Russia: St Petersburg (Main sights)

View from our hotel window next morning. Notice the many factory chimneys doing their bit for environmental pollution.

After a marvellous buffet breakfast at the hotel, we departed for the city sightseeing tour.

St Petersburg
-formerly known as Petrograd or Leningrad
-founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a "window to Europe"
-capital of Russia till 1918
-in WW2, surrounded & beseiged by Germans for 21 mths, 800k out of 3m pp died
-now 2nd largest city in Russia
-city of 300 bridges
-"Venice of the North"



The Bronze Horseman, a monument to Tsar Peter the Great, the founder of St Petersburg. The statue represents Peter 'showing' the way for Russia, while his horse steps on a snake, which represents his enemies and his harsh reforms

I bought the Russian hat(SHAPKA-USHANKA) from a (illegal?) street peddler. Its ear flaps certainly helps to protect your head from the freezing cold. And it's quite a common headwear in Russia, not just a tourist must-get item or a thing of the past.



Resurrection cathedral, probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Russia, was built on the place where Tsar Alexander II was assainated by terrorists. It resembles the St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.



St Issac's Cathedral
Mercury was used to gild its golden dome and the toxic mercury vapours killed some workers.



View from top of St Issac Cathedral
I must comment that at most road junctions, there is no separate traffic signal for pedestrains. One just have to wait for the Green light for the cars when attempting to cross. Attempting to jaywalk most streets will be suicide cos the cars speed down the slippery roads.

And I didn't see a single motorcycle thruout my stay in Russia



A monument to Nicholas I, which is the only equestrian staute in the world with merely 2 support pts(the rear feet of the horse)



The Palace Square is dominated by the unique Alexander granite Column, which is the largest Granite monolith in the world. Apparently the Column is so nicely set that no attachment to the base is needed, ie balanced and supported by its own weight



Hsien(from Taiwan) and Cecilia(from Hongkong)
Behind us is the Hermitage(in the former Winter Palace), 2nd largest art gallery in the world. We were told that if we spent 1/2 min looking at each item, we would take 9 yrs to finish the whole museum. The best part is it's free for students



Nevsky Prospekt, their 'Orchard Road'



Kazan Cathedral, modelled on St Peter's in Rome