The perfect place for vacation in Europe is Saint-Petersburg Russia

With the possible exception of the Louvre, there is no museum in the world that rivals the Hermitage in size and quality. Its collection is so large that it would take years to view it in its entirety--at last count, there were nearly three million works on exhibit. The museum is especially strong in Italian Renaissance and French Impressionist paintings, as well as possessing outstanding collections of works by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse. Visitors should also take advantage of its excellent Greek and Roman antiquities collection and its exhibits of Siberian and Central Asian art. Not least among the attractions of the Hermitage is the museum itself, with its fine interior decoration and architectural detail. As the Hermitage is so enormous, its collection so strong and diverse, and its interior so attractive in its own right, many visitors find that the very best way to tour the museum is to make several briefer visits rather than one frenetic and exhausting marathon tour. While there is much to be gained by simply allowing the curiosity of one's eye to take at least occasional precedence over a list of works and collections dictated by a guidebook or even a guide.

The origins of the Hermitage can be traced back to the private art collection of Peter the Great, who purchased numerous works during his travels abroad and later hung them in his residence. Catherine the Great expanded the collection considerably, and she and her successors built the Hermitage collection in large part with purchases of the private collections of the Western European aristocracy and monarchy. By the time Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894, he was heir to the greatest collection of art in Europe.

After the Revolution of 1917, the museum was opened to the public, and its collection was further augmented by the addition of modern works taken from private collections. Today, the Hermitage has embarked on a major renovation effort. Its collection is in the process of being reorganized, and many of its works have for the first time become available for travelling exhibits outside of the country.

The Hermitage Museum

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The world-famous palace, fountain and park ensemble of Peterhof is an outstanding landmark of Russian artistic culture of the 18-19th centuries. Nestled on the shore of the Gulf of Finland (part of the Baltic Sea), the palace was built by Peter the Great initially as a resting place en route to the Imperial naval base at Kronshtadt. But the Tzar was quick to recognize the attractiveness of the area and masterminded a vast estate intended to rival the famous gardens of Versailles.

The Grand Palace, filled with fascinating and elaborate interiors, sits on top of a high seashore ridge overlooking the vast Lower Park. The original palace was built between 1714 and 1725 by the architects Braunstein, Zemtsov and Leblond. Later that century the palace was extended to its present size and redesigned by the court architect Francesco Bartholomeo Rastrelli, the creator of the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace, Smolny Cathedral and many more of St. Petersburg's major landmarks. The original Baroque decor was preserved in some of the rooms, while others were redesigned throughout the 18th and early 19th century. During WWII the palace was seriously damaged but most of the rooms have now been restored to their former glory.

The palace at Peterhof sits amidst an enormous park, adorned with fountains, statues and pavilions. The Upper Garden, located between the St. Petersburg highway and the Grand Palace, is a typical French-style formal garden with five fountains including one depicting Neptune, the God of the Sea. The estate's Lower Park lies between the Grand Palace and the seashore and boasts the world's largest system of fountains, earning it the title the "Russian Versaille". The park's unique fountain system was designed in the 18th century by the engineer V. Tuvolkov, and doesn't require the use of any pumps to operate the fountains. There are three major cascades and over 120 fountains in the park. The most impressive is the Grand Cascade, located directly below the Grand Palace and featuring an impressive golden statue of Samson grasping the mighty jaws of the lion. The park's other cascades feature black and white chess board designs, Chinese dragons and numerous other features, as well as several joke fountains which are guaranteed to delight your children!

The park features numerous pavilions and small palaces, amongst which is Peter the Great's favorite, Monplaisir. Built by the architects Braunstein, Leblond and Zemtsov between 1714 and 1725, Montplaisir sits right on the sea shore and provided the perfect vantage point for Peter to spend hours watching the ships sail by. Among the park's other pavilions are the Hermitage, designed and built specifically for holding Imperial dinner parties, and the two-story residential Marly Palace, built in 1723 by the architect Braunstein. Away from the luxury of the Lower Garden in the overgrown Alexandria Park stands the modest English-style Cottage Palace, built in 1829 by the architect Adam Menelas.

Between 1944 and the early 1990s the town and the Imperial estate were known under the name Petrodvorets, which can still be found in some older guide books. So don't be confused by the two names!

How to get there?

take a local commuter train from the Baltic Railway Station to the Novy Petergof station (approximate journey time - 40 minutes), and then take buses #348, 350, 351, 352, 356 or mini-bus "marshrutka" to Verkhny Park (Upper Garden)
take a yellow double-decker bus from outside the Baltic Railway Station (metro: Baltiyskaya) to Verkhny Park (Upper Garden) in Peterhof

Peterhof museum

Tsarskoye Selo (formerly known as Pushkin) is one of St. Petersburg's numerous Imperial estates. Located just 25 kilometers south of the city, the estate boasts a large landscape park, dotted with architectural follies, and centered on the magnificent blue, white and gold Catherine Palace. Named after its creator, Empress Catherine, the second wife of Peter the Great, the original palace was built between 1717 and 1723 by the architect Braunstein. The palace was expanded later in the century and given a new, richly decorated Baroque facade by the architect Francesco Bartholomeo Rastrelli. The Catherine Palace houses some beautiful Baroque interiors, including the luxurious Grand Hall, a long, gold, mirrored ballroom. The Palace also boasts a unique Amber Room, whose priceless amber panels were stolen by Nazi troops during WWII, but which are now being painstakingly recreated by Russian craftsmen.

Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, preferred Tsarskoye Selo to many of the other Imperial residences around St. Petersburg, as did the famous Catherine the Great herself. Catherine particularly enjoyed the Neo-Classical Cameron Gallery section of the palace, built by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron between 1781 and 1786. Adjacent to the gallery and also worthy of note is Cameron's Cold Baths building, an extravagant bathhouse of semi-precious stones.


Forming the core of the estate, Tsarskoye Selo boasts almost 600 hectares of beautiful parkland. In front of the Catherine Palace visitors can enjoy formal gardens with finely trimmed trees and bushes, geometrically designed flowerbeds and fine marble statues. This section of the park is also home to various follies, including the Grotto, the Upper and Lower Baths and Rastrelli's delightful blue and white Hermitage building.

Beyond the Cameron Gallery and to the south of the Catherine Palace lies the wilder, more natural section of the estate's park. Focused on a large lake, where visitors can hire boats in the summer, the park is filled with meandering streams, bridges and monuments. These include the Admiralty, the Chesma Column, the Marble Bridge, modeled on one in Wilton, England, and the Pyramid, where Catherine the Great liked to bury her favorite dogs. One of the park's most elegant sculptures ("Girl with a Broken Jug") stands by the lakeside and depicts a young lady sitting near a brook and grieving over a broken jug.

One of the best-hidden secrets of the Tsarskoye Selo estate is the Alexander Palace, built between 1792 and 1796 by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi. By the turn of the 20th century the Alexander Palace had become the favorite residence of the last Russian Tzar, Nicholas II, and his family. It was from here that Nicholas's family was taken to Siberia to be executed in Ekaterinburg in 1918. Unfortunately, very few of the palace's interiors survived the ravages of this century, and after a long and painstaking restoration program, just one wing of the palace is now open to the public.

Another of Tsarskoye Selo's major attractions is the Lyceum, located on the edge of the estate. Founded at the beginning of the 19th century and remarkably well-preserved, the Lyceum was a boarding school that once taught the most celebrated of all Russian poets, Alexander Pushkin. The Lyceum was created specifically to educate members of the Russian ruling elite and prepare them for careers in government service. Visitors to the Lyceum are allowed access to its well-preserved classrooms, library, student bedrooms and much more.


Photo Tours of Tsarskoe Selo

Tsarskoe Selo in 1910 - a guide to the Palaces, Park and Town

Tsarskoye Selo, Pushkin town, historical facts of the city, map, local weather, directions from St. Petersburg

Valaam Archipelago is one of the most interesting cultural, historical and nature attractions in the North of Russia. The ancient Valaam Monastery is situated here, first mentions about which date back to the 10th Century.
For many years the Monastery was a religious and cultural center of Russia supported by Russian Tzars and the Russian Church. The Monastery was completely self-sufficient and monks produced all the necessary products themselves while working at small factories, saw-mills and farms, constructing buildings.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Valaam Monastery became on of the wealthiest Russian Monasteries, comprising a kind of a small state with 13 smaller monasteries under control.
During the Second World War the Archipelago was under control of Finland and returned back to the USSR in 1944. Since that time the Monastery was closed until 1989. Now it functions again.


Nature

Valaam has a micro-climate, which makes the weather warmer than in the neighboring areas. In this northern region, monks cultivated melons growing up to three kilograms and watermelons up to eight. Nature is spectacularly beautiful there. Ladoga Lake washes the sandy and rocky shores of the Islands on which dense forests grow, and when walking along the paths of Valaam you see fields sparkling with flowers, picturesque inner lakes and springs, and find out a remote hermitage or a farm that was tilled by monks centuries ago. The lake area around is rich with fish, islands are populated by birds and on the shore-line Ladoga Ringed Seal lives - a rare and interesting animal species. Within the area of Valaam Nature Park nature of the Archipelago is specially protected.


History

For many years the Monastery was a religious and cultural center of Russia supported by Russian Tzars and the Russian Church. The Monastery was completely self-sufficient and monks produced all the necessary products themselves while working at small factories, saw-mills and farms, constructing buildings.

At the beginning of the 20th century the Valaam Monastery became one of the wealthiest Russian Monasteries, comprising a kind of a small state with 13 smaller monasteries under control. The Monastery sent missionaries to different parts of the world. They reached Far East, Aleutian Islands and Alaska. Over there, monk German, missing the home Monastery named one of the Island as a New Valaam. Actually there is one more Valaam on the territory of Finland, 65 km of Joensuu and 400 km of Helsinki. It was established by the monks who had had to leave their Monastery, closed in 1939.

During the Second World War the Archipelago was under control of Finland and returned back to the USSR in 1944. Since that time the Monastery was closed until 1989. Now it functions again.

Transport:
By water: boat from Karelian towns of Sortavala, Lahdenpohja, Pitkyaranta (ride of 1 hour and more), cruise boat from St.Petersburg and Moscow.
By air: helicopter from Petrozavodsk and St.Petersburg.

The Valaam monastery

The official site of The Valaam Monastery

Music is the most abstract form of the arts, it has no concrete image. In a miraculous way music can reflect the soul mood, the spiritual atmosphere depicted by the author in his work. Taking into consideration that ecclesiastical creativity is, in essence, conciliar, you can realize why Church singing is of great importance for Divine Services. Not distracting the worshipper's attention from the words of the prayer, the znamenny singing helps to hear and comprehend the text, emphasizes its sense and purport, but not only by the performing modes such as loud-voiced singing, melismas or solo parts. The ancient znamenny chants have something different: strict melodics, the profoundly and thoroughly elaborated musical form, having been well thought over by the old-times hymnographers with the only purpose to aid in feeling the prayer's words.

Church singing

The currency of Russia is the Russian Ruble (RUB). As of March 2009, the exchange rate was 31.78 Russian Rubles (RUB) to 1 US Dollar (USD), and 45.43 Russian Rubles (RUB) to 1 Euro (EUR). There are 100 kopecks to the ruble. Kopeck coins come in denominations of: 1, 5, 10, 50, and ruble coin denominations: 1, 2, 5, and 10. Ruble banknotes come in denominations of: 5, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000.

Saint Petersburg is +3 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and +4 hours GMT from March to October. From the United States, Saint Petersburg is +8 hours Eastern Standard Time (EST), +9 hours Central Standard Time (CST), +10 hours Mountain Standard Time (MST), and +11 hours Pacific Standard Time (PST).

The voltage in Russia in 220V AC and uses a 2-prong European plug, and it is helpful to bring your own converter.

CONSULATES

UK Consulate General phone: +7 (812) 325 6036

USA Consulate General phone: +7 (812) 275 1701

EMERGENCY

In case of an emergency, dial 03 for medical assistance.

American Medical Center +7 (812) 325 6036

Some Tips in Getting a Russian Visa

Some Russian consulates have their own rules in obeying Russian visa laws. If you want to be safe just ask your local Russian embassy or consulate about the latest changes in visa laws.

Make sure you know the working hours of the visa departments of the consulate before you are going to apply for a visa. Russian consulates are closed on Russian holidays (and sometimes also the day after), and normally they also do not work on holidays of the host country.

Note that it can be a time-consuming experience if you go to the Russian consulate by yourself. It will take you at least half a day and you are lucky if there are no queues%u2026 You can also ask a local travel agency which specialises in visas to do this for you.

It is wise to make copies of all your visa support documents before delivering them to the consulate, just in case something goes wrong. The consulate will not return your documents, except of course your passport with the visa and the entry/exit card.

After you pick up the visa, check the dates before you leave the consulate! If there are mistakes bring it to the attention of the consulate immediately. If the error is theirs, they should correct it without problems and with minimal delay.

Make a copy of your passport and the visa entry/exit cards before you travel to Russia, so you have always a back up if you lose the original ones. In Russia it is also better to carry copies with you instead of your original documents.

Read everything about the Migration card and registration in Russia.

BASIC VOCABULARY

English / Russian Pronunciation

Please(and You're Welcome) / pa zhal sta

Thank you / spa see ba

Yes / da

No / nyet

Hello / zdra stvooy tye

Good-bye / das vee da nee ye

My name is... / min-ya za-oot

What is your name? / kak vas za-voot ?

Pleased to meet you. / och-en pree-yat-na

Beverage Vocabulary

English / Russian Pronunciation

Menu / men yoo

Coffee / kaw fe

Tea / chai

Milk / ma la kaw

Juice / sawk

Water / va daa

Beer / pee va

Vodka / vad ka

Food Vocabulary

English / Russian Pronunciation

Russian / beetroot soup borscht

Soup / soop

Meat / myaa sa

Chicken / koo reets a

Fish / reeb a

Vegetarian / ve ge ta ree aa nets

Cake / tort

1. Russia is world's largest country and if you don't see it you will not be able to say that you have seen the world. Visit Russia to become a cosmopolitan.
2. Russia is not always cold, summers could be just as hot as Florida. Visit Russia with couple friends and check out the Southern beaches!
3. Russians are not evil. Dominant majority of those who had visited Russia will actually prove us right - Russians are some of the most hospitable earthlings. Visit Russia to feel hospitality of its inhabitants.
4. Russia is no longer soviet, although you can see some babushka protestors demanding that all.
5. Russians abandon drinking soda, driving cars and watching TV. Visit Russia to support capitalism!
6. Russians are not all alcoholics. Although they do enjoy drinking, it is a social ritual in which people engage in fruitful conversations, which sometimes escalates to party dancing. Visit Russia to stay social.
7. Majority of Russians are not men. They are beautiful women. The official explanation is too many died in bloody war with Germany and those who survived married prettier women. Visit Russia for esthetic reasons.
8. Russians are not always serious. Some of the best parties happen there. Kind of what you see in the Hollywood movies but except that they predominately speak Russian. Visit Russia to feel like a rock star.
9. Russian military is not weak. You can check it out yourself when you fly a mig jet fighter. Visit Russia to see what it's like to fly at 2Gs.
10. Russian language is beautiful. There must be a reason why it is one of 5 largest languages in the world, right? Visit Russia to expand your vocab from da, net and babushka.
11. Putin is not a dictator. Russia's actually have more freedoms that their western counterparts. Consider this, you can drink beer on a street, you can park everywhere even in the middle of the road and bars don't close all night. Visit Russia to be free.
12. Russians dance funny. You will probably find this true. Visit Russia to see that you were right about something.
13. Russia is bigger than Russia. Visit Russia's nearby countries to find out that they are exactly the same as Russia, except that they don't call themselves Russian.
14. Russians always wear fur hat. Visit Russia to see that fur looks really good on the majority of Russia's beautiful half.
15. Russia is full of bears. Visit Russia to see that this is not true. I have been to Russia and I have seen no bears.

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