The Star: November 03, 2016

34 Thursday November 3 2016
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The Star
Travel
St Petersburg: Russia’s window to the West
GRANDUER: The Winter Palace.
• By Mike Yardley
THE SENSATION of a city
seemingly afloat is what first
struck me, as I stood on the banks
of the River Neva to toast my
arrival in St Petersburg, with a
few vodka shots.
As this was my first foray to
Russia, I had joined a Trafalgar
guided journey of this decorated
city, built across 44 islands, crisscrossed
by canals and a staggering
300 bridges.
Visitors flock here to experience
one of life’s great truths – St
Petersburg is one of the world’s
most beautiful cities. Trafalgar’s
local specialist, Deena, was a
godsend helping our group get to
grips with St Petersburg’s signature
sights and stories. For firsttimers,
it’s the imperial extravagance,
commissioned by Peter the
Great, that will command your
attention.
This remarkable Russian Tsar
not only constructed the city as
the new national capital in 1703,
but was determined to make it
Russia’s window to the West,
underpinned with exuberant European
architectural flourishes.
St Petersburg is home to no
fewer than 500 palaces. In a bid to
save them, the Russian Government
has privatised many of these
peeling and crumbling pastel confections,
before they literally fall
apart. But because the cityscape
oozes historic grandeur on such a
massive scale, you don’t have stroll
the streets for long before you
actually feel architecturally drunk.
But few buildings are quite as
intoxicating as the chart-topping
Winter Palace and the State
Hermitage, delivering decorative
excess, all areas.
Parade across parquet floors and
down marble staircases to gasp at
gigantic crystal chandeliers and
wrap-around gilded rooms, wallpapered
in priceless art.
Beyond, the trappings of
royalty, the Hermitage houses a
thousand rooms of art, which as
Deena remarked, soon makes
you realise that exploring St
Petersburg’s treasures is a test of
endurance.
The Romanov’s amassed, connived
and looted an insatiable
trove of masterpieces.
With over three million items,
even if you looked at each exhibit
for one minute, it would take you
nearly three years to see it all.
Not only did Deena deftly
navigate us around the headliners
from da Vinci’s delightful
Madonna and Child, to the
Picasso, Rubens and Rembrandt
pieces, but exploring the Hermitage
with Trafalgar gave us fasttrack
entrance into the museum,
circumventing the horrendously
long queues.
Beyond the imperial prowess
of central St Petersburg, a jaunt
south to the city’s outer reaches
brought us to Tsar’s Village, which
is now officially called Pushkin.
It’s as close as the Nazis got to
conquering St Petersburg – they
never did, in spite of the supreme
confidence of Hitler.
But the Nazis did seize Catherine
Palace, a glittering country
estate commissioned by Catherine
the Great, which they duly plundered
and ruined. You may well
have heard of the Amber Room,
the piece de resistance of the palace,
which later became one of the
world’s great art mysteries.
After being stolen by the Nazis,
debate remains whatever happened
to its treasures, but a new
Amber Room has been gloriously
constructed at the palace – largely
with German funds.
Vladimir Putin has presided
over the comprehensive restoration
of this wondrous palace to its
former glory. It is a heart-stealer,
as are the dramatic photos of its
mangled carcass following World
War 2. But for all of the architectural
magnificence studding St
Petersburg, my runaway favourite
is Peterhof, a short drive from
Catherine Palace.
The site was originally developed
as Peter the Great’s naval
base, but he later commissioned
this pleasure pad as a vanity project,
after visiting France.
The prized centrepiece is
the Grand Cascade and Water
Avenue, a gushing symphony
of over 140 gilded fountains
and ingenious canals, which he
partly engineered himself, using
a gravity-fed design. The lavish,
manicured grounds and gardens
are gorgeous to stroll, looking out
to the Gulf of Finland.
FAST FACTS
•The Imperial twin cities
of Moscow and St.
Petersburg come together
on Trafalgar’s eight-day
Wonders of St Petersburg
and Moscow guided
holiday. This Russian rail
adventure combines art
with attractions such as the
Hermitage Museum, Tsar’s
Winter Palace, Red Square
and the Kremlin. Priced
from $2625 per person
twin share with savings of
up to 10 per cent available
for bookings and payments
prior to December 15, 2016.
Departures from April
2017. Includes sightseeing,
guides, accommodation,
many meals, transport and
the services of a travel
director. trafalgar.com, 0800
872 325 or ask your travel
agent.
Connecting
Christchurch
directly to China
and the World.
Up to five non-stop flights per week.
Book now at csair.co.nz