Day 11 Saint Pete Daytime

Early morning to get to the Hermitage before the rest of the crowds. Even still, there were lore of people there. It's hard to describe the place, as it is so vast. The most impressive rooms were the main staircase, all in figurines of marble, plaster and gold leaf, and the throne room with 6 foot tall vases of lapis and malachite. The art collections were stupendous, rivaling the Louvre ( just not as big). There were Rembrandts, Titians, a few DaVincis, and a whole floor of impressionists and beyond. Obviously the collection stops in 1920, as the Romanoffs were no longer able to do any collecting.
The next stop was the Church of the Spilled Blood. It was built at the site where Alexander II was killed. It may be one of the most photogenic churches in this city.
We then went to lunch with two ladies who live here in St. Petersburg. Odysseys Travel always has some type of home visitation with local families. This is a very nice touch to speak with locals and not just see the museums. We went to the home of a 50 something widow, a "pensioner", who used to be an engineer in Soviet times, but now teaches English in schools. She spoke of her life in the old system with 5 families in a flat sharing 1 bathroom and 1 kitchen. Since 1991, she has done somewhat better, and has been able to renovate her apartment somewhat. She had a 50 inch flat screen TV on the wall, but still lived in 3 rooms with no official "bedroom", as she sleeps in what appeared to be a living room. Sitting there at a long table reminded me of a Seder, and the wine was similar! :) the other half of our group was across the hall with a lady who hadn't fared so well and had not renovated her apartment at all. Clean but obviously very old.
The next stop was St. Isaac's church, the largest in the city with a huge golden dome. Saint Isaac the Dalmatian lived in the 4th century and fought the Romans for Christianity. He went on to become Hegemon of Constantinople. His Saint's day is May 30 which was Peter the Great's birthday, so he was adopted by the Romanovs as their patron saint.
We stopped to look at the log cabin where Peter built the first house here on the Neva. That was a ruse, as it was really a chance to stop to buy souvenirs from a huge schlock shop. I walked to the river to get some pictures. There was a tall ship to take picture of.
Last stop for the day was the synagogue. Since it is Shabbat, we were unable to take pictures or really get a tour. It did bring back warm feelings from the last time we were here 10 years ago.


Stephen J. Rockower, MD
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