Wordless Wednesday- Peterhof Palace, Russia.

The grounds of Peterhof Palace.

 

A fountain in the lower garden.

There are also trick fountains in various places that spray the unwary visitor if they step on a stone that triggers it. These children must have found the stone at this fountain and are using it to cool down.

Part of the gardens. Note yet another gold statue!

I forgot to resize the photos so hope they display properly.

I am joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for the blog hop.

Wordless Wednesday - Peterhof Palace.

 Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia.

The palace.

The Cascade.

"One of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions, the palace and park at Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets) are often referred to as "the Russian Versailles", although many visitors conclude that the comparison does a disservice to the grandeur and scope of this majestic estate.

Versailles was, however, the inspiration for Peter the Great's desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city and, after an aborted attempt at Strelna, Peterhof - which means "Peter's Court" in German - became the site for the Tsar's Monplaisir Palace, and then of the original Grand Palace. The estate was equally popular with Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains, including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade.

Improvements to the park continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Catherine the Great, after leaving her own mark on the park, moved the court to Pushkin, but Peterhof once again became the official Imperial Residence in the reign of Nicholas I, who ordered the building of the modest Cottage Palace in 1826.

Like almost all St. Petersburg's suburban estates, Peterhof was ravaged by German troops during the Second World War. It was, however, one of the first to be resurrected and, thanks to the work of military engineers as well as over 1,000 volunteers, the Lower Park opened to the public in 1945 and the facades of the Grand Palace were restored in 1952. The name was also de-Germanicized in 1944, becoming Petrodvorets, the name under which the surrounding town is still known. The palace and park are once again known as Peterhof."

I am joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for the blog hop.

Wordless Wednesday: Tallin, Estonia.

 Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Tallin, Estonia.

"The large and richly decorated Russian Orthodox church, designed in a mixed historicist style, was completed on Toompea Hill in 1900, when Estonia was part of the Czarist Empire.

The well-maintained cathedral is one of the most monumental examples of Orthodox sacral architecture in Tallinn. Tallinn’s most powerful ensemble of church bells is located in the church towers. It comprises 11 bells, including Tallinn’s largest bell, which weighs 15 tonnes. Carillons by the entire ensemble can be heard before services. The interior, which is decorated with mosaics and icons, is worth a visit."

I am joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for the blog hop.

Wordless Wednesday

 The red columns in St. Petersburg are called rostral columns. Since ancient times, and particularly Ancient Rome, architects used to “decorate” columns with trophies - the prows or rams of the defeated ships, which, in Latin, are called ‘rostrum’.

The more rostrums, the more enemies should be frightened to attack the navy. And more people would be proud of their country. 

Another famous example of the rostral column is the Columbus Monument at Columbus Circle in New York City. There are also rostral columns in French Bordeaux, on the place des Quinconces.

I am joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for the blog hop.

Wordy Wednesday - St. Petersburg, Russia.

As we will never revisit Russia I thought I would do it with selected posts from our 2014 cruise.

The embankment on the Neva River with one of the pair of Sphinx in the background.

I hadn't realised how old the Sphinx were until I looked it up. I knew they had come from Egypt originally but was amazed to learn how old they were. This is what I read about them:

"The two magnificent sphinxes on Unversitetskaya Naberezhnaya (University Embankment), in front of the Academy of Fine Arts, are roughly 3,500 years old and are considered among the finest examples of Ancient Egyptian colossal sculpture kept outside Egypt. They once stood on the Alley of Sphinxes in front of the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For nearly two centuries, however, it has been the waters of the River Neva rather than the Nile that reflect in their bottomless eyes."
"The sphinxes were discovered during excavations in the 1820s, and were soon written about by the great French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion. At the beginning of the 1830s, they were bought in France on behalf of the Russian Emperor and shipped to St. Petersburg. Carved from pink granite, the sphinxes weigh around 23 tons each, and the great neo-classical architect Konstantin Ton designed their pedestals and the granite pier, with its bronze lamps and griffins."

One of the gryphons (griffins).

The English Embankment.

The Imperial Academy of Arts on the Academy Quay of the Neva River.

I am joining Sandee at comedy Plus for the blog hop.

Baltics Cruise July 2014 - Bruges

And so to our last port of call, Bruges in Belgium.

This sculpture is in the T'Zand Square and shows four separate sculptures. The main one is the cyclists.

The more unusual one is the mermaid!

The medieval bell tower in Bruges.

Statue on bridge over a canal.

Buildings along one of the many canals.

Another bridge and canal!

We took a boat trip along the canals and these are various views taken from the boat.

I took this photo because I thought it looked very picturesque with the cobbled street and the flowers around the window. The bicycle leaned against the wall gives it the finishing touch.
Well that's it, I have at last finished the posts for this cruise!
I will try to do the next one quicker.

Baltics Cruise July 2014 - Copenhagen

Our next stop after Stockholm was Copenhagen.

This is the stock exchange which was built in 1619.

Another view of it along the waterfront.

The Church of our Saviour.

We decided to take the Hop on Hop off bus so this and the following are views taken from it.

Tivoli Gardens.

The statue of Hans Christian Andersen.

17th century Nyhavn, the entertainment district.

The open air museum on the opposite side of the river.

We did get off in several different places, one of them being byThe Gefion Fountain.

I took this photo from our balcony after we returned to the ship.

Leaving Copenhagen.

Baltics Cruise July 2014 - Stockholm.

It was still early as we sailed into Stockholm.

We passed this unusual fountain. If you look closely you can see the figure of a man in it.

You can see it more clearly here.

As is common on the wharves, this warehouse is now a hotel.

The river and harbour for smaller boats is very close to the city and palace.

General views of the river.

The Grand Hotel.

Stockholm Palace

Parliament building

Guard at the royal palace

Royal palace

Views leaving Stockholm.

Stockholm is made up of 14 islands which continue on from the archipelago. These ferries are seen everywhere connecting the islands.