Catherine Palace. It’s a beautiful sunny, warm, breezy day. The Catherine Park is gorgeous, and very pleasant to walk about in. As at similar locations the royal outbuildings are opulent mansions in themselves.
The line for the tour of the Catherine Palace is long, as I’d expected. I’ve got no real interest in taking the tour, though I would have popped in if there were no wait, as opposed to an hour or more.
What do people see here, in this estate of 18th and 19th Century Tsars? What is our relationship to these riches today? What is their place in Russian culture, and how does the west relate to that?
Alexander Palace. This was the home of Nicholas II, the last Tsar, and his family after 1905.