Hermitage!

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the second largest museum in the world, The Hermitage. (Государственный Эрмитаж) Located in the center of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage first served as the royal winter palace for Catherine the Great in 1764. Here are just a few pictures from my visit today. The Hermitage (pronounced errr-meee-tahhhzzhh) has over 3 million items on exhibit, so there are many I will see in a second trip back to the museum later on.
Perhaps the more interesting aspect of my visit to this area today is the history behind the Palace Square. This was the place that hosted the dismal events such as Bloody Sunday in 1905, and the October Revolution of 1917- both violent and blunt events in Russian history. (One who studies this nation's history will find that most Russian events are harsh and violent...) I stood in the same spots today where citizens protesting the Tsar's regime were gunned down by the royal guards.. SKETCH.

The Palace Square, with the Alexander common on the left and Hermitage on the Right.- Other unnecessarily tall buildings can be seen in the background- St.Isaac's cathedral on the left and the Admiralty Navy building in the center background.

Alexander Column. This was built to commemorate the Russian defeat of that one French general at Waterloo in 1812. I just get all French military figures confused!  Don't blame me- they all lose or surrender and as a result, it is impossible to distinguish these individuals.

The Raphael Loggias. This picture amuses me due to the fact that a nearly identical photo exists on wikipedia.

My tour group had moved on, but Da Vinci's work really forced me to stop and ponder the wonders of Italian artwork and the Renaissance.

Outside the front gates of the Winter Palace. (Note: I was very tempted to Photoshop the Soviet Union hammer-and-sickle flag over the Russian Federation flag. That white, blue and red just doesn't seem right...)

This picture is the same, but gives you an idea for the size of the building. The lines I am standing on are for Stalin-era troops during military marches and parades. Yeah I'm pretty much a Soviet Infantryman.

It's ya boy Rembrant's art

Catherine the Great's personal kick-it spot, complete with over-the-top chandeliers. Obvi.

Peter the Great's own throne chair. Seeing as how he stood an equal 6'6" to my height, I had to fight the urge to hop the ropes and snag a pic in the big man's chair. After all, it would have been a perfect fit!