Jessica was really disappointed that we went to the Peterhof on the weekend that she went to her host family's dacha. It was like the one place that she really wanted to go. I told her that I would take her once the leaves were changing colors. She said, "Okay. As long as the fountains are still on."
We decided to go on a Wednesday morning. Katie and I were running a little behind schedule (like 5 maybe 10 minutes) for our meeting and Jessica called on time and asked where we were. I said that we were on our way and that we would be there shortly. When we got to the Peterhof Jessica was super excited. The first fountain was on but then the next 3 fountains were off. Jessica was very disappointed. She really wanted to come when the fountains were on and they weren't yet.
Before entering the park we took some pictures of roses and then went to the ticket office. We were expecting to pay the 100 rubles like we did last time but with our student card we got in for free. I am not sure why but I didn't ask questions.
We entered the park and the main cascade was turned off which caused Jessica to be upset. She really wanted to know why the fountains were turned off. She made me go up to the nearest souvenir worker and ask why the fountains weren't on. The worker said that they turn on at 11 am. It was 10:50 am and so we had a little bit of time before they would turn on.
We walked down the Grand Cascade to get into prime position to see it turn on. I don't really know what I was expecting but I was blown away by how the fountains were turned on. At about 11 the music started and then shortly after the fountain proceeded to turn on. It was really cool how the music coincided with different parts of the fountain turning on. It was definitely my favorite part of going back to the Peterhof.
Another fun part of going to Peterhof again was that we weren't rushed to go here or go there. We had more time and plus there were less of us to get together in pictures and keep track off. (Not that I don't love all our ILP teachers).
One of the places that we spent more time was on the shore. We had some fun on the rocks. You can also see the tide coming in on the 5 pictures of Katie. Look at them quickly. It works. The water moves. It's cool. Then we tried some jumping pictures. Jessica was pretty proud that she timed her jump correctly.
Another part where we spent more time was in the 3 little pavilions around the gardens. This first pavilion was actually the first Hermitage which was by far the coolest one. Katie asked if we could inside the pavilion and I said I didn't know. So then I went up to the ladies at the door. They said that we needed to go get tickets but for students the tickets are free. I was super excited because I love the word бесплатно which means free. So we went and got tickets and then went inside. The ladies were really nice and explained some things in Russian and then I translated for Katie and Jessica. The little building was a place that Peter the Great would come and eat with his family and friends. The really cool thing was that they would eat on the 2nd floor. There was an ingenious contraption that allowed people to get to the second floor and for the center of the table to raise and lower as well as each of the plate mats. We didn't go up the contraption because at the beginning of the 18th century there was a noble family that got stuck up stairs and couldn't get down for a while. They then demanded that stairs be installed and so they were. The contraption, I guess, doesn't work anymore but it looked really cool. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside else I definitely would have.
We then went into two other pavilions. The first was about the yachts owned by the royalty. It was cool to see but the women that were working there didn't volunteer information and so it was just a lot of looking. Then the third one was Peter the Great's Study. Again I only read a little bit and so we didn't really understand very much of what happened there. Peter the Great had a really cool library though.
That was pretty much our excursion to the Peterhof. We also found a place where we could have go on a bus from the Peterhof to the Hermitage in the center of St Petersburg. We didn't end up doing it. But I don't regret that. That just about concludes Peterhof round 2.
We decided to go on a Wednesday morning. Katie and I were running a little behind schedule (like 5 maybe 10 minutes) for our meeting and Jessica called on time and asked where we were. I said that we were on our way and that we would be there shortly. When we got to the Peterhof Jessica was super excited. The first fountain was on but then the next 3 fountains were off. Jessica was very disappointed. She really wanted to come when the fountains were on and they weren't yet.
Before entering the park we took some pictures of roses and then went to the ticket office. We were expecting to pay the 100 rubles like we did last time but with our student card we got in for free. I am not sure why but I didn't ask questions.
We entered the park and the main cascade was turned off which caused Jessica to be upset. She really wanted to know why the fountains were turned off. She made me go up to the nearest souvenir worker and ask why the fountains weren't on. The worker said that they turn on at 11 am. It was 10:50 am and so we had a little bit of time before they would turn on.
We walked down the Grand Cascade to get into prime position to see it turn on. I don't really know what I was expecting but I was blown away by how the fountains were turned on. At about 11 the music started and then shortly after the fountain proceeded to turn on. It was really cool how the music coincided with different parts of the fountain turning on. It was definitely my favorite part of going back to the Peterhof.
Another fun part of going to Peterhof again was that we weren't rushed to go here or go there. We had more time and plus there were less of us to get together in pictures and keep track off. (Not that I don't love all our ILP teachers).
One of the places that we spent more time was on the shore. We had some fun on the rocks. You can also see the tide coming in on the 5 pictures of Katie. Look at them quickly. It works. The water moves. It's cool. Then we tried some jumping pictures. Jessica was pretty proud that she timed her jump correctly.
Another part where we spent more time was in the 3 little pavilions around the gardens. This first pavilion was actually the first Hermitage which was by far the coolest one. Katie asked if we could inside the pavilion and I said I didn't know. So then I went up to the ladies at the door. They said that we needed to go get tickets but for students the tickets are free. I was super excited because I love the word бесплатно which means free. So we went and got tickets and then went inside. The ladies were really nice and explained some things in Russian and then I translated for Katie and Jessica. The little building was a place that Peter the Great would come and eat with his family and friends. The really cool thing was that they would eat on the 2nd floor. There was an ingenious contraption that allowed people to get to the second floor and for the center of the table to raise and lower as well as each of the plate mats. We didn't go up the contraption because at the beginning of the 18th century there was a noble family that got stuck up stairs and couldn't get down for a while. They then demanded that stairs be installed and so they were. The contraption, I guess, doesn't work anymore but it looked really cool. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside else I definitely would have.
We then went into two other pavilions. The first was about the yachts owned by the royalty. It was cool to see but the women that were working there didn't volunteer information and so it was just a lot of looking. Then the third one was Peter the Great's Study. Again I only read a little bit and so we didn't really understand very much of what happened there. Peter the Great had a really cool library though.
That was pretty much our excursion to the Peterhof. We also found a place where we could have go on a bus from the Peterhof to the Hermitage in the center of St Petersburg. We didn't end up doing it. But I don't regret that. That just about concludes Peterhof round 2.
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