2019 Russia #15

July 9, 2015 – Faberge House.

Today is our last day to explore the downtown, as tomorrow we will tour the Hermitage. On the 11th, we will tour Peterhof, and then we need to bug out of Russia as our visas expire! We’re going to take a boat tour of the harbor and canal(s) this morning, and depending on what we see, we’ll either go walkabout or take a second hop-on-hop-off bus, as there are several routes.

The tour boat dock is behind the Admiralty, which is a 10-minute walk from our apartment. There’s no hurry to get there, as the tour boats leave on the hour, and it’s a beautiful day, so we got a few glamour shots of the Admiralty.

Note: To view images full-size, right-click on the photo and select ‘open image in new tab’.

Then we’re off to the boat dock, just in time for the next tour!

The harbour is actually three separate channels, which join into a basin in downtown St. Petersburg. There are historic buildings everywhere!

The Hermitage from the water.

Sand castles! Big boogers!

Any day on a boat is a day well spent.

A training vessel for Russian officer cadets.

The ‘Aurora’, a 19th-century cruiser.

The entrance to one of many canals.

Aaaand, it wasn’t until we got to the second bridge on our first canal (the Fontanka River) that the captain announced the water level was too high for his ship to pass under many bridges, so the tour would be cut short. Grr.

Our disembarkation point, which happened to be beside a building with a little sign that said “Faberge Museum”.

Well, “Faberge” sounds interesting. After a few minutes’ discussion, we decided to find a place along the canal for lunch (Steve was getting peckish), and return for an afternoon exploring the world of Faberge. And what a world it was! The interior of the building is absolutely awesome; the fittings and appointments for the rooms alone must exceed the GDP of Latvia. There are four rooms, and each one contains an astonishing collection from one of the most famous jewellers on the planet.

I have limited myself to twenty or so images, which was difficult. Debbie seriously depleted the supply of free electrons in downtown St. Petersburg with the number of photos she took!

The Blue Room contains nothing but Easter Eggs. It’s the second-largest collection on the planet after the one in the Kremlin.

OK, I’m never going to make another Easter egg again. Next up was the collection of silverware and enamelware.

Of course there were other rooms.

Note the room in the reflection behind the vase.

It was a marvelous afternoon. We highly recommend a visit to this museum any time you’re in town! But now, it’s time for a bottle of wine with some cheese and sausage back at the apartment, and then we’re off to the Hermitage first thing tomorrow!