St. Petersburg Post-Program Extension — 5 Days, 4 Nights (July 22-26, 2022)

Day 1 — Moscow

Begin the day with a morning visit to the Kremlin and the Armory Museum. The Moscow Kremlin reminds modern-day Russia of its medieval past. Built on the site of Prince Yuri's hunting lodge, the Kremlin overlooks the Moskva and Neglina rivers. In the mid-14th century, the Russian princes, ruling from the Kremlin, became so powerful that Moscow was named the center of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Under the guidance of Ivan the Great, Moscow extended its influence and soon became the seat of Russian political power as well.     

Today, the Kremlin remains the center of Moscow and Russian politics. Inside the fortress walls are palaces, cathedrals, government buildings and the Armory Museum. Built in the 16th century as a warehouse for the Kremlin’s weaponry, the Armory was transformed into an exhibition hall and museum in 1814. It now houses Russia’s national treasures, such as religious icons, Faberge eggs, a bejeweled chalice belonging to Prince Yuri, and Catherine the Great's ball gowns and shoes. 

Following lunch, ride on Moscow’s Metro system, one of the largest in the world.  The first Metro station opened in 1935, and today there are some 200 of them along the 200 miles of track, serving nearly 2.5 billion travelers each year.  The stations in the city center are showpieces of Socialist art, furnished with statues, frescoes and mosaics, and with marbled, gilded, and bronzed walls and ceilings.  Some of the more elaborate are Kievskaya Station, its walls clad in framed mosaics showing happy Ukrainians under golden skies; Ploshchad Revolutsii, its black Georgian marble setting off bronze sculptures of Russian workers and soldiers; and Mayakovsky Station, with its slender stainless steel pylons and graceful arches forming domes filled with mosaics. Stalin gave his Anniversary of the October Revolution speech here in 1941, deep underground where he was safe from air raids. 

Tour the Lev Tolstoy House Museum. Located in a beautiful early 19th century building, the museum’s collection includes Tolstoy’s manuscripts, photographs, portraits, memorabilia and an invaluable book depository, including the author’s works translated into many of the world’s languages. The museum arranges excursions and lectures and conducts extensive research. 

Upon completion of the day’s program, enjoy a free evening in preparation for the journey to St. Petersburg tomorrow. Dinner tonight is independent. (B,L)

Day 2 — Moscow/Train to St. Petersburg

Following breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the railway station for departure to St. Petersburg by an express train. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, transfer to the city-center hotel for a three-night stay.

The lavish pre-revolutionary palaces and churches of St. Petersburg have been renovated with flair and reverence. Daily life swirls around the city’s main boulevard, famed Nevsky Prospect, where lanky fashion models in stiletto heels brush past stout kerchiefed babushkas​ (grandmothers.) With its tenacious underground current of edgy energy, St. Petersburg is a fundamental lesson in apprehending the spirit of Russia. Reminisce on your Trans-Siberian journey with fellow travelers at dinner this evening. (B,D)

Days 3 — St. Petersburg

This morning, begin with a visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, an architectural feat that took 40 years to complete. The 48 red granite columns around the lower part of the building each weigh 110 tons and the upper columns around the rotunda weigh 67 tons apiece. The dome is covered with 220 pounds of gold, and the interior columns faced with lapis lazuli and malachite. The cathedral is bursting with sculptures, frescoes, stained glassworks, and woodcarvings.

Later, see the Church of the Savior on the Blood, built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was felled by a bomb in 1881, and commissioned in the style of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow by his son and successor, Alexander III. Just off Nevsky Prospekt, the emblematic cathedral with its blue and green patterned domes has become a symbol of St. Petersburg. The interior walls and cupolas are covered in fine mosaics of Biblical scenes, and four jasper columns mark the spot where the czar fell.

In the afternoon take a guided tour of the Hermitage Museum. The Winter Palace, part of the Hermitage ensemble, was built in 1754-62 as the principal home of the czars and was lavishly rebuilt in 1839 after it was destroyed by fire. Originally a small private palace gallery founded by Catherine the Great with a purchase of 255 paintings from Berlin, the Hermitage today houses one of the largest museum collections in the world. It includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, and others. The fabulous rooms with their inlaid floors and gilded woodwork and the grand double entry staircase are works of art in themselves.

As part of the visit, see the Hermitage’s Gold Room, which contains finely-worked Scythian and Greek golden ornaments from the 7th to the 1st century BC, including shield plaques, bracelets, equestrian armor, and drinking vessels.

Upon completion of the tour, return to the hotel for a free evening. (B,L)

Day 4 — St. Petersburg

This morning travel by hydrofoil to Peterhof. Peter the Great sketched the original drawings for the beautiful Sea Canal, laid out strictly north and south, and forming a marine entrance to the Grand Palace from the Gulf of Finland. At the terminus of the canal is the Grand Cascade, its double set of stairs pouring water into the Lower Grotto, where a gilded Samson pries open the jaws of a lion from which water jets up to 60 feet.

Peter the Great’s fountains are Peterhof’s main attraction. More than 150 glistening, gilded, sculpted marble, granite and limestone fountains and cascades adorn the Lower Park. The gravity-fed collection pools in Peterhof’s Upper Garden discharge their waters nearly 50 feet down to the Lower Park’s cascades and jets, creating enormous force and powering fountains all over the park.

Enjoy an opportunity to go inside the Grotto behind the Grand Cascade and learn about its complicated system of pipes and the mechanics that supply the fountains with water. The experience offers an unusual vantage point from which to appreciate the Grand Cascade and conveys the sense of being behind a waterfall.

Take a tour of Peter the Great’s favorite residence, Monplaisir Palace, the only fully original building remaining at Peterhof. The first structure built on the estate, the early 18th-century Monplaisir has a sweeping view over the Gulf of Finland so Peter could keep an eye on the passing ships. Peter designed the intimate palace, including a kitchen so he could cook for himself (not an ordinary pastime for a czar). This is where he experimented with his first “joke” fountains, inviting foreign dignitaries to sit on an innocent-looking garden bench that doused them with jets of water. Outfitted with some of Peter’s belongings and furnishings, the charming little palace is known as the “heart of Peterhof,” and has been considered a memorial to Peter since just after his death.

Drive to the nearby Pushkin for lunch, followed by the afternoon visit to Catherine’s Palace, originally built in 1717. In 1752, famed architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli enlarged and embellished the palace, extending the facade to its current grandeur. The estate and palace buildings were almost completely destroyed by the Germans during World War II, but they have been carefully and expertly restored into a brilliant architectural monument.

The fully restored Amber Room in Catherine’s Palace has been years in the making. The wall coverings of amber panels, created in the time of Peter the Great, were taken by the Nazis during the Second World War and never recovered. The beautifully crafted amber panels we see today were re-created from photos and descriptions of the originals, and have become one of the highlights of Catherine’s Palace.

Gather tonight for a farewell dinner to toast the completion of your Trans-Siberian adventure. (B,L,D)

Day 5 — Depart St. Petersburg

Transfer to the airport this morning for international departures.

Hotel Intercontinental Tverskaya — Moscow

The luxurious five-star Intercontinental Tverskaya Hotel is located in the heart of Moscow just a Metro stop from Red Square. The beautifully-designed hotel features a fine restaurant serving a modern take on traditional European cuisine, a 24-hour fitness center, deluxe spa services, and cocktails and sweets in the stylish P-Square Bar. The elegant rooms include air conditioning, cable TV, minibar, complimentary WiFi, iPod docking, bathrobes, and in-room safe.

Kempinski Moika 22 Hotel — St. Petersburg 

Kempinski Hotel Moika 22 is housed in a pre-revolutionary mansion on the Moika Embankment just across from the Hermitage. Its renovated interior is furnished with a mix of classic and antique pieces. Amenities include the ninth floor Bellevue Bar with beautiful views over the city, the Beau Rivage restaurant featuring fine dining, a rooftop Wellness Center and a Tea Room where a Russian/English high tea is offered every day. Rooms include satellite TV, wireless and cable Internet, minibar, hair dryers, heated bathroom floors and bathrobes.