Sydney Opera House

We just came back from Sydney yesterday.  We spent 3 days in Gold Coast before flying to Sydney for 2 nights.

View of the opera House from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Church on Spilled Blood

This church was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated on 13th March 1881

The interior of the church is covered with mosaics

The Aurora

The Aurora signalled the storming of the Winter Palace by firing the first shot on 25th Octber 1917.

 

Across the road from the ship

 

The University Embankment

Two 14th century BC sphinxes from Luxor sit here facing the Neva River.

 

 

 

 

Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul

The cathedral is the oldest church in St Petersburg. It has an intimate relationship with the House of Romanov as it is home to the tombs of  nearly all the Tsars since Peter the Great. 

Maria Feodorovna, the Empress of Russia, who died in exile in her native Denmark,  was reinterred here on 28/9/2006, 78 years after her death. Her tomb was being completed when we were there.

The Fortress of SS Peter and Paul

This Fortress was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 on Hare Island when St Petersburg became the capital of Russia.

 

 

 

Neva Gate

 

 

 

 

Monument to Peter the Great

 

Vasilevskiy Island

The Rostral Columns are situated at the eastern end of the island  known as "the Spit". Directly opposite the island are the Winter Palace and the Fortress of SS Peter and Paul.

The Rostral Columns

 

 

The Winter Palace

 

The Fortress of SS Peter and Paul

St Petersburg

We reached St Petersburg by train after 5 hours and headed straight to our hotel.

 

Mineral Water

Mineral water is colloquially used to mean carbonated water. We only realised it when we bought 4 big bottles of it and  they taste awful. It is very difficult to find the non-carbonated ones in Russia and especially if you cannot speak the language.

Moscow Miscellaneous