Baltic , Norway , Iceland and the U.K. on the Zuiderdam 2019 with photos

[Krazy Kruizers]

Got way behind on this thread.

 

Love all the reports and fantastic pictures.  Food sure looks good.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Got way behind on this thread.

 

Love all the reports and fantastic pictures.  Food sure looks good.

 

Thank you , we do like to eat locally when we go ashore .

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

A quick survey . We didn't go to the Hermitage this trip . Would you like to see photos from the Hermitage past or move on to our 2nd day ?

 

I would love to see the photos from the Hermitage if it’s not too much trouble.  Thank you!

[scubacruiserx2]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I would love to see the photos from the Hermitage if it’s not too much trouble.  Thank you!

 

Ok , we don't have to edit them , just condense .

 

The Hermitage ( formerly The Winter Palace ) stands in Palace Square 

 

 

It was started by Catherine the Great with some painting  bought from Germany ( she was German )

 

 

You enter here 

 

 

And ascend the Jordan Staircase

 

 

The Hall of Peter the Great

 

 

The Armorial Hall

 

 

The Saint George Hall

 

 

The Peacock clock

 

 

Large mosaic

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

We now enter the da Vinci room

 

 

 

 

 

 

The room features 2 paintings from the true renaissance genius , Leonardo da Vinci .

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

 

 

The first is the Benois Madonna - 1478 .

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benois_Madonna

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Here's a close up of the Benois Madonna .

 

 

 

This is the Madonna Litta , also by da Vinci . A passing guide shared it's story with us also ( my , what big ears you have grandma ) .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_Litta

 

 

 

 

 

The doors in the room are a work of art themselves .

 

 

 

 

They are decorated in the Boulle style , and made from tortoise shell and gilded brass .

 

 

 

[cat shepard]

Thank you, for every pic you share.

[scubacruiserx2]

 One of my favorite painters was Rembrant . The Hermitage has 20 of his paintings . Like many artists , he used self , friends and family as models . The is his young wife , Saskia , as the Roman goddess of flowers and sex , Flora .

 

 

 

 

He also used her and self in The prodigal son in the Tavern painting - which is not found in the Hermitage .

 

 

 

Rembrandt's Abraham and Issac 1634 , from the Bible story .

 

 

 

And finally , Rembrandt's last great painting The return of the Prodigal Son 1669

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_(Rembrandt)

 

 

It is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in Leningrad may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".[2]

 

The quote above and the following photo are from wikipedia :

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

5 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Thank you, for every pic you share.

 

You're welcome Cat , we're trying to hit the highlights but not overdo it .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

The Small Italian Skylight Room

 

 

 

A vase in the room

 

 

 

The Death of Adonis

 

 

 

The Crouching Boy - Michelango

 

 

The Raphael Loggias

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The Three Graces

 

 

 

Through this window you can see several Atlas statutes supporting the porch roof

 

 

 

 

Going down

 

 

 

and looking up .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two last photos before leaving the Hermitage .

 

 

 

A giant vase

 

 

 

 

And a mummy

 

 

 

And NO , it's not Lenin - he's in the Kremlin !

[scubacruiserx2]

The most beautiful churches that we have seen have been in Russia . Here are 3 from a visit to Moscow .

 

Kazan Cathedral on Red Square

 

 

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the tallest Russian Orthodox church in the world

 

 

 

But most people will think of Saint Basil's

 

 

 

 

It seem like it always rains when we go there

 

 

 

 

[*Miss G*]

Thank you for the Hermitage pics, ScubaCruiser.  The opulence and workmanship of the building is incredible!

[St Pete Cruiser]

Thanks for sharing the Hermitage photos.  Brings back great memories, although we were in a bit of a daze after taking in so much.  We were there on the Ryndam in July 2013.

[scubacruiserx2]

27 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Thank you for the Hermitage pics, ScubaCruiser.  The opulence and workmanship of the building is incredible!

 

I liked the wood parquet flooring too but it's hard to see in the photos

[scubacruiserx2]

24 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Thanks for sharing the Hermitage photos.  Brings back great memories, although we were in a bit of a daze after taking in so much.  We were there on the Ryndam in July 2013.

 

It's an overload for just a couple of days and that's why we went back to see it at a slower pace .

[St Pete Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

It's an overload for just a couple of days and that's why we went back to see it at a slower pace .

Sounds like a very good plan. 

[puppycanducruise]

Just got caught up.

Thank you for your wonderful pictures, they make me  want to go back to the Hermitage.

[scubacruiserx2]

There is a number of churches that we didn't see this trip because of time limitations 

 

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg and is where the Czars and Czarinas are buried like Peter and Catherine the Great 

 

 

 

You can also take a helicopter ride here on weekends and holidays 

 

 

Church on Spilled Blood in the center

 

 

Smolney Cathedral

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

11 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Just got caught up.

Thank you for your wonderful pictures, they make me  want to go back to the Hermitage.

 

You're welcome , it's great place to visit .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Another church that we missed this trip was the amazing St. Isaac's Cathedral .

 

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/cathedrals/st-isaacs-cathedral/

 

 

The view from St. Isaac's Square

 

 

 

We will be using some photos from our 2015 visit

 

 

 

 

It took 40 years to complete , but it's beautiful

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's about 100 meters to the top of the dome and the statues there are larger than life .

 

 

 

It was crowded when we last visited .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Saint Nicolas Naval Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ski ww]

Your great pictures bring back good memories, although we did not make it to Moscow.

[scubacruiserx2]

Not far from Catherine's Palace is Fyodor's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

This was the home church of the last Czar Nicholas II and his family. Click on the link for 1912 photo.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcarskoe_Selo_Feodorovski_sobor_1912_004.jpg

 

 

 

It was destroyed during the World War II by the invaders and was being restored when we visited

 

 

 

 

 

This is Chesma Church . It commemorates the Russian victory over the Turks at Chesma.

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed as we walked around the back that there is a graveyard with soldiers from several different wars

 

 

 

 

When we stepped inside there was a service going on - it was very beautiful and moving music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were leaving we noticed that a group of public school students were brought to the church as a field trip.

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

55 minutes ago, ski ww said:

Your great pictures bring back good memories, although we did not make it to Moscow.

 

Thank you ski ww . We haven't gone to Moscow from a cruise because of the time factor and there is plenty to see and do in St. Petersburg . We did go when we had a Visa and could stay overnight and walk around on our own . We noticed when we saw the changing of the guards in Moscow that there were no women like we later saw in Stockholm .