The most beautiful places in Russia

Я помню чудное мгновенье:
Передо мной явилась ты,
Как мимолетное виденье,
Как гений чистой красоты.

В томленьях грусти безнадежной
В тревогах шумной суеты,
Звучал мне долго голос нежный
И снились милые черты.

Шли годы. Бурь порыв мятежный
Рассеял прежние мечты,
И я забыл твой голос нежный,
Твои небесные черты.

В глуши, во мраке заточенья
Тянулись тихо дни мои
Без божества, без вдохновенья,
Без слез, без жизни, без любви.

Душе настало пробужденье:
И вот опять явилась ты,
Как мимолетное виденье,
Как гений чистой красоты.

И сердце бьется в упоенье,
И для него воскресли вновь
И божество, и вдохновенье,
И жизнь, и слезы, и любовь.

А.С.Пушкин

I remember a wonderful moment
As before my eyes you appeared,
Like a vision, fleeting, momentary,
Like a spirit of the purest beauty.

In the torture of hopeless melancholy,
In the bustle of the world’s noisy hours,
That voice rang out so tenderly,
I dreamed of that lovely face of yours.

The years flew quickly. The storm’s blast
Scattered the dreams of former times,
And I forgot your tender voice,
And the features of your heavenly face.

In remoteness, in gloomy isolation,
My days dragged quietly, nothing was new,
No godlike face, no inspiration,
No tears, no life, no love, no you.

Then to my soul an awakening came,
And there again your face appeared,
Like a vision, fleeting, momentary,
Like a spirit of the purest beauty.

And my heart beat with a rapture new,
And for its sake arose again
A godlike face, an inspiration,
And life, and tears, and love, and you.

A.S.Pushkin

The city of Pushkin is located 33 km south of St. Petersburg, and it is famous with its wonderful suburban mansion of the royal Romanov dynasty. From there comes the old name of the city Tsarsko Selo (King’s village). Like Peterhof, there are wonderful palaces surrounded by vast parks and gardens.

The bus left us in front of the beautiful impressive gate, through which the golden domes of the Catherine Palace protruded. In Swedish times, the estate of the Swedish tycoon was located here. On June 24, 1710, the Russians founded their own settlement here, which, along with 43 other settlements, was presented to his second wife Catherine I Alekseevna.

In 1755. the famous Amber Room was built here, which during World War II, the Nazis robbed and it has not yet been found. But today in the palace it has been restored with an identical copy, and the room is really impressive – from the ground to the ceiling it was enveloped in amber, instead of wallpaper, and complex decorations were made of amber, and the light was refracted in the amber giving a special shine. Unfortunately, it was not allowed to be photographed in this particular room. Instead, we took beautiful photos of the rest of the rooms, which were decorated with luxury and splendor.

After that, we had enough time to walk through the picturesque gardens and vast parks. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who graduated from the prestigious Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo, also walked here. It is easy to get inspired by such natural beauty,  and it is not for nothing that Tsarskoye Selo is also called the city of the Muses. In 1918. the city was renamed after the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Today it is an ideal place to relax, walk and get inspired.