Russia: Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is quite beautiful, although not nearly as exquisite as St. Isaac's Cathedral or The Cathedral of he Saviour on the Spilled Blood.

Two popular reasons to visit Saint Peter and Paul is to see the final resting place of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

But without a doubt, the most popular reason to visit this cathedral is to see the final resting place of the Last Tsar of Russia. The remains of Nicholas II, Alexandra, their children, and servants were found and returned to Russia in 1998. All are buried in the chapel below.

Russia: Cathedral of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood

Even the exterior of this cathedral is AMAZING! Every time we drove past it we were awe struck. Getting to go inside was even more amazing.

Every inch of the cathedral is decorated...it's overwhelmingly gorgeous


a few of the mosiacs up close

Even the ceiling is spectacular.

Russia: St. Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral was quite a surprise. We knew The Cathedral of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood would be fantastic...because the outside of it was fantastic. St. Isaac's looks fairly normal on the outside. But that doesn't do justice to how beautiful the inside is.

The inside was floor to ceiling mosaics.

Jason tries to take it all in.
Amy in front of an icon

All smiles after our visit. You can't help but smile after being around all that beauty! (The pictures don't do it justice!)

The Russian Ballet

One of the things Russia is most famous for is the Russian Ballet. We had the opportunity to go see this world renowned dance troupe in their own theater. It was magical (Jason would even agree!)

Here we are...ready to be wowed...and wowed we were!
It was only fitting that we got to see a Tchaikovsky masterpiece...Swan Lake


Only one word can describe the performance....sheer PERFECTION!

McDonalds is everywhere...even in Russia

We didn't eat at a McDonalds in Russia. But we did pass one. It's quite interesting how such a common word (McDonalds) looks so uncommon in Russian. However, the golden arches do look exactly the same!

Rednecks in Russia???

Here's one for you Jeff Foxworthy...
If you've ever left your old hoopty in the middle of a street with a few cinder blocks in place of one of the tires...you might be a redneck...
Even in Russia!

Coca Cola in Russia

Being from Atlanta...I'm the ultimate Coca Cola connoisseur. So, I had to try out the Coke in Russia. It passed the test...it was even sold COLD (not the case in most of Europe!).

Russia: Peter the Great's Palace

Peterhof is the palace of Peter the Great. The palace certainly lives up to the czar's greatness!

Every great czar has his own church

Peter the Great's study

Can you imagine attending a ball in this spectacular room? I think I might need a new dress...and shoes! Peter the Great must have been fond of gold...it's everywhere!The fountain on the back side of the palace

Jeff, Avi, Amy, and Jason soaking up Peter's greatness

Picturesque St. Petersburg

Our first glimpse of St. Petersburg was on a canal ride. My camera was smoking (according to Jeff) because everything was so amazing and picturesque!

Jason gets ready for our canal ride

It was a colorful ride (we're used to drab colored buildings in Germany...that's not how buildings are painted in Russia!)

Many of the beautiful buildings we passed were palaces.Here we are at the end of our canal tour...ready to start exploringEven walking down the road was beautiful!