Russia

We spent two days in Saint Petersburg on our recent trip to Europe. Here are a few photos of our stops.

The Church on Spilled Blood:

Inside, every inch is covered in glass tile mosaics. It was stunning! And, shocking to think it was used to store dead bodies during the war. After the war, the Soviets let it sit and deteriorate. They planned to demolish the church, but the citizens rallied to save and restore it.

 We also visited the Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral.

We visited The Hermitage, a former palace turned into an enormous art museum.

Catherine's Palace:

This palace was so crowded inside. My favorite part was walking the grounds. It was so quiet, and void of people.

Church at Catherine's Palace:

Our last stop was the fountains at Peterhof Palace.

The fountains cover the grounds of the palace, and all run on gravity and valves - no pumps.

Many are covered in gold.

We also went to a Russian folkloric dance and music show, which was beautiful.

We had very mixed feelings about Saint Petersburg. We enjoyed all the sites we visited, but they were all completely destroyed during WWII. After the war, the Soviets spent billions of dollars restoring them, while the people were so poor and starving to death.
 
The next stop on our visit was Helsinki, Finland. I'll share those photos soon...