Last day of May, it's been quite a month.
The weather continues to be great, 22 and sunny.
I am still suffering from all the walking on Thursday, seven hours, and my body is sore.
I would like to talk about the subway system here. It's great. I have used it every day, and the longest wait has been just over 2 minutes. It is very well used. This Metro is also the deepest system in the world, because it has to go under all the waterways in the city. The depth of the average station is 105 m. There are no steps, only escalators. I used a stopwatch, and it takes two and a quarter minutes, from top to bottom, at the station nearest to me. I transferred at another stop, and it was another minute and ten seconds to get to that platform. Once you insert your token, cost about one dollar, you can use as many trains, for as long as you want. Some of the stations have beautiful architecture.
I spent the day visiting Peterhof, the Russian tsars summer residence during the 18th and 19th century. It is located about 20 km from the city centre, on the Gulf of Finland. The palace is built on a bluff, overlooking the Gulf. The area between the shore and the bluff are the Lower Gardens, and there are Upper Gardens, behind the Grand Palace.
I decided to go there by hydrofoil. It is billed as "scenic", a great misuse of that word, and it's pricey. You land at the Lower Gardens, which are known for the, almost, 200 fountains. They are spectacular. I arrived just in time to witness the largest of the fountains being turned on, with music. It is quite the show, gorgeous fountains, the palace in the background.
The Lower Gardens are huge, I would guess over a km wide, with lots of paths, smaller palaces, and, of course, fountains. I spent almost three hours walking in those gardens. Another amazing fact is that none of the fountains have pumps, nothing but gravity. Quite an engineering achievement.
I don't know if I'm getting cranky, or just overtired, but, as a tourist attraction, I would like to see some improvements. It would be nice to be given a map of all the big fountains, rather than wandering around. I also think they do too much "nickel and dime" pricing. There is an entry fee to see the gardens. To see the palace is another fee, to see the Grotto is additional. I skipped the palace, probably a tourist "no-no" but I was just too tired. And you weren't allowed to take photos in the Grand Palace.
Coming home was another another "solo traveller, not speaking the language" experience. There are buses that go back to the city, but finding the bus stop took me almost 30 minutes of going back and forth, it's a 10 minute walk from the Peterhof. It turns out it as fast as the hydrofoil, and less than a tenth of the price. And, in my opinion, more scenic. I saw some trolleys, still in use, that looked like they been used since the twenties.
I actually looked at a tour package to see Peterhof, but I am happy I didn't do that. There were a lot of tour groups, at the palace, but, once you walked 5 minutes off the main path, you were alone. The time spent at the site, for tours, is about two and a half hours, and that includes the palace. I spent three hours in the Lower Gardens alone.
My hostess informed me that she and her husband were going to their "dacha", their cottage for the weekend. Home Alone....Party Time!
Ralf
The weather continues to be great, 22 and sunny.
I am still suffering from all the walking on Thursday, seven hours, and my body is sore.
I would like to talk about the subway system here. It's great. I have used it every day, and the longest wait has been just over 2 minutes. It is very well used. This Metro is also the deepest system in the world, because it has to go under all the waterways in the city. The depth of the average station is 105 m. There are no steps, only escalators. I used a stopwatch, and it takes two and a quarter minutes, from top to bottom, at the station nearest to me. I transferred at another stop, and it was another minute and ten seconds to get to that platform. Once you insert your token, cost about one dollar, you can use as many trains, for as long as you want. Some of the stations have beautiful architecture.
I spent the day visiting Peterhof, the Russian tsars summer residence during the 18th and 19th century. It is located about 20 km from the city centre, on the Gulf of Finland. The palace is built on a bluff, overlooking the Gulf. The area between the shore and the bluff are the Lower Gardens, and there are Upper Gardens, behind the Grand Palace.
I decided to go there by hydrofoil. It is billed as "scenic", a great misuse of that word, and it's pricey. You land at the Lower Gardens, which are known for the, almost, 200 fountains. They are spectacular. I arrived just in time to witness the largest of the fountains being turned on, with music. It is quite the show, gorgeous fountains, the palace in the background.
The Lower Gardens are huge, I would guess over a km wide, with lots of paths, smaller palaces, and, of course, fountains. I spent almost three hours walking in those gardens. Another amazing fact is that none of the fountains have pumps, nothing but gravity. Quite an engineering achievement.
I don't know if I'm getting cranky, or just overtired, but, as a tourist attraction, I would like to see some improvements. It would be nice to be given a map of all the big fountains, rather than wandering around. I also think they do too much "nickel and dime" pricing. There is an entry fee to see the gardens. To see the palace is another fee, to see the Grotto is additional. I skipped the palace, probably a tourist "no-no" but I was just too tired. And you weren't allowed to take photos in the Grand Palace.
Coming home was another another "solo traveller, not speaking the language" experience. There are buses that go back to the city, but finding the bus stop took me almost 30 minutes of going back and forth, it's a 10 minute walk from the Peterhof. It turns out it as fast as the hydrofoil, and less than a tenth of the price. And, in my opinion, more scenic. I saw some trolleys, still in use, that looked like they been used since the twenties.
I actually looked at a tour package to see Peterhof, but I am happy I didn't do that. There were a lot of tour groups, at the palace, but, once you walked 5 minutes off the main path, you were alone. The time spent at the site, for tours, is about two and a half hours, and that includes the palace. I spent three hours in the Lower Gardens alone.
My hostess informed me that she and her husband were going to their "dacha", their cottage for the weekend. Home Alone....Party Time!
Ralf
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