Tag Archives: Botanical Gardens

St Petersburg

The first stop for a couple of days is also the first time my path will cross with Annie Brassey’s. All the information in the hotel brochure details statistics about transport and architecture. Apparently the ‘capital of trams’, there are a lot here, it has a Guinness World Record of 600 kilometres of tramway. My preferred transport is on foot (exhausting after a few days) or by metro, the stations of which are a wonder in themselves, several are particular tourist attractions for their decoration and grandeur. The metros are apparently the deepest in the world, of up to 70-80 metres, initially a slightly daunting prospect at the top of the escalator. It is also a city of rivers and waterways, rivalling Venice and Birmingham with 217.5 kilometres of canals. Only the canals would have existed when Annie visited on her ‘Flight of the Meteor’ in 1866. St Petersburg is however mostly known for the grandeur and scale of its palaces, cathedrals and churches. It is not good enough merely to paint the building a vibrant colour, it is mostly then adorned with reliefs and statues, often then painted gold. An awesome skyline, it aids navigation around the busy city to spot a golden turret here or a heavily decorated roof there.

The Church on Spilled Blood

The Church on Spilled Blood (The Church of our Saviour)

Time was spent today, however, escaping the bustle of Nevsky Prospekt, and taking in the tranquility of the Botanical Gardens. While I have as yet been unable to read Annie’s account of her time here, I felt there was a pretty good chance that she would have visited the gardens. ‘The Flight of the Meteor’ was only published privately and unlike her latter blockbusters, has not yet seen a reprint. The Botanical Gardens have been here since 1823, so they existed at the time of her visit, and therefore stand a good chance of her having visited them. Although there probably wasn’t a Burlesque bar opposite then.

Joining a guided tour I hoped to learn more about the history to be able to compare notes with 1866. After a pleasant hour of being spoken to in Russian I learned little but did enjoy access to the temperate greenhouses. The luscious greenery of the inside contrasted starkly with the lacklustre outside. It seems to be undergoing a transitional time, appropriately in October, but buildings have been poorly maintained while new ones are under construction. The museum was also closed which was a shame, I shall have to find out more the old fashioned way, through google.

20131004-194633.jpg

20131004-194715.jpg

20131004-194815.jpg20131004-194758.jpg