How I Explored the Largest Country in the World (Russia) Solo, by Train, in 30 Days – St. Petersburg Peterhof’s Palace (3)

1/8/2019. St. Petersburg has many palaces, so I had to at least visit one. I took the morning train to Peterhof Palace, supposedly an easy, one-hour ride, but I overshot it. When I asked the ticket inspectors if I was near my destination, they told me I had gone past it. Instead of commiseration, fined me on the spot for travelling beyond the destination I paid for. So, instead of a cheap, 60-rubles ride, the ticket inspector fined me another 200 rubles, then I had to pay another fare to get back on track. It was a lot of hassle, but well worth it.

Not having prebooked my entry to the palace, I could not get into the palace building, so I spent a lot of time enjoying the garden around it. The scale was really something, yet, every growth was manicured and trimmed to near perfection. This was indeed a garden fit for a king. His wishes were everyone’s command back then, so he could have anything, even someone else’s garden. The fountain gushed, the crowd chirped, the golden domes and statues glittered, the vegetation was green and fresh, but, alas, the sky was downcast. That did not dampen my spirits, however. In the old days, to the victors go the spoils; today, no one begrudges such opulence, only admires its grandeur. This was for me the highlight of St. Petersburg.

^{1/8/2019 圣彼德堡因保留着许多宫殿而闻名，因此我必须至少到最著名的彼得霍夫宫殿一睹为快。一早赶到火车站，本来是不到一小时六十卢布车票就可到车程，因错站给检票员罚了两百卢布， 折腾一阵后才抵达。我的人生的确因为自找麻烦而神奇。因没提前买票，无法进入宫殿，我还以为金钱能使鬼推磨。在宫殿大花园兜了几小时，花草树木都修剪得几乎完美， 规模之大， 不愧是国王的花园。今天喷泉都竞相飞舞，金色圆顶和雕像大放光芒，绿草叶展现最鲜明颜色，虽乌云密布，但没扫兴。没人嫉妒这无度挥霍，只欣赏富丽堂皇。}