Nicole Writes:
Today we traveled to the suburb of Pushkin to visit Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar's Village). Tsarskoye Selo was the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located 15 miles south of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the town of Pushkin. Tsarskoye Selo forms one of the World Heritage sites of Saint Petersburg.
On September 17, 1941, the Germans occupied the town of Pushkin, destroying and plundering many historical monuments, buildings and other cultural artifacts, including the famous Amber Room. The Red Army liberated the town on January 24, 1944. After the war, reconstruction began on Tsarskoye Selo; many rooms in the Catherine Palace have been restored, but much work on the palatial church and the Alexander Palace is still under way.
We did not manage to get tickets online ahead of time, so we had to wait in line to get into the palace. We were joined by hundreds of other people stomping their feet for an hour in the cold but it made our entry even more triumphant! The restored palace is quite amazing. We especially appreciated the famous “Amber Room.”
Back in St. Petersburg, we went out for a really lovely meal at Banshiki, a Russian restaurant recommended by our apartment host. We enjoyed their house-made sausages and blackened cheese, and a variety of salad olivier with smoked salmon and red caviar.