It was another early morning for our tour of the Hermitage art museum. Getting there early is a very good thing…the museum opens at 10:3
0 to the public, but we (and many other cruise tours) are in by about 9:15. I don’t know how many other cruises are in St. Petersburg on this particular day, but certainly not just ours. Even before the public is let in the place is PACKED. There are some particular rooms (the Rembrandt one especially) where people were shoulder to shoulder. Most of the guided groups use ear pieces attached to a small receiver. The guide has her own that she speaks quietly into that
we can all hear without her shouting.
The Hermitage is enormous! I don’t remember the Louvre in Paris (the Louvre and the Hermitage are frequently compared) being so big. I also don’t remember it being so palatial. Both are former palaces, but this seems more palace-like. There are enormous rooms that are still as they would have been with their ceilings and pillars and chandeliers ready for a party. If I can only say one thing about the Hermitage it would be HUGE. The building itself is vast, but there are some pieces in the museum that are very, very BIG. There are a few pieces were actually installed before the museum was built, so that they would actually fit.
We basically sprinted through the place, seeing as much of it as we could led by the guide. Our guide stopped us every so often at the highlights and to give explanations, but we were on the move most of the time. This is fine with us. Even if we had the whole day, we couldn’t have seen all of the museum’s collection. The highlights were perfect.
0 to the public, but we (and many other cruise tours) are in by about 9:15. I don’t know how many other cruises are in St. Petersburg on this particular day, but certainly not just ours. Even before the public is let in the place is PACKED. There are some particular rooms (the Rembrandt one especially) where people were shoulder to shoulder. Most of the guided groups use ear pieces attached to a small receiver. The guide has her own that she speaks quietly into that
we can all hear without her shouting.The Hermitage is enormous! I don’t remember the Louvre in Paris (the Louvre and the Hermitage are frequently compared) being so big. I also don’t remember it being so palatial. Both are former palaces, but this seems more palace-like. There are enormous rooms that are still as they would have been with their ceilings and pillars and chandeliers ready for a party. If I can only say one thing about the Hermitage it would be HUGE. The building itself is vast, but there are some pieces in the museum that are very, very BIG. There are a few pieces were actually installed before the museum was built, so that they would actually fit.
We basically sprinted through the place, seeing as much of it as we could led by the guide. Our guide stopped us every so often at the highlights and to give explanations, but we were on the move most of the time. This is fine with us. Even if we had the whole day, we couldn’t have seen all of the museum’s collection. The highlights were perfect.
St. Petersburg was more crowded than usual today as it was Naval Day. Just as we were leaving the museum a parade on one of the city's 4 rivers was about to start. There were submarines and naval ships in the river along with many sailors either on the ships/submarines or parading. 
The afternoon was spent back on the ship – sadly still no ‘beer-in-town’ shots. Very difficult in Russia. We’ll be in Helsinki in a couple of days and we’ll try to catch up.
The afternoon was spent back on the ship – sadly still no ‘beer-in-town’ shots. Very difficult in Russia. We’ll be in Helsinki in a couple of days and we’ll try to catch up.
1 comment:
What no Vodka? It's been a long time since I've been there, but the vodka stands were as common as Starbucks!
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