Check out these fascinating old fortifications in the Gulf of Finland, off the coast of St Petersburg.
These abandoned fortresses provide eerie silent testimony to Russian history.
They are quite beautiful,
like man-made floating islands in the massive gulf.
Catherine the Great’s Palace has some remarkable architecture. In Empress Elizabeth’s time these statues were gilded in gold.
The over-the-top, huge, amber-room in the palace is entirely covered in amber, and taking pics is strictly verboten, probably to entice people to buy some picture books. I did my James Bond best and quickly and secretly, purloined this pic for your enjoyment! It was my Bond moment in Russia……
The Chinese wall paper and Delft stoves in the palace were very beautiful.
Catherine’s bath house and reflecting pool were lovely too.
If you are interested in Catherine the Great, you may want to check out: http://cindyknoke.com/2012/07/28/386/
We leave tomorrow for Switzerland, but until then, it’s still…..
Cheers to you from Russia!
Oh thank you for that. I would like a bath house. 🙂
She actually had about four…..one would suffice for me I think! 😉
As with her lovers, one was not enough!
You know your Russian history! Probably why she needed to take so many baths!!! 😉 Did you know Empress Elizabeth had 18,000 dresses? I just don’t know what I’d do with more than 15,000………..
I didn’t know that!!!
Beautiful photos, especially Catherine’s palace
Yes, the Chinese inspired rooms were especially beautiful!
Wasn’t St. Petersburg wonderful!!!! Love the Amber Room at Catherine’s.
All the Amber was stolen during ww2, but restored after the war.
Yep … but the restoration is stunning.
It is!
Was für schöne Bilder tolle Aufnahmen ich wünsche einen schönen Dienstag und eine sonnige Woche Grüße und Freundschaft Gislinde
Vielen Danke Gislinde!
Awesome photographs Cindy!
Very happy you like them!
wow can you not buy us one of those abandoned fortresses ?? They look so beautiful or maybe the pool with the bath house…??? Love your photos…
I was intrigued by these floating ghostly islands! So eerie……
You little sneak, you. 🙂
Yep, that’s me……give me pointless rules and this is what happens.
Wow, beautiful. But….I cant imagine 18,000 dresses. I think I own 2!
18,000 dresses equals 36,000 shoes!
I’ve not seen the fortresses, but Catherine’s place blew me away. Such lavishness at a time when people were very poor was overkill, beautiful though.
Yes, one cannot fail to think of the starving serfs while visiting these palaces….
Beauty all around. Am getting my “Sound of Music” DVD ready to watch with your Switzerland series, Cindy 🙂
Switzerland being the place von Trapps escape to :))))))
I grew up singing this music and so did my kids. I love Switzerland! 🙂
I’m glad you broke the rule. Your pictures are magnificent!
This comment makes it all worth it!
I am SO living my life through your travels at present but I have to ask, has the diet of cucumber and tomato in Russia with every meal changed for this century? Safe travels to Switzerland!
I ate great potato dishes, lots of cucumber, soups, and Italian food! I liked the food, but then I tend to like food……..a lot! 🙂
Stunningly beautiful! In Hanoi you wouldn’t have got past the gate. When we went in to see Uncle Ho, everything had to be checked in.
Yes, it wasn’t this strict. People were quite nice.
What a grad trip you are taking! Thank you so, so much for taking us along, Cindy. Magnificent photos, as always.
I have always said, you are a great travel companion, Amy!
My great pleasure, Cindy. I’m still in awe of these fab photos…
Wow! Totally cool.. No wonder there was a revolt in 1919. Talk about living like kings
My thoughts exactly!
Beautiful pictures. An amber room? I had never heard of that. Great picture, Bond, James Bond!
My fantasy Bond moment was pretty fun, I must say! 😉
More stunning shots from you, thanks. Safe journey to Switzerland.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
Hugs and cheers back to you!
Cheers for your ‘James Bond’ moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Definitely, I’ve been telling her for ages that she has a hidden identity as a Bond girl. 🙂
To quote Bond, you only live twice!
Such contrasts of utilitarian and ornate. Good stuff. 🙂
Quite a contrast isn’t it. So glad you enjoyed!!!
Wow, that amber room is stunning! Thanks for sneaking a picture for us. 🙂
I am sooooo glad I did this!!! And so glad you enjoyed it! Cheers to you~
Catherine the Great, Prussian woman born in Stettin, Pomerania ( today in Poland- Szczecin), is a quiet known tsarica in Poland and the Baltic states- I have just returned from Lithuania and Latvia, many Russian-speaking people in Riga. Enjoy your trip and remember the Beatles’ song “Back in the USSR”. Love. Wanda
Could never possibly forget this song!!! Humming it now! Even though I just left! 🙂
I am quite an admirer of your country woman, the astoundingly intelligent Catherine the Great. She was a thinker of the enlightment, spoke seven languages, wanted to free the serfs, stop their physical abuse, and wrote probably the most impressive body of legal reforms of any sitting monarch up to her time, none of which she was able to codify into law because she met resistance from the nobility and aristocracy. Amazing woman!
They certainly spared no expense! 🙂
Empress Elizabeth was apparently the most into gold gilding, made me a tad bilious….. 😉
Whoa, I’m still digesting the comment about Elizabeth I’s 15,000 dresses — a new dress every day for 41 years. Discounting maybe 15 years of her childhood years from her 70-year life leaves 55 years, so it’s a safe bet she seldom wore a dress that had been washed even once…
Actually she had 18,000, makes me wonder how many shoes????? 36,000? How many ermine coats??? Boggles the mind really……
Really great following your travels. How interesting to be in Russia at this moment. Wonderful photos, as always. Ken
In Switzerland now, just arrived and waiting for the restaraunts to open!!! 😉
I went to school in Fribourg, a university town about 20 minutes from Bern. You’re just in time for a plum wähe, a traditional Swiss plum tart. Really good. If you’re a literature geek, you might stroll into the cathedral in Fribourg and take a look at the organ. It’s mentioned in George Eliot’s MIDDLEMARCH, one of the sights, if I recall correctly, seen on the honeymoon of the unhappy marriage between Dorothea, the main character, and Casaubon, her much older, controlling theologian husband. How’s that for a happy travel note? 🙂 Ken
That is an awesome travel note occurring in real time! I am huge fan of Middlemarch. Poor misguided Dorothea learned too late what she really wanted, and poor Casaubon stuck in his stifling stiffness. Such a fabulous book, so of course I am would like to go to the cathedral to see the organ. I remember they went to Italy on their honeymoon and did not know she came to Switzerland. As for the plums, I saw them growing from the train and the restaurants open in 20 minutes! Perfect timing Ken and I shall definitely try the tart and post a photo to you too!!! Thank you my friend!
Wow fantastic pics! You lucky gal for the awesome places you get to travel too! Have lots and lots of fun! Hugz Lisa and Bear
You guys are such good travelers! Tell bear dogs are accepted in our hotel on Lake Geneva…..
You were so brave and took the beautiful pictures to share.. I was not so lucky in this way 🙂
Yes, I am hearing this from others too!! Scary I bet…….
These last two posts from Russia have been fascinating, Cuz. I have a special tie to St. Petersburg. Were you able to attend a symphony there or no? Be safe…… hugs !!!
Ballet, no symphony. Incredible though. Curious about your tie??????
Congrats to you for the Amber room success. I was sadly “caught” and the Russian Scolding was significant and rather frightening. Altho I didn’t know what she was saying, I sure got the point!
EEEEKS! I can well imagine!! ):
Was nice traveling through Russia with you. Can’t wait to see Switzerland! 🙂
Just arrived in Montreux on Lake Geneva with free wifi! Woo Hoo!! So great to have you along my friend!
Great work, Ms. Bond! Extravaganza of the colorful past of Russia.
I actually took 3 pics but I was so nervous they weren’t so good I need Bond’s nerves of steel! 🙂
Thanks for risking Russian ire for these photos,
THANK YOU FOR NOTICING! 🙂
Amazingly beautiful – will all the media hype one forgets the stunning side to Russia.
That is very true and it’s incredibly long history. Cheers to you my friend and thank you too!
Impressive photos. Hope you kept the Bond music low while you were having your moment. 😉
I just hummed it silently in my brain. It got me through the moment! 😉
Such amazing photos of such beauty. You know, now the whole world knows what you did! Let me know if any Russians show up at your door! 😆 I’m glad you did it, though, it’s so amazing! Thanks for sharing your trip and I’m anxious for more!
To tell you the truth, I actually considered this……..aka worried about it!!! 😉
Oh, dear! We’re both getting paranoid! 😆 But you can always hide out here! 😉
See you soon! Lol~
If you purloined the photo, then I guess it’s our “gilt-y” pleasure, eh? Of course, you and I both have homes finished in rubies and sapphires rather than mere amber, and solid gold as opposed to gilding, so it’s all rather ho-hum to us. 😉 These palaces really do boggle the mind, as do the amazing engineering feats of the fortresses. Thanks again for sharing your journeys with us! 🙂
Oh you are making me laugh. I may be gilty of the act but you of the visit to the post ehh??? Pretty complex philosophy, and I am still laughing. And yes, I have decided to incorporate an Amber Room into the hacienda motif of The Holler. I have it all planned out. First, I will need to get the amber……….
Really enjoying your photos Cindy. The wealth from the past certainly boggles the mind.
You can see why the serfs were not so happy…….so happy to hear from you my friend!
Cindy Bond you took us To Russia With Love.
You are an agent with an eye for beauty.
So great to hear from you my friend, and yes this was mostly an artistic mission……. 😉
Greetings, I have a question for you.
Today, you clicked “like” on my post titled: “New EP “I’ll Be Back” by Rick McCargar now available for streaming or download “, and I’m curious if you read this line:
“The EP will be free to download for the first twenty-people who contact me at guitarlicksandtabs@gmail.com and ask for a free download code from cdbaby!”
It was the very first line in the post, and of the four people who “liked” my post, not a one asked for the download card.
I realize that the “like” may have been for support, without actual interest in the music, but I’m curious to know if the first line was read and ignored, or not read at all?
Of course most of us know that all clicks help us get found, but I tend to think that clicks for the clicks sake, or clicks for no reason other than to get a click back, are in the end, not really that useful.
So I’d be really interested to learn, if the post about new music was liked, why would a person not request the free music offered? If one doesn’t like the music, and clicks like for the support, though appreciated, I’d rather be told that the music wasn’t good, or interesting, or their style, or just be ignored.
Thanks for your time,
Rick
Hey Rick, I am traveling now in Europe and using public wifi and didn’t want to bug people in the library with your music even though I am certain they would love it as do I! Cheers to you my friend and keep the faith~
Thanks Cindy, I’m just trying to figure out what makes sense in all of this. I get so many likes that I presume are just attempts to get me to “like” their page, that when I offer something for free that is liked but not requested, I start to wonder if this makes sense to do.
Thanks for taking the time to respond, and enjoy your trip.
I don’t think that is why people like your posts. There are times when I travel and can’t like anyone’s posts and people still like mine and more than 50% of the people who view my posts aren’t even in wordpress and can’t like me and I don’t even know who they are. Check your stats page and you may notice the same thing. I have felt the same concern though. One wants to know people actually do pay attention to one’s post. Have no fear, people do. If you get a lot of likes? Accept it man. You just may have to get your brain around the fact that people generally like you and your posts even if they don’t (in my case look at each pic) or in your case listen to every lick.
Take your likes and believe them. Cheers to you~
Liebe Cindy ich muß dich einfach danken für diese wunderschönen Fotos einfach herrlich ganz toll ja Russland hat schon eine bewegte Vergangenheit und mit so vielen schönen Gebäuden und so schön gestaltet herrlich anzusehen einen super Donnerstag wünscht dir Klaus mit ganz vielen lieben Grüßen Klaus
Sie sind sehr freundlich und Klaus Ich schatze Ihre freundlichen Worte. Ich werde bald ein paar Fotos zu posten von Warnemünde und Rostow Deutschland. Sie sind so schöne Städte. Ich bin jetzt in der Schweiz. Danke, dass du mein Freund. <3 <3
What a beautiful place and so full of rich culture and history.
Yes, I am so happy I got the chance to see at least part of it and so pleased you enjoyed it!
Beautiful. I think I have a dream now 😀 Pawkisses for a Happy Thursday 🙂
Oh wonderful! Dreams keep life on the right track! Hugz to you~
Wow! What spectacularly beautiful pictures!
Awwww, so motivating and so appreciated!
“LOL” So, you purloined a James Bond style secret pic. Love it.
It seems truly “From Russia With Love”.
You certainly get around. It won’t surprise me if you do a post from the moon one day….. of course WiFi will be crummy! “LOL”
That is the ONLY reason I won’t go……….well it’s a tad over budget too! 😉
I saw your comment on Mustang Koji’s blog and just wanted to wish you a safe trip when you come home.
How considerate of you my friend and most appreciated too!
Absolutely lovely. I envy your trips. 🙂 Thank you for sharing them.
Thank you more for appreciating them!
Great illicit photos! All that conspicuous wealth at a time of great poverty – no wonder they had a revolution!
Yep, no way around that fact! Cheers and thank you~
I am 100% in breaking rules, as far as these marvelous landscapes and places are involved! 😉
Great post dear Cindy. All the best to you, Aquileana 😀
Oh dear, my rule breaking is contagious! 😉
Love SPb. I lived there 2002-2004. My favourite city on this planet. Glad you enjoyed. Safe travels
Oh lucky you! It is a remarkable city and I can imagine 2 years is what it would take to really explore it! Cheers to you~
Yet more wonderful photo of amazing places, thank you for sharing your experiences.
Thank you more for taking the time to express your kind thoughts. Best to you !
I would love to know how much is spent to preserve the palace and the art?
Wow, that is such a good question and I have no idea but will google it and get back to you! Thanks for making we want to know too~
you welcome. I am sure we will be shocked!
The lighthouse photo is great! 🙂
Very happy you enjoyed it and thank you too!
Cindy, lovely pictures. The amber room must be so beautiful and of course the whole palace. Thank you! Veraiconica
YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD BLOGGING FRIEND!
Hi, Cindy. Just nominated you for a FIELD OF FLOWERS AWARD. Sending a lot of love your way. http://4writersandreaders.com/2014/09/16/field-of-flowers-award/
Awwwww, you are such a good blogging friend Bette. We’ve known each other about two years now I think. Cheers to you and thank you~
Where were you standing when you took the first few pictures. We you atop a bridge?
I was on the back of a ship in the harbor! Good question & have a great weekend my friend~
Stunning shots, C.
Awwwww, honored! Thank you~
My boy loved these shots. =) He learned European geography last yr so I had to show him.
Well that is wonderful because this blog (and I) are fully kid friendly! So happy he enjoyed tell him thanks for me and cheers to him too~