For The Love of Travel

Another 30 degree day, so I took off for a walk early.

First to visit a stalwart of the city’s bookshops, Dom Knigi (“House of the Book”), is housed in part of the wonderful, whimsical Singer building, one of the most beautiful buildings on Nevsky Prospect – its a richly decorated Art Nouveau masterpiece.

The site at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Griboedov Canal, was the location of the riding school of Duke Ernst von Biron, the powerful favourite of Empress Anna. When this building burnt down, it was replaced by three-storey residential building, where St. Petersburg’s first photographer, Sergey Levitskiy, had his workshops in the 1850s. In 1902, the plot of land was bought for a million rubles by Singer Manufacturing Company, the world-famous maker of sewing machines.

The company wanted a building similar to the skyscraper that was then being constructed for them in New York. However, St. Petersburg’s strict building codes dictated that no building could be higher than 23.5 meters at the cornice. Despite these limitations, the architect Pavel Syuzor managed to create a supremely elegant building. The building was equipped with the latest lifts, heating and air-conditioning and an automatic system for clearing snow from the roof.

To create the illusion of greater height, Syuzor crowned his building with a metal-and-glass tower topped by a glass globe 2.8 meters in diameter. The sculptures on the building were executed in wrought bronze, a material that was new to St. Petersburg (designed by the Estonian sculpture Amandus Adamson,, and their weathered green bronze blends beautifully with the gray and red granite of the facades.

Went in search of the Lion Bridge  – one of the 3 remaining pedestrian chain bridges in St Petersburg, an example of architecture of the first quarter of the 14th century . One of the three remaining pedestrian chain bridges in St. Petersburg.

On the way home, spotted sculptures decorating a building along the Griboedov canal.

The “Stars of the White Nights Music Festival” is being held between May and July. I booked a ticket to see “Pagliacci” at the Mariinsky Theatre.

The history of the Mariinsky Opera Company dates back to 1783 when Empress Catherine II issued a decree on the establishment of a theatre committee “to direct plays and music.” “… A Russian theatre is needed so that it exists not just for comedies and tragedies, but also for operas,” the decree stated.

Since then, the Mariinsky Theatre has presented many great artists to the world:  great singers such as Fyodor Shalyapin and ballet: Anna Pavlova, Vaclav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. 

Alexander Pushkin wrote about the theatre in his poems.

Pagliacci first premiered at this theatre in 1893. Tonight, Gavriel Heine, is the conductor, mostly a youngish Russian cast performing in the major roles and a large ensemble of locals in the crowd scenes. Roman Burdenko in the role of Tonio, an international prize-winning baritone.

I thought I’d revisit the Church of Spilled Blood to see if I could take a pic of the outside with less crowds around, and bingo! def less people. BUT, a lovely yellow crane had also been moved into place that night right in front of the Church – to move a ticket booth into a new location. Grr! But a little walk down the side street to get a view of the Church from the canal was successful.

What a day to visit the Lower Gardens of the Peterhof Palace estate – sunshine and 20 degrees. Took the 30 min hydrofoil from Lion Pier straight to the gardens.

The fountains were sparkling brilliantly and hundreds of people were perambulating.

Dinner @ The Repa. The restaurant’s interior was created by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina. The concrete walls are adorned with murals inspired by the work of artist Andrey Remnev, and works of modern art are on display throughout the space.

The furniture design also reflects this style: simple items sit beside complex, whimsical pieces, and elements of the wall art are repeated in the embroidery on the chairs. Historic autographs of brilliant figures from the arts world, such as Maya Plisetskaya, Placido Domingo, Diana Vishneva, and Mihail Chemiakin have been preserved on the walls.

With a focus on produce and provenance, the restaurant’s short menu features interesting ingredients from different regions of Russia and other Eurasian countries.