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CABC Scandinavia Choir Tour

Day 8:  Petrodvorets

The next day was purely sightseeing (with no rain, hallelujah!) where we started at Petrodvorets (what they told us sounded more like "Peterhoff", but what do I know?), the summer palace of Peter the Great. This was a wonderful place with glorious fountains (I know we came here, too, when I was 16, cuz I remember the trick fountains), and before taking us into the building we wandered down the staircases into the wonderful park. The statuary was awesome, and one fountain in particular showed Samson killing a salmon (!) which was supposed to be symbolic of Russia overcoming Sweden, I believe. The vendors were all over, too, but I resisted (can’t say the same for some of the other poor souls)!

                                                Stairway of fountains                              Samson killing a fish, symbolic of Russia’s   

                                                                                                                                          victory over Sweden

They let us off the leash long enough for me to go down to the water (Bay of Finland) and enjoy some Great Crested Grebes with their babies (and they sound just like our Westerns, too)! Also had Tree Sparrows at my feet and Common Terns flying around that I was actually able to shoot! (One of the frustrating things about the digital camera is that it has a hard time focusing on a moving object, and especially something in flight, plus the fact that the digital viewfinder can’t seem to follow the subject smoothly, either...) A couple of Black-headed Gulls swam close to shore and another White Wagtail showed up. Eiro had told us to meet at the flagpole (or something—I forget) at a certain time in case we got lost, so I was headed up that way and had a calling Blue Tit and a Nuthatch on a birch.

Birds on the Baltic...                                                                        Mallard family (male in eclipse at right)

                    European Tree Sparrows (mostly juveniles)                                                                            "Twins"...

                                                    The "Mad Sparrow"    

                                                        Great Crested Grebe family                                        Common Tern

 Juvenile and adult Black-headed Gulls

Miraculously ran into the rest of the crew on the way back, so I just stuck with them (good thing, too, cuz we weren’t anywhere near the meeting spot at the appointed time). One of the gals pointed out a colorful squirrel; it struck me as having the same size and structure of our Eastern Gray Squirrel, but had way too much rusty in it. I found out later that Eastern Grays have indeed been introduced to Europe, but still should not have that much rust in it, and the Red Squirrel has large ear tassels and is entirely red. So unless it’s a hybrid, I’m out to lunch on it. We also visited the infamous trick fountains (the visiting kids especially had a big time trying to beat them), and enjoyed the Classically (as in Classical Era)-dressed musicians playing such incongruous melodies as American jazz tunes, and they even broke out into the Canadian national anthem at one point!

While we were waiting to go into the palace John Woodson (the hubby of one of the choir members who was along for the trip and also a casual birder) joined me with his bins and we enjoyed Hooded Crows, Swifts, and House Martins going into a nest! The palace was mobbed, of course, but I paid the three bucks and shot the beautiful rooms and paintings (flash was not allowed, so I tried using what‘s called the "night setting", which opens up the aperture and allows a faster shutter speed, and I think that worked very well), and then because we ran out of time they dropped those who wanted off at the hotel, and the rest went shopping. I wrote postcards (that never got sent) and showered, then joined the gang at dinner before going to Swan Lake! It was great fun: one of the gals wanted to know the plot so I was telling that story on the bus and getting razzed for it (good-naturedly, of course)!  I also took my bins so you could watch their faces, and that was exquisite!  It was a terrific night out!

                            The band gets a new recruit!                                Resting up before yet another tour of the palace!