20.08.2019: Gold Rush in St. Petersburg

High culture must be in St. Petersburg. A visit to the Hermitage was on the agenda. The magnificent halls, the incredible amount of artwork, the many rooms like a maze, the vast amounts of gold are hard to comprehend. We felt a little overwhelmed. It felt like 1 million other visitors were pushing through the museum. In order to see the most important artworks, we had to shove some Chinese people out of the way. We abandoned the endeavor after seeing the must-sees and went to Peterhof outside the city. You can get there by hydrofoil (a true hell machine) across the Baltic Sea in about 30 minutes. Tsar Peter I created his own Versailles at Peterhof. Also lots and lots of gold, beautifully staged water fountains, and well-maintained parks. The crowds (5 or 6 huge cruise ships were in the harbor) were slightly better dispersed here.

With the wonderful weather today, it was a very nice trip.