Peterhof the Russian Versailles

On my last full day in Russia with Amawaterways we went to Peterhof. Peter the Great was inspired by Versailles when he visited in 1717, which influenced the design of Peterhof. I remember being told that some people preferred Peterhof but that “you would have to see for yourself.”  I found Tsarskoye Selo more beautiful, but I remember Peterhof as the fun palace. At Peterhof a set of sprinklers would go off if you stepped on the wrong spot while trying to sit on a grand bench outside. The inside was beautiful and the outdoors was magical.

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Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo with Amawaterways

Travelling to Pushkin from Saint Petersburg, we were early enough to beat the lines at Tsarskoye Selo. Amawaterways gave us a tour of the palace, taking our group through the history of the different rooms, including a romantic spot for Catherine the Great. There was a great amount of destruction there from World War II, as some parts were still being restored. Once the tour of the rooms which we were able to see was over, it was time to explore the gardens freely.

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Amawaterways River Cruise in Russia and London

First Cruise and First Time in Russia

As the plane started to descend to Moscow, the plane tilted and I saw a dome shaped building through the clouds.

Shortly after arriving I was on a bus tour to Amakaterina. My Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Dad, Brother and I travelled along the river with the rest of the passengers to different cities and villages. The cruise provided music, dance, language classes and surreal sunset dinners. However before all of that happened, I had a day in London.

London

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Amakaterina

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Floating hotel

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Sunset cruising

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Misty days

Moscow

The beginning of our journey

Red Square

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The Kremlin Palace

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Lunch cruising through Moscow

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Uglich

The mystical town Uglich that dates all the way back to 937.

One story I still remember is of Dmitry Ivanovich, Ivan the terrible’s last son who was banished to Uglich. Tragically he was found dead one day, ending the line of the Rurik Dynasty.

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Yaroslavl

During my time here I got to stroll through the markets, as well as go inside a former governors house. A lady dressed for the time period show the group around the place. Near the end a miniature ball was featured, for those who decided to dance.

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Saint Petersburg

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The Hermitage Museum/ Winter Palace

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Canals

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Tsarskoye Selo

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The Disneyland

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The beautiful grey building is the bookstore we stopped in shortly.

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After exploring Saint Petersburg some more I went to a ballet at The Hermitage. We took a hydrofoil there and back. On the way there our first hydrofoil stopped working and another had to come and pick us up. We all transported to the other hydrofoil in the canal. The ballet we saw was “Odette.”

The next day we went to Peterhof and then the Yusupov Palace. However I won’t be showing photos from Yusupov Palace.

Peterhof

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