Peterhof!

Today was our first free day since Victory Day, so we decided to make the most of it by visiting Peterhof, the Czar’s summer palace. Peterhof was largely destroyed when it was captured by the Germans in World War II. However, following many restorations, it is yet again an amazing palace to visit. And while the actual palace is beautiful, it’s especially well known for the various fountains which cover the grounds.

Peterhof: The Czar's Summer Palace

The most famous fountain is the grand cascade, which shoots water 20 meters high and celebrates Russia’s victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. It’s incredible because the fountains are not powered by the usual pump system. Instead, water from springs in the upper garden creates enough pressure to force the water out in the lower garden’s fountains. Pretty fancy, if you ask me. But some of the most popular fountains are the trick fountains. The czar, Peter, was a bit of a jokester and thought it would be fun to add a few surprise fountains in his garden. Ladies all made up in powder and nice dresses would sit in the shade only to find themselves drenched in water, and several of the fountains go off at random intervals. And Peterhof is on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, so after visiting the gardens, we had another nice nap by the water.

Find the Right Stone and you can Trigger the Fountain...

Overall, it was a lot of fun, and we did it on the cheap as well…We saved 480+ rubles by riding a van instead of a boat, and we’ve learned that if we hand over our student IDs without saying anything, the people in the ticket booths give us the Russian Student price (which is even lower than the foreign student price).

We seem to be alive and thriving!

Tomorrow we’re going to try to switch back into our old class…I’m sure the lady in charge of schedules is getting quite annoyed with us, but that’s life in Russia.

Straight out of Little Red Riding Hood