We’re going to the Hermitage today, one of the world’s greatest
art museums!
I woke up an eternity before my alarm clock went off this morning,
which seems to happen a lot on day 2. My sister and I lounged around our cabin and
begun to prep for the day at a very leisurely pace. Room service isn’t available
on this trip so we had to get our own snacks. We timed things perfectly because
snacks were just being put out at the lounge just as we finished getting ready.
Snacks before breakfast! Eating is the best way to fill down time but it’s not good
for my girlish figure.
We spent the longest time at the Hermitage. This was the residence of Russian Emperors before
it was turned into a museum and currently houses the largest collection of
paintings in the world. The grand collection was started by Peter the Great and
continued by his daughter in law Catherine the Great, who added more contemporary
pieces and expanded the buildings. The museum currently consists of 6
buildings, the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage,
and the Hermitage Theatre. It would take an eternity to go through all of the exhibits.
Even though we spent a lot of time at
the Hermitage it still wasn’t enough to see all of the exhibits. During our
tour we were constantly pushing through exhibits. It was a struggle keeping up
with all of the information that was given to us. The most notable works on display were a
couple of paintings by Leonardo DaVinci and Raphael Loggias.
After we got back
from the Hermitage we went back to the ship for food and a nap before going to
see Swan Lake. I didn’t take a nap because I wanted to get some things written
out for my blog. If I don’t get my ideas down they’ll never make it into the
blog.
Swan Lake is a ballet written by Tchaikovsky about a Swan
Princess, Odette, that combines elements from Russian and German folk tales. We
watched the ballet at The Alexandrinsky Theatre. This theater is gorgeous! The
entry way consists of grand staircase with a maze of other staircases that lead
into other sections of the theater. I had a hard time staying awake during the first
act but got a second wind during the second and third acts. I can’t read a word
of Russian so I had a difficult time finding the bathrooms. Needless to say, I know
what the Russian word for “Toilet” looks like now.
After the ballet we headed back to the ship for a snack and
then it was up to our rooms for the night. I am exhausted! We’ll still be in
St. Petersburg tomorrow so I’ll write more about the city in the next blog.
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