Trip to St Petersburg

Last weekend I went to visit a friend in St Petersburg. I have been to this beautiful city before, but every time it seems and feels different. I see a new side of the city every time I'm there. It's always fascinating and always enchanting, but never quite the same.

I love St Petersburg in the summer; the sunshine streaming through the green leaves. It's very different from Moscow - it feels like in St Petersburg there are tress and water everywhere.     

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

There are probably a lot of discussion about which building represents St Petersburg. Some say it's the Winter Palace, others prefer one of the bridges, and still others who put the picture of Peter the Great's bronze statue on commemorative plates and mugs. I think that the building that represents St Petersburg is the one above - the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It represent the blood and gore of the Tsarist regime and the Revolution that followed, the revival and romantization of the ancient Rus' past, of the meeting of the East and the West.   

I love cast iron - it makes me think of metallic lace. And I do love lace. This piece of railing surrounds the Mikhailovsky Palace. It was originally from the Winter Palace, but after the Revolution it was dismantled and different pieces were used all over town for railing and other Revolutionary purposes.  

Russian Museum

Mikhailovsky Palace, also known as the Russian Museum, houses the largest collection of Russian art in the world. That is, of course, not surprising, since it is in Russia. Pretty much every great Russian painting is housed in this building (unless it's at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow).

I'll share some more really beautiful pictures from the trip in the next couple of days.