We saw it on July 2, 2011, on a beautiful, hot & sunny, Sunday afternoon, perfect for enjoying the park & fountains. Here are a few of my photos, which do not do justice to the amazing scope of this place: acres & acres of groomed park land, more fountains than I could count and GOLD LEAF everywhere we turned. The landscaping is pretty impressive now, but must have been truly breathtaking when Peter the Great and his descendants frolicked here (and their subjects were footing the bill.)
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| Anne in front of Peterhof (Upper Park) |
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| Part of Fountain Cascade (Lower Park) |
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| Just some of the gold leaf... |
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| View of Peterhof from the sea |
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| View from Peterhof towards Gulf of Finland |
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| Fountains... |
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| and more fountains... |
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| Peterhof (Lower Park) |
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| View of Peterhof from the sea |
Because we came by Metro & Minibus, we saw the "street" or back side of the palace first, still a pretty impressive view. The building GLOWS with gold leaf: the domes & roof ornamentation, the statues and the gargoyles. The building structure itself is white with yellow (papal colors) so it reflects light very well too. On a sunny day, such as we had, the glittering can hurt your eyes!
It did not take us long (maybe 10 minutes) to get our tickets to get into the Lower Park. It was about the same amount to tour the inside (first floor) of the restored palace. I kept both tickets, with those admission prices, which were 400 rubles (14.28 USD/9.98 Euros) for one and 520 rubles (18.56 USD/12.98 Euros) for the other. But now I don't remember which (nor can I read the Cyrillic) was for which. I do remember that there was a long line of tour bus visitors to see the inside, & we opted to have a beer in the pricey but pretty restaurant on site, instead of waiting outside in the heat.
Like all amusements, world-wide, it seems, food is expensive on site. Several internet sites advised us to pack a lunch and so we did. We went to a Subway location (yes, the US chain) near our hotel and got hearty submarine sandwiches & drinks for our lunch. We ate them, in the Lower Park, on a bench within listening distance of a musician playing 18th c. tunes on a xylophone-like instrument, whose sound carried very well outdoors. So, our lunch was great at Peterhof!
After we has walked a couple of hours around the fountains, down both sides of the canal to the sea and back up to the palace, we were in the mood to see inside. As I said above, while we waited for a longish line of tourists to subside, we had a beer in the restaurant. A large glass of German Pilsner beer was 200 rubles. A bit pricey, but we were really thirsty & hot.
Unlike the Russian Museum, which we had toured the day before, inside the restored Peterhof, no photography was allowed at all. We also had to wear paper slippers over our shoes to protect the elaborate wooden parquet floors. And, we were sandwiched between two large tour groups, each with their own guide: one speaking an Asian language and the other English.
I would have eavesdropped on the English-speaking guide, but all of her tour customers wore headsets and even a few feet away from her we could not hear what she said into her mic. We saw a lot of that technology. Very slick stuff, much like the assisted listening devices I have used in schools. I just wonder how they avoid conflicting frequencies when there are so many groups in the same places. With so many older tourists, most likely with some degree of hearing loss, it must make tour guides' lives easier, if only to save their voices!
So, some of the time Anne & I were squished up against the other tourists. Not great in the heat. Much of the Peterhof Palace tour is super controlled, as to where you may walk, and with large groups both ahead & behind you, we had trouble getting away from the crowd.
Here is a brief video (of just one room!) from when they must have allowed photography: The Golden Room, Peterhof Palace
The complex also includes the "Monplaisir" and "Marly" Palaces and the Hermitage Pavilion, none of which we saw that day.
Nevertheless, touring all that opulence just wore us out, so we decided to splurge and take a hydrofoil back to St. Petersburg. I'm glad we did, because we got a different view (a water view) of the city. Until we took this boat ride, about 30 minutes, I did not get the SPg sobriquet: Venice of the North. For me anyway, the approach to SPg looks a lot prettier from the water.
Anne and I had a full day, but we still had to eat dinner and say good bye to SPg...
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