Day 14: Wednesday 26th August
We learned the previous day that there is no easy road to Petrodvorets (Peterhof) and a different receptionist this time gives us directions again to go via Chernaya Rechka. We get off at Avtovo and are put on the wrong bus by a fellow traveller but the driver points us across the road for a bus going in the opposite direction! We take the last two seats and the driver sets off immediately – for a much longer run than we expect. By the time we arrive it’s a nice warm day again with the gold onion domes shining and the ornamental fountains shimmering in the sun.
Petrodvorets, on the Gulf of Finland, deserves a visit as the ‘Russian Versailles’ – the white and gold buildings and the cascade of fountains look stunning in the morning sunshine. But it’s a bit of a swizz because it’s mostly a reconstruction: the Germans trashed it during World War II, but before that Stalin ordered it to be bombed to prevent Hitler holding a victory party in the palace. The furniture, artworks and chandeliers in the grand palace are, however, original as they were removed by the Russians before the bombing raids. We were further frustrated because we happened to visit during the last week of the month when each building is closed in turn for cleaning – in addition to the usual day off a week! Jill wanted to see inside Monplaisir, Peter the Great’s sea-facing villa, but it was closed. (He built it on the site and then developed the grand buildings and fountains because he liked the location so much.)
The palace is fairly crowded and we decide against queuing for the interior – it cannot better the Hermitage – and we just admire the fountains and well-maintained gardens. A visit to the yacht museum lacks only one thing – a yacht, royal or otherwise. A sign points us towards the café with a claim that their ‘Service is Fast and Preventative’. I order a pizza and pints for lunch but the brusque exchange with the counter assistant makes me think the sign should have read ‘service is fast and peremptory’. The pizza is a bit plasticky but it is cheap.
There’s not a great deal more to see here so we decide to go back into the city to take in the ‘political museum’ but it’s now 1.30pm and it closes at 5. Unfortunately we miss a private bus and get on a municipal one that stops at every stop and won’t break the speed limit. It takes twice as long as the outward journey and it’s only the fact that it is more spacious and comfortable than the private ones that makes it bearable. Stupidly we then catch the metro to a station that we already know is closed for refurbishment, getting off at a stop that leaves us with a two kilometre walk back to the museum. We eventually arrive, knackered, with about one hour to see it all but then lady luck steps in again and the receptionist tells us that it doesn’t actually close until 5.45pm. It’s just enough time.
It’s a fascinating place. The curator has declared the aim of giving a balanced objective view of the Soviet era but we guess from the demeanour of the assistants that it is probably run by Party faithful. They are certainly more human, more helpful and more friendly than any other customer assistants we have come across before in Russia. There’s loads of material you won’t have seen anywhere else. The building is the actual one used by Lenin and the Bolsheviks until July 1917 when they were evicted by pro-Kerensky troops.
The exhibits deal also with the Stalin era and through the fifties to 1990. The Gorbachev era, we are told, is in preparation.
On our return to Olgino we find that a bunch of Germans have set up their tents around the water point, obstructing anyone else who wants to get to it. Cheeky or just plain stupid?
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