Saturday 17 September: More St Petersburg

This morning Marina and Sergei took us to the town of Pushkin, about 45 minutes south of St Petersburg. We were going to see the summer palace of Czarine Catherine I.

Our first stop was the summer palace of czar Alexander. This was a rather small palace by czarist standards, and is in the early stages of restoration. Consequently, it was not too impressive. However we strolled on through the extensive parkland surrounding the palace, Marina pointing out various small pavillions, ponds and other curiosities.

Through the trees in the distance we could see what looked like another pavillion - but as we got closer the full size of Catherine's palace was revealed to us. The place is absolutely enormous - over three hundred metres long, three stories high, and painted in blue, white and gold. We entered through a gate with heaps of gold (now paint, but originally gold leaf) into a huge courtyard bounded on one side by the palace itself, and on the others by a semicircle of blue and gold buildings (servants quarters nd store-rooms).

Ostentatious displays of wealth were the order of the day when the palace was built, and through its later extensions by Catherine II (the Great) and others. Gold leaf by the kilogram was used to decorate the walls and doors, every floor contains elaborate geometric designs in wood, and every ceiling is a huge oil painting. Even the heating system is a display of the wealth of the czars - huge stoves completely covered in Delft tiles.

The most famous part of the palace is the amber room - a fairly large room whose walls are almost completely covered in panels of amber. The room (like most of the palace) had been completely destroyed and looted during World War II, and restoration was only completed two years ago.

The total effect of this palace is overwhelming - so much wealth devoted to the amusement and entertainment of the royal families of Russia.

On the way back to town we stopped briefly at an old-style timber building described as President Putin's favourite restaurant. We had a quick look inside, and everybody seemed to be having a lot of fun. Unfortunately we didn't have reservations, so we headed back to St Petersburg.

A short nap at the hotel, then we set out to discover one of the hidden glories of this city - its Metropolitan, or underground railway. Like Moscow, the St Petersburg metro stations are richly decorated, with marble walls, chandeliers, brass placques, and statues of patriotic workers and peasants. Because of the geology of the area, it is also one of the deepest underground systems in the world, and the escalators are the longest and fastest we have seen. Definitely not for the faint hearted!