Peterhof has a relatively small palace, which we did not visit, and world-famous gardens. It was built by Peter the Great and largely finished by the time of his death in 1725. Much of it was destroyed during the Nazi occupation, but restoration began immediately after the war.
Modeled it on—what else?—Versailles, Peter may have outdone his master in the fountain department. Someone said there are 66 of them, but there seemed to be many more than that, all of them fed by gravity, and each unique. They range from spectacular, the largest shooting a jet of water up 20 meters, to playful. Scattered around the 300 acres are small buildings for retreating in, viewing birds, gazing at the Baltic Sea, or whatever else you might think of.
A few of the fountains were designed as jokes to soak unsuspecting viewers, and Bob was one of them! It had a bench you walked toward on cobble stones, and part way there, jets of water sprung up around the perimeter. He escaped, though, with only the back of one leg soaked.
We took a 30-minute ride on a hydrofoil to get there, and since it rained, as predicted, 40% of the time, we only stayed 2 ½ hours, but the crowds were light—a fair trade-off. This allowed Bob to photograph many of the fountains, statues, and the roofs of the palace without lots of people in the way. As in most of the City, almost everything was slathered in gold-leaf.
All through this post, in no particular order, are some of the pictures.
