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The Catherine Palace was first built in 1710 by Peter the Great for his second wife, Catherine, but it was remodeled twice during the time of Elizabeth and had to be fully restored after World War II, when the German troops, whose front lines extended just past this location left it in ruins.

Tsarskoe Selo means “Tsar’s village”. After the Communist revolution the town name was changed to Pushkin, in honor of one of Russia’s more famous poets, but now both names seem to be in common use.

We explored Pushkin on our first full day in Russia with our guide Mark, a reed-thin student of philology with bleached blonde hair and an earring. He speaks five languages (fortunately, one of which is English) and led us through several stops on the palatial Metro system. The Metro stations, decorated with sculpture and chandeliers celebrating the glory of the Communist era in which they were built, were a destination in themselves.

We continued on a crowded minibus to get there. We were glad to have a guide. We found Mark through Olga Stepanova, another of our guides. It was wonderful to have guides who knew their way around the city, took us where we wanted to go, and patiently answered all our questions.

Although there are many things to see in Pushkin, we focused on three: the Catherine Palace, the Alexander Palace, and the magnificent grounds between the two.

Amber, the fossilized sap from trees, is used mostly in jewelry. The Amber Room, however, is completely paneled with it. The panels were originally made for Frederick the Great of Prussia, to be used in one of his palaces. When Peter saw them, he arranged to have them shipped to Russia instead, in exchange for 17 of Russia’s best soldiers. Unfortunately, the beautiful amber panels were moved by the Germans to the Koenigsberg Castle in 1945. They were never seen after that, despite extensive searches. It is thought that they may have been destroyed in a fire in the castle. The panels were recently re-created (a generous portion of the funding was provided by Ruhrgas, a German company) and the restored Amber Room was opened in in May, 2003 for the 300-year anniversary of St. Petersburg. So, we were privileged to be among the first to visit the Amber Room. In a word: Breathtaking!

The "painting" here is actually a mosaic made of semi-precious stones such as jasper.

Yes indeed, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

The grounds were carefully planned. It was clear that the architect had considered every angle and every view so that no matter where you looked- out of a window, through a courtyard -- the result was pleasing to the eye. Catherine the Great loved walking here. Nicholas and Alexandra and their children came here to relax, although they preferred to live in the smaller Alexander Palace.

The park is still popular with Russians who enjoy strolling through the grounds and boating in the water just as the Tsars and their families did. The building shown above is the Turkish bathhouse, with the Cameron Gallery in the distance.

The boathouse, where the Empress' private boats (and the soldiers who cared for them) were kept.

The Children's House was constructed on this island for the children of Tsar Nicholas I in 1830. It was also used as a playhouse by the children of Tsar Nicholas II.

Peter III (Catherine's husband) had this Admiralty built so that he could stage mock naval battles on the lake, using scale-model boats.

One of the statues of Atlantis on the facade of the palace. We tend to think of Russia as a great landmass but the sea has long been an important factor in the aspirations, politics and persona of the Russian ruling classes

The Cameron Gallery section of the building. This is a favorite site for newlyweds to have their pictures taken.

This statue of Pushkin was created for this spot in 1900. It had to be replaced in 1990, though. The Germans used the original for target practice during the occupation.

Another view of the Cameron Gallery.

Still another view of the Palace, with the spires of the chapel in the background.

The Alexander Palace, a short distance from the Catherine Palace was built in 1792 by Catherine for Alexander, her favorite grandson. A few rooms are open to the public but, unfortunately, not when we visited. It was here that Tsar Nicholas II and his family were virtually imprisoned until August 1, 1917, after which they were transported to Ekaterinberg and eventually murdered.