The Peter & Paul Fortress was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and the Trubetskoy Bastion Prison on the grounds was completed in 1872 and incarcerated high raking political prisoners. Before entering the prison we all gathered in the square. I was not fully paying attention, and was falling behind because I was taking pictures that when noon hit I was in no way prepared for the cannon shot that was let out and in turn let out a huge scream. I may have been the only one unaware that this is why we were coming together at this time, but everyone in the crowd was taken by surprise as well. The prison has 69 isolation cells and some prisoners include Pyotr Kropotkin, Alexander Ulianov, Leon Trotsky, Mixim Gorky and a number of women terrorists. We then went to visit the Peter and Paul Cathedral which is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg and has the tallest Orthodox bell tower in the world. Underneath the cathedral almost all of the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas the II lay, and inside of the cathedral are monumental tombs. Catherine the Great is also buried here; however, Peter II and Ivan VI are not. The cathedral’s alter is almost completely covered in gold leaf and it is a little blinding to look directly at.  After the fortress we began walking towards the Church on Spilled Blood through the Field of Mars.The Field of Mars is a very important field in St. Petersburg because many (registered) protest usually take place here. In the middle of the field there is an eternal flame where we all gathered around to quickly warm up. We then had a quick lunch at our favorite pie place Stolle and then were off to the Ethnography Museum.

Bride & Groom we saw along the way

The ethnography museum showcased unique artifacts from all of the regions to show the wide-spread diversity in Russia. It was cool to see the different clothing styles but I did not enjoy this museum as much as I did at all of the others we have visited.