English in Cyrillic

My Russian is horrible and not improving. Mostly I say hello, please, point to something, thank you. Point works for mosquito bites, sore throats and food. Who needs anything more?  While I can't speak Russian I am finding that many things are English words written in Cyrillic.

Cауна - the C is like an S; the у is like a U; the н is like an N. Sauna. 

Косметика - с is like an S; и is like an I. Cosemetica. 

Стоп - п is like a P. Stop. At every red light there is also a stop sign. 

Veliky Novgorod

Today I was taking it easy after being sick, exploring the historical center of town.

The historic area of V. Novgorod is a sleepy little town with lots of greenery and water. It's beautiful and restful.

The city is also the site of a large urban dig called the Troitsky archaeological dig.  It began in 1973 and continues today.  Due to the soil conditions, wood artifacts have been preserved, giving valuable insights into Medieval Northern Europe.

In July, a roman coin dating back to the 4th Century AD was found at an excavation site, further showing the relationship between Novgorod and the Byzantine Empire.

http://www.novgorod1150.com/history/archeolog/

Touting itself as the birthplace of Russia and one of the oldest cities in Russia, the city dates from the late 10th century when it was given the name Novgorod or “New City” to distinguish it from previous Varangian stronghold of Holmgard (Rurikovo Gorodische), south of the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod

It was an important city of the Kievan Rus during the dynasty founded by Rurik, a Varangian prince and functioned as the original capital until 822 when the administration was transferred to Kiev.

Beginning with the death of Yaroslav the Wise, in 1054, the once united "Russians" would develop into separate principalities, leading to the establishment of the separate Novgorod Republic in 1136. As a Republic, princes were invited in and dismissed if they did not make the grade.

The hero, Alexander Nevsky, was Prince of Novgorod four times. During one of those times, he found himself between a rock and hard place.  The Golden Horde of Batu Khan threatened from the East and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights threatened from the West.  On April 5, 1242, the Battle on the Ice (fought on the frozen Lake Peipus) took place with ending with a decisive victory for the Novgorod Republic over the Knights. Alternately, Nevsky chose to pay tribute to the Khan.

It would not be until late 1400s before much of Russia would start to be ruled under one ruler again, beginning with Ivan the III. His grandson Ivan the IV (the Terrible) would finally proclaim himself Tsar of All the Russias in 1547, fixing firmly the center of power on Moscow.

The Kremlin/fortress walls still stand with a moat circling around to the Volkhov river at the back. 

Children

Children here are treated like little darlings. Ribbons braided through their hair, like hobbits.

There were 3 children's parks surrounding the V. Novgorod Kremlin. One of them even had a roller coaster. 

Church of the Spilled Blood

I caught a cold a couple of days ago so I took the last 2 days there nice and slow. 

The Church of the Spilled Blood was built in memory of czar Alexander II and was built on the spot of his assassination. They have preserved and enclosed in the church the street for the actual spot he fell. Alexander II is best known for freeing the serfs. 

The church was designed to resemble St. Basil's in Moscow. The interior art is entirely mosaics. After the Russian revolution the church was used for storage and as a morgue in WWII. 

Money Shot

I figured I had all the different bills there were this morning so I took front and back pictures. And then I hit the metro and received ¥10 ruble notes as change. These are usually coins. 10 ruble is like $0.33.

So anyway, here are the most common coins and bills front and back, followed by the 10 ruble notes.

Peterhof

I'm sitting on the Hydrofoil to Peterhof, another palace. Finding this one should be easy - just walk off the pier.

Peter the Great had a place built here in the 1720's. The park is based on french garden design. The main fountains were based off Versailles. The ponds in the palace were stocked with fish that were trained to eat bread from a hand at the ringing of a bell.

The grounds contain 2 palaces, one by Peter the Great as a retreat and the second by Empress Elizabeth for state functions.  Like the Catherine Palace, The Italian master Rasterelli was commissioned to build Elizabeth's palace and it was later remodeled by Catherine the Great.

Photo of the Grand Cascade by Alex Florstein

Catherine the Great was being held in semi-captivity here at the time she came to power. The guide describes the coup as 'taking over for her husband'.

Most of the palaces and grounds were destroyed in World War 2 as it was just 500m from the front lines. Almost everything is the result of restoration. 

Taking photos or video of the inside is not officially allowed. This one is off the "net".

For other interior pictures there are some good ones at these sites.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/peterhof/grand-palace.asp

http://www.peterhof-express.com/about_peterhof/great_palace
(click on the small images for larger pictures)

You can also Virtual tour the exterior of this site through Google Street View.

Peterhof Gardens

The Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo

Today Bev visited the Catherine Palace.  Here are some of her adventures getting there.

I followed the directions in the guide book - go to the right metro station, follow the signs to buses to the airport, take one of these 4 buses and ask for the 'palace'. I didn't recognize the stop and had to try to make myself understood. By that time I'd ended up at the last palace (which I knew is closed Mondays). 

Off the bus, catch one the other direction. Same problem again (palace 1 instead of palace 2). I was looking for the blue and white palace but the stop is at the end of the forested park and the building is hidden by trees. But this time I figured it out sooner. 

It's a small town so I didn't have to walk back more than a km. I had a nice walk around the palace park grounds to find that I came to the online ticket entrance quite naturally. 

I was surprised by the palace. The buildings and grounds are enormous but much of the main building is closed and parts of the exterior are under going renovations. 

The interiors are fantastically rich with frescoes and gold. It's a rectangular building on the outside and Italian baroque inside. 

I'm getting very bored of rectangular buildings. But aren't most buildings? Maybe it's the color with white trim I'm bored of. 

The Catherine Palace is named after Catherine I (not Catherine the Great), the wife of Peter the Great, who ruled Russia for two years after her husband's death.

Originally a modest two-story building commissioned by Peter for Catherine in 1717, the Catherine Palace owes its awesome grandeur to their daughter, Empress Elizabeth, who chose Tsarskoe Selo as her chief summer residence.


Starting in 1743, the building was reconstructed by four different architects, finally Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Chief Architect of the Imperial Court, was instructed to completely redesign the building on a scale to rival Versailles.

Catherine the Great, actually regarded its "whipped cream" architecture as old-fashioned.

It is hard to get the scale of the Palace from photos.  This aerial photo best shows the extent of the Palace.

You can also take the Google Street View tour:

Entrance Side

Garden Side

During the siege of Leningrad, it was used as a German barracks and for target practice. Stalin bombed the site during the occupation to prevent the Fascists from enjoying their stay. Before retreating the German forces intentionally set the palace ablaze leaving it a hollow shell.  Fortunately, prior to the war the interior was fairly well documented and the work of restoring it began based on that documentation.  A task that continues today.

Alexander Nevsky

This Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev and Grand Prince of Vladimir was probably most noted for the Battle of the Neva.

The Battle of the Neva was fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the Neva River, near Ust-Izhora, on July 15, 1240. The purpose of the Swedish invasion was probably to gain control over the mouth of the Neva and the city of Ladoga, thus seizing the most important part of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

Battle of the Neva contributed to Alexander's name (Nevsky) and his later sainthood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nevsky

Nevsky also lends his name to Nevsky Prospect, the main throughfare of Saint Petersburg, which is probably named after the aforementioned Alexander Nevsky Lavra (Monastery). Gogol and Dostoevsky both employed the Nevsky Prospekt within their works and it still supplies upscale shopping and contributes to the city's nightlife.

Monastery of Alexander Nevsky

The monastary includes the cemeteries where Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky are buried.

St. Petersburg Metro

St. Petersburg has the deepest metro in the world; the deepest station of all is the Admiralteyskaya station in the historic area. It takes 3:14 to ride the escalator from the platform. It doesn't sound like a long time but it's long enough to be incredibly dull. Fortunately, there seems to be full G3 data at all points in the Metro. 

Some of the stations are blinged out. (I understand Moscow stations are much more elaborate). There are guided tours of the Metro which is absolutely ridiculous; the whole system is easier than Toronto's. 

The Hermitage Museum

I spent most of yesterday at The Hermitage. This is also known as the Winter Palace which was the Imperial residence until the revolution. 

The Winter Palace was built at the time of Empress Elizabeth but the art was driven by Catherine the Great. The art and Egyptian collections were expanded during the Russian Revolution as the properties of the aristocracy were pillaged and appropriated. Also, Archeological digs into burial mounds have contributed grave goods from Ancient Greece, Scythian and nomadic tribes. The collection has grown to include diplomatic gifts and personal possessions of the czars. There are small Faberge eggs (the larger eggs are in the Kremlin) and miniature crowns included in the diamond exhibit. 

The building interiors are stunning.