Thu30Jun16: Peterhof

Today's tour destination is the imperial palace at Peterhof, reachable by train or by hydrofoil from a quay along the Neva River in St. Petersburg.  Since the walking distance from the Nevskiy Prospekt metro station to the Palace Embankment is about 1km, we elect to take the trolley bus for 30 rubles and yet another transportation experience.  Demand is high and tickets aren't available until the 11am sailing so we poke around Palace Square to appreciate some quiet time in this historical area.
After embarkation and departure, our boat stays 'keel down' during our ride along the lower Neva River, past the Coast Guard station, a dry dock, various fishing boats, a covered sports stadium, an uncompleted bridge, then speeds up onto its foils for the flight across a corner of the Gulf of Finland to reach the quay at Peterhof just before noon.

This 'summer residence' was built by Peter the Great to commemorate his victory over the Swedish navy at Poltava in 1709.  The palace buildings were re-decorated by Catherine the Great in the 1770s, partially burned and then rebuilt in the mid-19th century, then gutted by the bombardment of Nazi forces during 1941-1944. Our ticket allowed us into the lower grounds which were covered with tall trees, providing for a cool stroll in today's warm summer sun.




The Grand Cascade area is spectacular, especially since they had recently re-covered all the mythical figures in gold paint.

Scattered about the park were little garden areas surrounding other fountains:  the Pyramid Foundation (see attached), the Roman fountains, the Samson Fountain, and the Adam Fountain & the Eve Fountain. For lunch we experience what the local ParkFoods sidewalk fast food dispensary called a 'hot dog' and a 'hamburger' - since nobody has a copyright on the contents of these food items, tastes and sauces vary widely around the world; these two examples received a Pass grade.

Our return trip to St. Petersburg departed at 3pm and put us back into the city within the hour.  Another bus ride to the Metro, a Metro ride to Petrogradskaya station, and the usual 1km walk back to the Andersen Hotel.  This is the shortest tour day yet, and our feet appear to thank us for that consideration.  So it's time for a cool libation, watch a bit of Wimbledon on the TV, and do some laundry. At breakfast this morning we met three fellow cyclists, and this evening we join Scott & Yvonne for supper at the Andersen Hotel restaurant.  Approximately our ages, they have cycled all over the world together, including the Silk Road (7,000 km from Kashgar to Istanbul) and Lhasa - Khatmandu (28 days through several passes over 5,000m), so we have lots to talk about.