Petergof

In about an hour, a bus from the Palace Square took us to Petergof. We arrived at Petergof at the height of the day. By this time, the sun had already warmed the air so much that it became hot. I gladly took off my warm jacket and stayed in a short dress. Sasha also got rid of unnecessary windcheater and folded clothes in our travel backpack.

During the trip, we had a fight. I was outraged by the fact that we did not take a taxi but went by a tour bus. Living in India, I have never used public transport. Public transport was perceived by me as a means of transportation for poor people. I was taken to the school and back in my father’s car with a personal chauffeur. Growing up, I travelled by taxi, as well as my fans’ cars.

Sasha didn’t have a car; he couldn’t have it because he hadn’t lived in Russia for the last three years. For Sasha, using public transport in Russia was the norm. He believed that he had already done well to me by the very fact that he brought me to Russia, settled in Moscow, took me to Saint Petersburg, and now also shows Petergof to me. However, I did not think so. Sasha explained to me that our travels cost a lot of money; therefore, even with all the desire, he cannot afford to pay for everything. Nevertheless, I was not satisfied with even this explanation. Sasha was offended at me and I was offended at Sasha. We’ve barely spoken to each other.

But the journey continued. We entered the park on the south side. I had the feeling that it was a fairy tale. It seemed that after the centre of Saint Petersburg nothing could shock me; however, Petergof managed to do it.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Russian tsars perceived Petergof as a domestic Versailles. Peter set the task of surpassing the famous palace and park complex of France. It was not possible to achieve this with the luxury of palace architecture but Petergof was ahead of its French forerunner with the magnificence and scale of its fountains. The ensemble of Petergof has one of the world’s largest fountain systems — 147 active fountains.

Fountains, parks, statues, palaces, gazebos, golden domes, green bushes and lawns, as well as ancient trees everywhere — everything fascinated me. In a state of quarrel, I was not at all disposed to the manifestations of delight, behaved restraint but listened to Sasha. He recalled that we are in a wonderful place where we will spend only a few hours; therefore, we need to adjust ourselves to absorb all the beauty and enjoy the moment for the rest of your life.

Sasha forgot about the insult and willingly photographed me against the background of the beauty of Petergof. It’s much harder for me to give up resentment, as usually it takes many days. However, the shock of the luxury of Petergof was so great that it made me distract from the gloomy mood.

I stopped near the statues. In India, I have never seen such perfect images of human beauty. I stopped near the church. It was so magical that made me doubt its reality.

We walked around the palace and went to the front terrace with views of the canals and the Gulf of Finland. In the middle of the 18th century, this palace was designed by Francesco Rastrelli, i. e. the same architect who built the Winter Palace and designed Palace Square in Saint Petersburg.

Fountains of Petergof were created by different architects in different eras. The Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond and the Italian Nicola Michetti participated in the creation of the most famous fountains.

I looked down at the fountains. My head was spinning with delight! Dozens of beautiful golden statues spewed streams of water. I have never seen such gorgeous beauty anywhere else; it was breathtaking and the sense of reality of what was happening was lost.

In the centre of the fountain composition is the figure of a powerful man tearing the lion’s mouth, from which a high stream of water beats. It is very spectacular and impressive! Later, I learned that the fountain is called Samson. The hero personifies Russia, and the lion — Sweden. At the beginning of the 18th century, there were wars between Russia and Sweden, including for the possession of the territory on which Saint Petersburg was built. The statue of Samson tearing the lion became the personification of the victory of Russia in those wars over Sweden. However, now very few people remember this. It affects not so much the value as the beauty of the fountain.

Having admired the fountain and the palace, we went for a walk in the surrounding parks. Sasha had already visited Petergof; hence, he knew the approximate direction and we did not get lost. The fountain followed the fountain, groves were replaced by a pond, the arbour was replaced by an old mansion and statues, statues, statues — they just were everywhere... For me, Saint Petersburg (as well as Petergof) has forever become a galaxy of sculptures.

Passing a large pond, we went to the shore of the Gulf of Finland. In Goa, I was already used to living by the ocean; nevertheless, here the sea was felt quite differently: we were not at all attracted to plunge into the waters of the Gulf of Finland, since they were blew with cold. It was strange for me to see people swimming. Sasha told me that summer for Saint Petersburg residents is a very short time; moreover, there are so few warm sunny days that citizens use every opportunity to swim. During the reign of Peter, everything was the same.

We went through the whole park and went to its eastern part. A one-storey building appeared before us. Information that this is the favourite palace of the Russian Tsar Peter the Great — Monplaisir, which means “my pleasure”, became a revelation for me. By its size and decoration, the palace of Peter the Great is inferior to the country dachas of many modern officials and managers. I can’t bring myself to call the building I saw a palace. However, they say, Peter the Great did not strive for luxury; he liked simplicity and convenience in everything.

For three centuries, Monplaisir exists almost unchanged. After the death of Peter the Great, the palace turned into a museum dedicated to the emperor; nothing has changed here. The first collection of paintings by European artists of the 17th-18th centuries in Russia, which contains paintings acquired by the first Russian emperor, is located in Monplaisir. In the study of Peter decorated in Chinese style, a collection of Chinese porcelain is displayed on carved shelves-consoles, just as it was in the 18th century.

Sasha was trying to get me to talk; nevertheless, the resentment inside me was still so strong that even the cold air from the Gulf of Finland could not put out the fire that was raging inside. Our quarrel has eclipsed all the splendour of nature, architecture, and sculptures opening up to us. This continued until our return to the Peterhof Grand Palace. We stopped near the group of tourists. The guide told a group of foreigners about Petergof in English. I listened to her story.

It turned out that almost all the fountains, statues, and buildings of Petergof were created quite recently, after the Second World War. In 1941, the fascist invaders occupied Petergof and were here until the defeat in 1944. Over the years, Petergof was almost completely destroyed. The unique system of canals, fountains, statues, arbours, canals, and bridges was destroyed. Before their leaving, the Germans blew up the Grand Palace. The statue of Samson was also destroyed.

Petergof was revived by Soviet architects, sculptors, engineers, and builders thanks to photographs, paintings, and drawings. The statue of Samson was re-created and installed only a few years after the end of the Second World War. It was restored, at the beginning of the 21st century. And only a month before our arrival in Petergof, the statue of Samson was again installed in the central fountain of Petergof, as if this was done specially for our visit.

And it turned out far from the most difficult to restore a large palace and statues. A unique system of springs, streams, rivers, canals, and locks supplying ponds and 147 fountains of Petergof with water stretches for tens of kilometres. It took decades to restore it! This work continues even today; it does not stop for a single day. Only the hard work of many people who love Petergof allows this magical creation of human hands to exist.

This information shook me so much that my own annoyance seemed like nothing. This time the peace offer from Sasha was accepted. We stood at the statue of Samson and admired the pictures of incredible beauty. Sasha hugged me and we kissed. My gloomy mood suddenly disappeared. At that very moment, the surrounding masterpieces were revealed to us in even greater beauty.

It was almost 6 p.m. We were very tired; it was time to go back. Sasha offered to go back to Saint Petersburg on a speedboat called “Rocket”. I was inspired by this idea, since the sea walk at the end of the trip looked very romantic! It would be impossible to get tickets for the last boat before sailing; however, Sasha prudently bought tickets in advance as soon as we arrived at Petergof.

The journey on the “Rocket” to the centre of Saint Petersburg took only half an hour. During this journey, I began to understand how sailors sailing across the sea to the northern capital feel. Initially, Saint Petersburg was created precisely as a sea gate to Russia from Europe. Today it remains a port city in many ways.