The Hermitage is My Favorite

If you ever come to St. Petersburg, here is a recommendation for you: get lost in the Hermitage. It's pretty inevitable that you will get lost anyway - the Russian managers keep everyone on their toes by closing rooms and staircases at whim - but especially if you tend to have a controlling, type-A personality, just get lost. I didn't expect it today: I had a map on which I marked my trekked path with check marks, and I have been inside the Hermitage four or five times already so I figured I was familiar with the basic layout. It's pretty fun to think you're hot stuff in the Hermitage, to feel like you've at least walked past most of the rooms, and to find yourself in an entirely new wing or even building ("wait, they have archaeological artifacts in here??"). Anyway, after some quality wanderings and map consultations I found an exit, notably not the one I anticipated.

What makes the Hermitage stand out from all other art museums in the world is the amazing history packed into the palace itself. The Winter Palace was:
-the permanent residence of the Russian tsars until 1881
-the scene of an assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II
-a temporary residence of the Romanov family
-the scene of the 1905 Bloody Sunday protest against the monarchy
-the meeting place when the last tsar Nicholas II reluctantly created the first Duma (Russian parliament)
-used in part for a military hospital during WWI
-the meeting place of the Provisional Government after the Russian Revolution
-stormed by the Bolsheviks when they arrested the Provisional Government and took control
-subject to stripping of Imperial symbols under the Soviets
As I walked through, I kept wanting to know what this or that room used to be - often impossible questions because the Palace has changed hands so many times!

Today (literally)

Tsar Nicholas II's opening speech before the Duma (1906)

Malachite Room - Meetings of Provisional Government

Imperial Dining Room - Arrest of Provisonal Government

Don't even get me started on the art collection. Artifacts from Ancient Egypt, European art, Asian art, Byzantine art - today I found the third floor, lol, (shared feelings of accomplishment with about eight other people) and enjoyed a wing of Picasso, Matisse, Gaugain, Rodin, and VanGogh. The only shame is that the history of interiors of the palace tend to overshadow the art for us poor visitors. :)
A wonderful way to spend a cold, snowy day!
Эмили