Russia | North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter

Novgorod is a beautiful city in Russia, I am just back from a visit.

Veliky Novgorod (Russian: Вели́кий Но́вгород, IPA: [vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət]), also known as Novgorod the Great, or Novgorod Veliky, or just Novgorod, is one of the most important historic cities in Russia,^[15] which serves as the administrative center of Novgorod Oblast. It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen.

Population: 218,717 (2010 Census);^[8] 216,856 (2002 Census);^[16] 229,126 (1989 Census).^[17]At its peak during the 14th century, the city was the capital of the Novgorod Republic and one of Europe’s largest cities.^[18]

Anyway, I was there to visit my wife’s parents. I stayed a week and had the luck to visit quite a few wonderful places.

First, is the Novgorod Kremlin, which is a giant castle-like enclosed area, with turrets, moats and the like, situated on a bluff above the Volkhov River.

I did a Photo Tour there one evening.

: My Tour Guides: L to R: Milana; Sonia; Oxana (my wife’s best friend and Mom of the two girls); Svetlana, my wife; Max, our son, and Vladimir, my wife’s dad

: View from outside. Note the moat!

: A corresponding view of the inside.

: Beach along the river

There is a foot bridge that crosses the Volkhov River connecting the Kremlin to a part of the city with many very old churches. We strolled over and about.

: Volkhov River, from the foot bridge

: Sonia, Oxana, Milana

: Volkhov River, from the foot bridge

As the sun set the colors were amazing. It was an incredibly pleasant city for a sunset stroll!

Not far from the city is a famous Monastery, St. George’s Monastery. We visited and walked about. There is a walled, enclosed area, and several churches, one of which we visited inside. The monastery is along the shores of a lake, and out side is a beach filled with people sunbathing and having a cookout!

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

: St. George’s Monastery

There was another monastery we visited, arrived just as it was closing, and so I was only able to sneak in for a few quick pics before they locked me in!

I recently visited Russia. More specifically, I visited Saint Petersburg and Novgorod.

The reasons for the trip were many, my wife, Svetlana is from Novgorod and goes every summer with our son, Max, to visit her parents. This year happened to provide the World Cup Soccer spectacle in Russia, and so we entered a lottery, (never expecting to win) for a semi-final match, on July 10th, (which is Max’s birthday), and we won!

France vs. Belgium, Semi-final, July 10th @ Saint Petersburg Stadium

Winning in this sense meant that we were now allowed to purchase the tickets for the game!

And so we received our tickets and booked the flights to St Pete.

My brief stay in the city took us to several wonderful spots where I managed a few images. Here are two random shots from the streets.

One of the places we visited was St Isaac’s Cathedral. Here is the info on the place from Wikipedia.

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (Russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral (sobor) in the city. It is the largest orthodox basilica and the fourth largest (by the volume under the cupola) cathedral in the world.^[5] It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint.

And here are some of my images. You can tour inside, AND navigate the stairs to the roof as well!

Next we visited the Peterhof Palace. Again, info from Wikipedia here.

The Peterhof Palace (Russian: Петерго́ф, IPA: [pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof],^[1] German for Peter’s Court)^[2] is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the “Russian Versailles“.