Early start today as we head to Pushkin to see Catherine's Palace. As we left St. Petersburg, we learned about the siege of Leningrad when Hitler tried to starve out the city. Over 1 million of the 3 million people died during this time and they lost 1/3 of their buildings, words can't describe the many atrocities of war.
As we entered Pushkin, the scenery changed and it became very wooded, and thoughts of Peter and the Wolf entered my head. We drove past a monastery, through the grand palace gates to be greeted by a sea of blue and white buildings. The palace is immense and you begin to see why there was a revolution.
This was the summer residence for the Tsar's with the winter palace being in St. Petersburg. The Hermitage is now housed at the winter palace. The most famous room in this palace is the Amber Room, where the wall panels are made completely of amber, some of which are backed with gold leaf and mirrors so they sparkle, it is said to contain over 6 tons of amber. Very beautiful and no photos were allowed to be taken. The gardens were still dormant with tulip leaves popping out of the ground, but looking out over the grounds, ponds, and reflection pools you can imagine the grounds summer beauty.
After the tour we headed back into town where you could sense the people's excitement about today's big celebration, Victory Day. This popular celebration marks the surrender of the Nazis in 1945. People were carrying bouquets of flowers which would be handed out to the survivors of the war during the afternoon parade. We had lunch (pizza) and walked back to the street vendors market. On the way back to the hotel, people were lining the Main Street for the five o'clock parade. We were in awe of the great number of people that showed up. The crowds took on the appearance in number like you see on TV for our New Years Eve celebration. We were too slow in crossing to the other side of the street to get to our hotel, so found a place to watch this massive appreciation for their war veterans. Then to my amazement the crowd, a sea of people, followed this hour long parade down to the Palace Square for the final ceremonies. The day ended with fireworks over the Neva river.