St Petetsburg: Peterhof Castle

Supposedly we got into St Petersburg at 2 a.m.  I say supposedly because when Leslie got up at 6 a.m. we were not moving. As she was falling back asleep she felt the engines start up again so it's all a very big mystery. Today we started off with an one hour drive out to Peterhof Castle. It was great to see some of St Petersburg along the way.  The castle is Grand and the garden surrounded with are filled with fountains. We scheduled it such that we got to see the fountains begin to flow at 11. It was named for Peter the Great who was a Russian Czar. He was the first Russian Czar to try and modernize Russia and a very interesting individual indeed. He lived for years in a log cabin while founding St Petersburg. You wouldn't know it based on how fancy is Castle is. It actually was just his summer residence and he was trying to outdo some of the greatest Estates in Europe. He saw these places on a grand tour and wanted to emulate them.

The view from our balcony. The green barge is immigration. 

Private cars and buses ready to go

A church right outside of our deck

Our guide Darina

Nice houses on the ride

So glad we booked a private car

It is a world heritage site due to the number of buildings from 1800s

Hedges at Peterhof 

Statues and fountains of the upper garden 

A line we did not have to stand in 

Comical conical trees

Arrivedat the palace, with the chapel in the background

Due to the delicate parquet flooring we had to wear booties on our feet I tried to get one pair on and they would not fit so I put two pair on and still I was not all that successful

Flooring like I have never seen before

Let the gilding begin.

More great flooring 

This is the wood inlay on the floor that we had to protect with our booties

Am I blue?

Grand room

Pink room

There is a clock in all that gold 

Dinner will be served soon 

Some kind of throne room 

The green room with a clock

The red room

Call me Catherine she says

Silk wall paper

Nice bed

The detail on a finally carved wooden cabinet

In Peter the Great's personal study

Tge Czar gets the best stuff

A beautiful yellow color on the outside

The Fountains had not get begun to fount

A series of impressive statues lead down a set of steps from Peterhof Palace and flank the fountains

This is a picture of the destruction the Germans Left Behind after World War II

The chapel was on one side of the palace and a government building was on the other side of the palace

They kept the potted trees and delicate plants that needed to go away for the winter in this building

A classic take on Gator wrestling I guess it's popular worldwide and not just a Florida thing

This canal let all the way to the Baltic Sea and has since been restricted. All the fountains Waters Flow down to here

Continue in this direction to get to the Baltic

Behold the fountains are flowing

A sad and dumpy lion

The Gilded top of the flanking government building

Lots of folks were gathered around the fountains to see the beginning of the flow