Saint Petersburg: Maps , pictures and information.

[upwarduk]

Thank you DrFun.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

We did revisit Saint Petersburg this on the Zuiderdam . There seemed to be an interest in Moscow so we thought that we would show some photos of our last visit to Moscow and our last visit to St. Petersburg in June .

 

 

The most beautiful churches that we have seen have been in Russia . Here are 3 from a visit to Moscow .

 

Kazan Cathedral on Red Square

 

 

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the tallest Russian Orthodox church in the world

 

 

 

But most people will think of Saint Basil's

 

 

 

 

It seem like it always rains when we go there

 

 

 

[Lagerta]

Thank you for your wonderful pictures! We also realized that the most beautiful churches we have ever seen are in Russia. The Savior on the Spilled Blood, so colourful with its beautiful surroundings will stay in my memory forever.

[scubacruiserx2]

59 minutes ago, Lagerta said:

Thank you for your wonderful pictures! We also realized that the most beautiful churches we have ever seen are in Russia. The Savior on the Spilled Blood, so colourful with its beautiful surroundings will stay in my memory forever.

 

Yes , and the Savior on the Spilled Blood is more beautiful on the inside than St. Basil's also ! We saw a couple of new churches in SPB that we will show also .

[scubacruiserx2]

The tulips in bloom and the changing of the guard

 

 

 

 

We then went to the changing of the guard ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But it's best seen here in the video clip :

 

 

 

[dogs4fun]

scubacruiser .....

Just wondering ... did you visit Lenin's Mausoleum? We found it quite creepy.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

scubacruiser .....

Just wondering ... did you visit Lenin's Mausoleum? We found it quite creepy.

 

No , we also found it creepy . We could have as the lines were shorter there than at the Mc Donalds but with our knowledge of him and no photos allowed - we passed . For us there are a lot more interesting sights and people to see . We have been in Lenin's office in Smolney a couple of times with our guide who used to work there in security when Putin was still there in the 90's . That was enough for us .

Edited September 20, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We had requested a visit for the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier , but on Saturday at noon is the Ceremony of the Equestrian and Pedestrian Procession of the Presidential Regiment .This takes place in Cathedral Square .

 

 

 

In the background is the world's largest cannon , the Tsar Cannon .

 

 

 

 

This event is best seen on video , here's the procession .

 

 

 

 

Followed by the presentation of the colors ( flags ) .

 

 

 

 

 

The equestrian and rifle company .

 

 

 

 

 

It was time for the rifle company's drill. They were quite good .

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of this was filmed from beneath an umbrella

[scubacruiserx2]

After the drill had concluded , 45 minutes of the cold , wind and rain had taken a toll and we wanted to find a warmer and drier place . First a quick photo of the world's largest cannon , which was never fired in battle , the giant Tsar Cannon .

 

http://www.moscow.info/kremlin/palaces/tsar-cannon.aspx

 

 

 

 

Followed by the world's largest bell , the Tsar Bell , which has never been rung .

 

 

http://www.moscow.info/kremlin/palaces/tsar-bell.aspx

 

 

 

 

Moving on and in contrast , we headed for a very busy place , the Metro . The Moscow Metro is one of the world's largest and busiest .

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro

 

 

We were in the center of this map .

 

 

 

 

Our first stop is Belorusskaya , which is named for the train station there to Belarus .

 

 

 

Overhead are mosaics depicting life in Soviet Belarus .

 

 

 

 

Including the joy of labor .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

This station was opened in 1938

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mosaics seem to sense the gathering storm clouds of WW II .

 

 

 

 

And the need of the people to defend themselves

 

 

 

The train to our next stop : Novoslobodskaya

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Novoslobodskaya open in 1952 and is named for the street where the station entrance and exit is .

 

 

 

 

At one end of the station is another Peace mosaic .

 

 

 

 

It is most known for it's stained glass panels

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 32 panels were created by Latvian artists

 

 

 

 

In the distance is the entrance and exit , and to the side , access from other trains .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Just one more panel

 

 

 

 

before we move to the next photo stop .

 

 

 

 

Kievskaya - Opened in 1954 and named for the train station to Kiev . These photos were taken in 2013 .

 

 

 

 

The mosaics are taken from the lower ceiling

 

 

 

 

another large mosaic at the end of the hall

 

 

 

 

the future of Ukraine ?

 

[napoxoguk]

Great pictures; this post well deserved to be brought back from oblivion.

One thing, though: your metro map is about a decade out of date.

 

Here's a more recent one:

 

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by napoxoguk

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, napoxoguk said:

Great pictures; this post well deserved to be brought back from oblivion.

One thing, though: your metro map is about a decade out of date.

 

Here's a more recent one:

 

 

 

Thanks you and thank you for the new Metro map . We gave my wife's old camera to a friend's son and we found the SD card from our 2015 Transatlantic crossing and our stay in St. Petersburg . It also had some of our visit to Moscow . We did visit St. Petersburg in June this year and will show where we went and update some info that may help future visitors when they visit there .

[scubacruiserx2]

The next station , Kosomolskaya , was named for the 13,000 members of the Komsomol ( Communist youth league ) that helped to build it . Completed in 1952 , the ostentatious station won a prize at the New York's World Fair .

 

 

 

 

It sits at the confluence of three rail stations Yaroslav , Kazan and Leningrad ( St. Petersburg ) . It's known for it's ceiling mosaics which depict Russian historical fight for freedom .

 

 

Alexander Nevsky

 

 

 

 

Dmitry Donskoy

 

 

 

 

Minin and Pozharsky

 

 

 

 

And Suvovrov crossing the Alps

 

 

 

 

The train , the train !

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The other end of the station

 

 

 

 

features a bust of Lenin and the Soviet Union coat of arms .

 

 

 

 

Lenin speaking in Red Square

 

 

 

 

Between the overhead mosaics are other ones depicting weapons and armor

 

 

 

 

Soviet troops on the Reichstag , in Berlin , standing on swastikas

 

 

 

 

And finally , Mother Russia standing on a swastika in front of Lenin's tomb in Red Square . This mosaic is 31.5 sq. meters , weighs more than 3 tons and has over 300 thousand mosaics tiles .

 

 

 

 

Last stop : Ploshchad Revolyutsii

[scubacruiserx2]

Our last Metro stop was Revolution Square , near Red Square . The station was opened in 1938 and is famous for it's 76 life size statues of everyday people .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is believed that rubbing this border guard's dog's nose brings good luck and several people rubbed it when we were there .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last statue is of a very uncommon hero in the Soviet Union history , Lyudmila Pavlichenko . This sniper from the Ukraine is credited with 309 kills during WW II .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Pavlichenko

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After the Metro tour , it was time for lunch . No food photos - sorry . But Olga , our server , was happy to pose .

 

 

 

When then went to our Hotel chosen for it's history , quality and location - across from Red Square .

 

 

 

Alina , our guide , stayed in case we needed assistance checking in . We didn't as they spoke  excellent English .

 

 

 

Well appointed waiting area

 

 

 

We were on the second floor

 

 

 

 

 

Nice room

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We were settling in to our nice room thinking of a warming bath when the phone rang . Our friends were downstairs early .

 

 

 

 

The last time that we had seen Micheal and Anna we were in Buenos Aires some 8,000 miles away , so it was great to see them again . We had wanted to take a boat ride on the Moscow River but the rain was more steady now and it was getting colder . They suggested a visit to the State Historical Museum , just across the street .

 

 

 

http://www.moscow.info/museums/state-historical-museum.aspx

 

 

It's an imposing looking building and on this evening , 1 week after Victory Day , admission was free - even to Americans !!

 

 

 

 

And true to form , the main exhibit was about WW II ( i.e. The Great Patriotic War ) .

 

 

 

 

And it's propaganda posters .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

There were a couple of items of note at the museum . One was the photo of the raising the flag over the Reichstag in Berlin and the story behind it .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_a_flag_over_the_Reichstag

 

 

 

To the Russians , this photo is like the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima . And the other was seeing an American Legion of Merit and a British Knight Commander , Most Honorable Order of the Bath given to a Russian , Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky . He is pictured in Berlin with field Marshall Montgomery and Marshal Zhukov .

 

 

 

After the museum , we went to dinner with our friends Michael and Anna .

 

 

 

 

It was a lively place with music and singing .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not just any music , but very energetic music that is best seen and heard on video :

 

 

 

 

After a 17 hour day of travel , we were ready for a bath and a warm bed , so headed out into the rainy Moscow night .

 

 

 

 

Our friends were so nice to walk us back to our Hotel where we said our goodbyes .

[scubacruiserx2]

In our previous visit to Moscow ( a day trip in 2013 ) , we spent as much time commuting as we spent touring . So this time we wanted to see our friends and spend the night . This would give us a second day of touring before the many of the tourists arrived . So after a good night's sleep , I took my camera case and left my DW sleeping . After exiting the hotel , I followed some others into the unknown , a labyrinth of tunnels that seemed to be headed to Red Square , with no guide , a free man in Russia .

 

 

 

 

I felt more confident with each step and discovery- Photographers welcome !

 

 

 

 

 

English spoken !

 

 

 

 

 

A map with symbols .

 

 

 

 

Happy , healthy people .

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Moscow and the State Historical Museum !

 

 

 

 

 

 

But , upon exiting the tunnel , what would we really find ?

[scubacruiserx2]

Popping up from our tunnel like Punxsutawney Phil on February 2nd , I could see the crimson city beyond a field of tulips .

 

 

 

 

 

And looking back toward our hotel , several domes in the ground .

 

 

 

 

And a different dome - The World Clock and it's fountain . The imposing building in the distance is the Duma building .

 

 

 

 

The World Clock is a globe divided into 24 time zones . You can see a small St. Basil's church , near the top of the globe , in hour # 11 .

 

 

 

 

The domes are skylights for an underground mall , Okhotny Ryad . This photo is from In your pocket guides , beneath the clock globe .

 

 

 

 

 

Beneath the clock globe looking up .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The rain was light , and near freezing temps , but the light was better than the previous day . The Kremlin on the right and Red Square on the other side of the museum .

 

 

 

 

On the left is the Resurrection Gate where we will enter Red Square

 

 

 

 

after a photo stop of the Zhukov on a horse statue ( remember him ? ) . On June 25th , 1945 , on a parade on Red Square , Zhukov riding a white horse thru Hitler's personal flag on the ground in front of Lenin's tomb and rode on it , like the statue depicts .

 

 

 

 

The Resurrection Gate

 

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Gate_and_Chapel

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Looking back at the gate .

 

 

 

Unfortunately , our access to Red Square was barricaded .

 

 

 

The church is the rebuilt version of the Kazan Cathedral . The original was removed by Joseph Stalin in 1936 .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan_Cathedral,_Moscow

 

 

 

 

 

It was time for some photos while we waited for opening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rainy Red Square .

 

 

 

 

In Russian , the root word for Red and beautiful are the same . Thus you may hear a Russian call it " Beautiful Square " .

[scubacruiserx2]

Because our access to Red Square is closed , let's go to Manezhnaya Square shall we ?

 

 

 

Where there are a number of fountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a great place to take photos , no matter what device you choose to use .