Saint Petersburg - Part Two, The Winter Palace and Hermitage

Another place that I was really looking forward to seeing was the Winter Palace and Hermitage.  The Hermitage is an art museum that is one of the largest in the world - it's almost the same size as the Louvre!  Part of the Hermitage Includes the Winter Palace of Peter the Great and his wife Catherine the Great.  These two are heros in Russian History, and had the most lavish home I've ever seen!

Peter the Great

Catherine the Great, Later in her life 

The Winter Palace at Night

The Winter Palace from the square

A view of the entering staircase!

The Small Throne Room.  It didn't seem so small until we saw the main throne!

Before you enter the Main Throne Room there was this Hall of Heroes.  All of these men were heros in the war against Napoleon.  Each painting was over a foot and a half square!

The main throne and ballroom!  WOW!!!

A close up of the throne

Me with the throne

Details in some of the flooring.  All floor were made of inlaid wood, and the floor in every room was different.

The Peacock Clock was given as a gift to Catherine the Great.  It is in the picture below to the right.  It is at least 6 feet tall, built in the 1780's and still works!  They start it up only once a week because it is so fragile.  Wednesday was the day, and so we got to see it!  I wish you could see it in person, it was incredible.  Here is a brief video of all of the moving parts.  The best is the end when the peacock stretches it's neck.  It looks real!  Peacock Clock Video

Our Favorite, the Peacock Clock Room!

Staircase in the Peacock Clock Room

The Peacock Clock!

Then we began the art work.  I wish I had time to show it all to you - at one point our guide said, "And here is the Rembrandt Room."  We said, "Wow, and which one did he paint?"  Her answer was "All of them in this room!"

I counted 31 paintings by Rembrandt in this room.  Incredible!

We also saw Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Degas, Monet, Picasso, Matisse...the list goes on and on.  If I have time I'll make a whole separate post on these later!

By the end of the day we were completely exhausted, but thrilled as well.  What an incredible experience!