The country of Russia fascinates me. Living in Germany, one of our television channels was RTG (Russia Travel Guide) broadcasted in English. RTG does an excellent job in the production value of its HD programming. The shows are split between cultural and travel guides across the entire country. And, when you realize just how big Russia is, there is so much diversity across the area.
One of the main reasons we decided on a Baltic Sea cruise with Holland America was because of its two days in St Petersburg, Russia. And, when researching excursions, we immediately remembered seeing Catherine’s Palace featured on RTG.
We have been to our fair share of palaces across Europe, but OMG is the best way to describe the Catherine Palace.
Situated about 30km (20 miles) south of the city of St. Petersburg, the palace estate was the summer residence of Peter the Great (the Russian tsar or leader) who had given this residence to his wife Catherine in 1710 with construction completed in 1723.
The colors… the gold… the artwork… the gardens — purely stunning!!
The palace has seen many expansions since its beginnings as Catherine’s descendants reigned Russia. Many rooms have their own themes like the Chinese Room with its porcelain decor or the Amber Room with wall panels and floor inlaid with brown amber. These rooms are all connected by the Great Hall within the palace that seems to stretch on-and-on with its golden trimmed entranceways — each room guarded my older Russian women (and I’m surely dozens of security cameras, too).
Catherine The Great’s Palace was truly an amazing place. First of many we experienced in our two days in St. Petersburg.
WorldThruOurEyes 