St Petersburg. Day 3.

Friday 26^th September dawned clear and cold in St Petersburg. Today we were being met by our guide and chauffeur for a drive around the city to see more of the sights. Then we would be dropped back at the ferry for our overnight trip to  Helsinki.

We visited the St Nicolas Cathedral. Following the Russian tradition, there are two churches in this two storey building. These are one above the other. The lower is intended for daily use and is lit by candles, chandeliers and icon lamps. Nicolas was known as the miracle worker and the church is constantly visited by the devoted. The upper church is dedicated generally to seafarers and specifically the submariners who perished in the recent loss of a soviet nuclear submarine.

The interior is absolutely beautiful but respectfully we took no photos. It was one of very few Russian churches that operated throughout the soviet regime.

We were off to visit the Saints Peter and Paul fortress. On the way we passed these light houses on Vasillievsky Island designed to give direction and protection to vessels approaching the port.

Another interesting stop was at these steps on the river that were decorated with Egyptian statues.

We had already seen a large collection of Egyptian artifacts in the Hermitage Palace

Peter the Great started the construction of the Peter and Paul fortress in the very early days of the construction of the city. The cathedral, with its 123 metre high spire is the burial place of all the Tsars and many other members of the Romanov family, 46 in all.

In the following photos, the gilt is real but the "marble" is fake as it was originally. The sarcophagi are real stone.

The tombs above are those of Nicolas II and other members of his family, killed by the Bolsheviks. They were re-buried here in 2006.

On our way back to the ferry we stopped to have a look at this unique church. It is known as the Church on the Spilled Blood or the Church of the Resurrection. We did not have the time to go inside and we missed the interior which is almost completely covered with mosaics. The building of the church which took 24 years was completed in 1907. It was closed by the soviets in 1930 and received damage during the war. An unexploded bomb that would have destroyed the building was found and safely removed during repairs in 1961.

Our drive back to the ferry was frustrated by a visit to the town by the Russian Prime Minister. Gridlocked traffic all around us with half the town shut down. Dimitri, our chauffeur did a great job getting us to the ferry close to our deadline. Others were still arriving at the wharf minutes before departure.

We have had a remarkable stay in St Petersburg. We have seen so much but appreciate that there is a huge amount we have missed. Buildings such as The Konstantinovsky Palace, Pavlovsk and Peterhof would have to wait for another visit. But, as the ferry headed for Helsinki we realised we could not have absorbed any more of this amazing city this time. We have been totally Palace, Cathedral and gilted out but we are greatly impressed with what we have seen. Our tour guide, Ksenia was absolutely wonderful, her knowledge of the arts and the history of her town was impeccable. Our chauffeur Dimitri was good and his knowledge of the streets invaluable when we were caught in the horrendous traffic while returning to the ferry

We get back to Matilda next day and soon are cruising again. There will be more to tell so, we will keep in touch.