The Hermitage is just a short walk from the Admiralteiskaya, past the Admiralty itself.
There are many service personnel on the streets although it's not easy to work out which branch they belong to.
More shots of Palace Square (one of those sights I just can't resist) and a wonderfully dramatic sky.
Having bought tickets on line, we had a separate entrance around the side of the main building and so could avoid the lengthy queues which were already building up. Once we'd shed our coats at the Cloakroom (compulsory but I'm not sure why) we had to find our way back to the main entrance so we could follow the guide I'd printed off and also to see one of the highlights of the Palace - the Jordan Staircase - so called because on Epiphany the Tsar descended this staircase in state for the ceremony of the "Blessing of the Waters" of the Neva River (on the banks of which the palace is built) in celebration of Christ's baptism. Unfortunately it was crawling with ants (aka Japanese tourists) and getting decent photos was difficult.
There are several interconnecting buildings which together make up the Main Museum Complex; the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre and the Reserve House.
A few images to give an idea of the scale and splendour of the building (although the first one is using my iphone's panorama setting which unfortunately distorts).
And a few details
Ceiling detail
Many of the floors were exquisite parquet, some made of 15 different kinds of wood - we think they should adopt Copenhagen's idea and make all visitors wear overshoes.
This gilded clock was amazing, at the appropriate time the peacock made all sorts of different movements and the little owl and other small animals moved too. We didn't see it "live" but there was a large screen near the entrance showing what happened.
There are over 3 million items in the museum and apparently it would take nearly 15 years to see them all, viewing each item for just 1 minute/8 hours a day. Works by all the "top artists" are there but I didn't take photos (why bother when they can be seen easily on the internet).
A couple through the (dirty) windows (hence the reflections)
These illustrate, once again, just how massive the place is.
This could almost be the River Thames and the Shard (not entirely sure why it's totally out of focus though!).
Peter and Paul Fortress
Described as the "hanging garden" but I can't see why.
Our downloaded guide told us we would find late 19th and 20th century post impressionist works in the main museum complex but in fact these have been re-housed in the General Staff Building opposite. We stopped off at the café for a sandwich (delicious) and drink and then headed across the square, past a line of vintage carriages.
Being a much more modern building, there was nothing of interest in the rooms themselves, but some lovely artworks by some of Ian's favourite painters and great stairways.
