovich completed the work around December 1941, he and his family were evacuated from Leningrad towards Moscow. The work in the USSR was premiered by the Orchestra of the City of Kouïbychev (today Samara) by maestro Samuel Samossoud. This symphony was dedicated to Leningrad and its people but today it is seen more as a protest against all forms of Totalitarianism including Stalin's rule.

The Second World War saw 25 million dead in Russia alone. Listening to it I see the images of St- Petersburg and to me it is evocative of that terrible period.



I also just finished the recent book of Mary Soames, the last surviving child of Clementine and Winston Churchill. The book is about her early life and the war years accompanying her father and meeting all the great actors of this drama on the world stage. I will write about the book on a future post.

Hermitage

The word Hermitage is French, borrowed by Peter the Great to signify a place of repose, away from all formality, like the hermit who lives in his secluded cave, in his hermitage. Many Russian Imperial Palaces have an hermitage but not all are museum, some are simple quiet pavilion where the Tsar could have a meal with close personal friends like the one at Peterhof, away from courtiers and Court Minister and obligations.

I have just finished reading a wonderful book on the history of the Hermitage museum in St-Petersburg.  The book is entitled The Hermitage, the biography of a great museum by Geraldine Norman published by Pimlico, Random House, 386 pages.  The book was written with the help of the current director of    the museum Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky the son of the past director Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky.

Norman did a lot of research into the history of the Hermitage and its development from a private museum belonging to the Imperial Family and its evolution through the ages. She also devotes a large part of the book to the Hermitage under Communism and what happened to the staff of that great museum after the revolution of 1917, their work, their struggles during the 900 days of Siege of St-Petersburg by the Nazi army. Their struggles with the NKVD and the KGB, all arbitrarily arrested, others disappeared in the prisons of Stalin during the purges. All to be rehabilitated in 1956, innocent of any crime, many it was discovered had been summarily shot or sent for years to the Soviet concentration camps in Siberia, the Gulag, sometimes for no other reason than the family name was suspicious.

A fascinating history, how the collections survived revolution and war, a modern day miracle really, this due to the Ermitazniki, the staff devoted to the point of dying to protect their collections, like Yakov Smirnov who died of hunger in the winter of 1942 during the siege of the city preferring to continue to work at the museum despite the lack of food and all other necessities, lunacy or devotion.

I wish I had read this book prior to my visit to the Hermitage, though now I can recall what I saw like the magnificent painting of The Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, painted in 1663.  

   The collection today in the Hermitage is very different of what it was in 1917 at the start of the Revolution. Quickly after the overthrow of the monarchy, the Hermitage became the store house of all the treasures and art collections of the different aristocratic families whose palaces had been confiscated. A vast treasure trove of numerous rare and precious objects.  Then the Communist faced with a difficult cash shortage decided to sell many paintings and diverse other collections between 1924-28 for quick cash often not understanding what they were selling and at bargain prices. The Hermitage was also forced by the authorities to share with museums in Moscow its collections. Then in 1945 the Hermitage was the recipient of stolen art or war booty the Soviet Army brought back to the USSR from all over Europe. Throughout all this turmoil the museum staff and its director fought a desperate fight against the often uneducated and ignorant Commissars of the regime to protect their valuable collections, saving the most important objects from the commercial venture. Many, for their opposition to the ''sell all'' orders were arrested and persecuted as was the case of one director of the Hermitage, Sergey Troinitsky who even after his return from the Gulag was denied housing and died in appalling poverty in Moscow.

Today it remains a breathtaking experience to visit this grand museum. Not to forget that the Hermitage was built in various phases, the Old, the New and the Grand Hermitage as the Tsars accumulated treasures for their personal pleasure and prestige, attached in various wings of the fabled Winter Palace. Today the palace is part of the museum, the two intertwine.  Though faced with such magnificent display one can only wonder about life under the Tsar before all the tragic unhappiness of Communism, the death of millions, the difficult years. Norman concludes that the Russian people have a deep affection, love and understanding of culture so much that it would have been unthinkable even under Lenin and Stalin to get rid of these art treasures and palaces which represent so much of the Russian national history and soul.

an encore

Our recent visit to Peterhof, the summer palace of Peter the Great, founder of the City of St-Petersburg, the sight of the great fountain of Samson and the lion accompanied to music presented as the Anthem of St-Petersburg is truly breathtaking. Samson is Russia and the Lion is the enemy Sweden defeated.

This is what it sounds and looks like at 11 am in the morning when the great fountains are all turned on at the same time.  Peterhof is outside the city on the Sea and the palace, like all the statues face the sea because Tsar Peter wanted to display his outward vision for his country.

Peterhof and the Winter Palace, Russia

On this trip to Northern Europe to 59.58 degrees North, the sun never sets before 22.58 in the evening which is very late by our standard living on the 49 parallel to the South where the Sun in June sets around 20.00 It never becomes fully dark up here, there is always on the horizon this white light. During our stay in St-Petersburg and last night has we sailed out of the harbour and up the channel to the open sea, there were dark clouds and some rain and strong winds, so the sky was much darker but still this light in the background allowing you to see, when normally in the South you would see nothing but pitch darkness.

Former headquarters of Carl Faberge, just 2 blocks from the Winter Palace, the name is still on the building in gold letters.

Our second day in St-Petersburg started with menacing clouds and a hint that the rain was not far off. We drove out of the City first by going around the major streets around the Winter Palace and the Admiralty, passing in front of several well known buildings, like the old Faberge building where Carl Faberge for years supplied jewellery to the Tsar and his family and designed those famous Easter Eggs, until the revolution when he was forced out of Russia and his company and contents were confiscated. We also drove past the Yussoupof Palace where Rasputin was killed by a group of conspirators who were trying to protect the Imperial family from his nefarious influence. Prince Yussoupof went into exile at the time of the revolution, becoming famous in Paris after writing of that fateful night. After the revolution many Russian aristocrats we were able to flee established in France, it was common to hear of Russian Officers who had become taxi drivers, the more prominent members of the Imperial family found refuge in England, Denmark and Spain where the Royal families of those countries offered them refuge. The palace rooms and cellar where the events of that night unfolded can be visited today, it is a big draw.

 Prince Felix Youssoupoff (1887-1967) Palace in St-Petersburg, it is so big I could not fit it in my camera lense. The canal in front is where Rasputin body was dumped on 30 December 1916.

We also passed in front of other churches like the Church of Our Lady of Kazan which resembles St-Peter in Rome.

The trip to Peterhof, the summer residence of Peter the Great is about one hour by car, it very much depends on the traffic. On the way to the Palace we saw another palace called by the locals Putinhof, it is the former summer palace of Grand Duke Constantine. The Palace was badly damaged during the second world war and then abandoned, until one day when Vladimir Putin wanted to establish an official Presidential Palace in St-Petersburg and he ordered the complete rehabilitation and reconstruction of this palace which now stands in an immense park on the sea outside of the city. It is used mainly by the Russian President when he is holding official functions or when important guests of the State are visiting Russia. Amazing what political will can do.

The front of Peterhof Palace as you arrive. Partial view. 

The great cascade at the rear of the palace facing the sea with all the gold statues.

another area of the garden in Peterhof with more fountains.

the rotating sun dial fountain and pool at Peterhof used in later years by Catherine II the Great as a pool for herself of course.

Peterhof was both a Palace for the Tsar Peter and his wife Catherine I, a simple peasant girl who did good. Paintings of her shows a rather plain looking woman with intelligent eyes who was much loved by Peter and who apparently knew how to handle him when he fell into one of his darker moments.

Peter also had other smaller pavilions built in the park of the palace and a manor by the seashore copied from a Dutch manor he had seen in The Netherlands. It is known that Tsar Peter worked on the design and interior decoration which is very faithful to what you would see in Holland.

The Dutch mansion designed by Peter the Great on the seashore when he wanted to get away.

However the most spectacular aspect of Peterhof is not the buildings but the great fountains. There are four such fountains. One is the famous baroque fountain of Samson and the lion which is set like a giant staircase cascading down from the main Palace to the canal below. All the many statues at different levels of this staircase are double gilded with gold, important to remember this is not gold paint but real gold, the giant statue of Samson represents Russia and the Lion is defeated Sweden. This fountain group is a celebration of the victory of the Russian army against Sweden at Poltava a war that lasted almost 20 years and established Russia as a world power.

At 11 O'clock every day in summer only, the fountains are turned on with great fanfare majestic music. It is interesting to note that only gravity activates the fountains there are no mechanical devices, as water comes from a giant cistern situated above the site, water rushes through ever narrowing pipes and then burst forth. All the water then cascades down into canals and streams in the forested park creating a idyllic setting.

Another feature of the park is the many tricked water traps, a park bench will suddenly gush with water jets drenching anyone sitting down. Or a park pathway will suddenly spurt water on passers by from every direction or a stone path outside one of the pavilions will become a shower of water. All this was built so that Peter could have a good laugh at his unsuspecting guests. These water traps are activated by a simple lever which can be activated by a simple twist of the wrist.

Peterhof is a real delight and again the Russian government worked hard at rebuilding it after the devastation of the Second World War. All the gold statues were stored in a secret hideaway during the war, except for the giant statue of Samson which disappeared and what you see today is a copy.

We had a very nice meal in the Orangerie of the Palace and the rain did not dampen our enthusiasm for the place. One other spectacular fountain is a giant pool with a rotaring copper Sun spurting rays of water as it rotates, again activated by the force of the water and gravity. This pool is said to have been a favorite of Catherine II the Great who use to come to Peterhof to swim.

On our return to the City our next stop was the Winter Palace and the Hermitage museum. Many people confused the Winter Palace and the Hermitage not understanding that the complex is several buildings. You have the Winter Palace which was the Official City Residence of the Tsar and his family and the Hermitage which was a private museum for the Tsar dedicated to his private enjoyment, meaning not open to the public. The Hermitage as the word implies is a retreat, a secluded place for the Sovereign to enjoy quietly this vast art collection. I have difficulty imagining one person going from one vast room to another alone admiring in complete silence these numerous master pieces.

Catherine II the Great would say that only her and the mice enjoyed the Hermitage and this was literally true.

The Hermitage was a private museum to house the collections of the Tsar and Tsarina. Imagine being the ruler and wandering alone in those great rooms.

The museum contains 3 million pieces of art. The best time to visit the Hermitage is January and February when next to no one comes to St-Petersburg. Unfortunately for us we arrived at the museum with 6 buses of Chinese tourists, it felt like the entire Chinese nation had descended on the museum. A very unpleasant experience. We opted for a visit to the gallery of Flemish painters and then the private and State Rooms of the Winter Palace so to avoid the worst of the hordes of tourists. It is interesting to note that no room is like any other room, all are lavishly decorated with the most extravagant materials. The art collection is very impressive and extensive an addition to the imposing decor. We can thank Peter the Great and Catherine II the Great for most of the collection we see today, both were avid collectors and it is said they were also shrewd business people, never paying the full price.

every room in the Hermitage is more splendid than the other.

The private apartments of Tsar Nicholas and his wife Empress Alexandra where the only ones damaged and looted during the storming of the Winter Palace in February 1917. Apparently the leadership of the revolution did not want the Winter Palace damaged nor the Hermitage collection vandalized so those parts of the palace where closed off. We did see the private library of Tsar Nicholas a beautiful wood panelled room in Gothic style very similar to the style used in Ottawa in the Parliament buildings. His library was used by the Provisional Government and preserved as is. As for the other rooms used by the family today they are empty or furniture from other palaces are on display. Strangely enough a long gallery with the life sized oil portraits of all the Romanov Tsars of Russia and Grand Dukes was preserved as was another gallery containing 350 oil portraits of all the great Czarist generals, the reason in this case, they were war heroes who had liberated mother Russia from the evil invaders.

The throne room in the Winter Palace an immense room all in white marble and gold.

The detail of the room housing the giant gold peacock clock, it still keeps time to this day.

The grand staircase of the Ambassadors reserved for persons coming to meet the Tsar.

one of the many reception rooms in the Winter Palace.

I would love to return to St-Petersburg to visit the Hermitage in January without the crowds.

Finally the last stop of our visit was the Church of the Resurrection also known as the Church of the Spilled blood, this refers to the assassination on 1 March 1881 of Tsar Alexander II by a group of terrorists. The church is a monument to the life of the Tsar Liberator as Alexander II is known. Historians now believe that had the Tsar not died on that day, the revolution might have been averted in 1917 as his reforms would have led to a Constitution. It is ironic in a way that this man was assassinated given all his many important reforms and good deeds during his life.

It is often thought in mainstream history that the Tsars were awful people or tyrants, however this is not so, the entire society in Russia was failing around the 1855 Crimean War. The bureaucracy was all powerful and as a whole Russia was still a feudal system. If anything went wrong the Tsar was blamed since he was an autocrat. A case in point, Nicholas II was seen as a tyrant when in fact he was a kind affectionate man, a Russophile and well educated. However he made one tragic mistake at the beginning of the First World War, seeing how badly his troops were doing, instead of replacing inept generals who were often family members or aristocratic families who had served faithfully the Romanov dynasty, he took personal charge of the command of the war and responsibility for what was happening, despite the fact the government tried to warn him of the dangers of such a move. He soon became the target of all the criticism and this in the end caused his downfall.

the walls are covered with mosaics not paintings, the floors are intricate coloured marble designs.

The Church of the Spilled blood is remarkable, the most lavish materials were used in its building, inside the walls are covered with giant mosaics representing the life of Christ, numerous great artists worked on this project. The spot where the Tsar died in the street is preserved with the original pavement covered by a granite and marble large canopy. The day we visited someone had placed a large flower bouquet, this area in the church is a shrine and cordoned off. The Tsar gate in front of the Altar is made of gold, silver and precious stones and the floor is inlaid marble. A large amount of rhodonite was also used, the red blood colour of this stone adds to the dramatic effect. On the outside the walls of the church are covered with several large tablets in granite and gold inlaid text describing the many accomplishments of Tsar Alexander II. During the Soviet period the church was nearly blown up by the communists because of what it symbolized and the inside was use as a warehouse. Today the church has been fully restored and cleaned and it is a jewel to see. Many Russians see it as a shrine to the Motherland.

the iconostasis wall in an orthodox church is in front of the Altar separating the priest from the participants. The Tsar Gate is made of precious metals and stones. The gate is open at the moment of consecration in the mass.

The shrine inside the church marking the spot where Tsar Alexander II died on the street.

Unfortunately we only had 2 full days in St-Petersburg and this is clearly not enough, there is so much more to see and appreciate. But we are happy with our first visit and with the many beautiful things we saw. It is also to the credit of the Russian Government who since 2000 has restored faithfully many important historical buildings employing hundreds of artisans in the process. We were also impressed with how clean the city was, Russians are respectful of the sites and even at Peterhof with the large crowds, we did not see one paper on the ground or discarded item anywhere.

We did go to the University Embankment to pet the heads of the bronze Griffons below the Egyptian sphinx, it is said that if you do this you will return to St-Petersburg.