In August Bee and I spent a long week-end in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This is a place I had heard a lot about and it was several years that I wanted to come here. I just needed a good excuse.
On the first day we had organised a walking tour of the city, very useful to get orientation and see where the major attractions are.
We started along one of the many canals, the canal which formed the original city limits called Fontanka as it originally fed fountains in the Summer Gardens. Along the way, we ran into the current main building of the Saint Petersburg University.
Impressive building – it used to be one of the many palaces belonging to people who gravitated around the Tsar and his family.
Further along, we noticed this Church with sky blue dome and golden stars
There are churches and canals everywhere. This place is called “three bridges”.
This is Nikolsky Cathedral, actually built for Peter’s wife Empress Catherine I – the bell tower is well removed from the main building as is typical in Russia.
Here is the church itself, with typical pastel colors and gold domes
This is the Mariinsky Theatre, probably the best known cultural venue in Saint Petersburg where the Kirov ballet used to perform in Soviet times – now it has reverted to its original name and is known as the Mariinsky Ballet Company, still one of the best in the world.
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