Bruce and the Bruces, part 2

Today's Russian History Lesson:

There are four canals in Saint Petersburg, with four different rivers (the four Nevas, if I'm understanding the scheme of things correctly).  Historically, each canal was like a dividing point: the first canal was where the tsar and his family lived, and where you can see magnificent palaces like the Hermitage; the second canal was for the nobility, and there you can see many large and expansive apartments; the third was for those who were simply rich, and there are many well-sized apartments there; and beyond the fourth canal was abject poverty. The canals served as what we call the "glass ceiling" today, barriers between the rich and the poor that kept society stratified.

I mentioned before that my host mother and I walked along the Малая Невка earlier yesterday, its name literally meaning "Little Little Neva". To refresh your memory for the size of this river, I shall again show this picture from yesterday:

Well, today a group of friends and I walked along the Большая Нева, or Big Neva. This was the first of the four canals, and justly deserves the name of the Big Neva:

Just for reference, that little, itty bittty building in the distance? Yeah, that's the Hermitage. It's five buildings long. Be impressed. 

Also, for a little bit of perspective, even that picture isn't really capturing the justice of the "Big Neva" river. The weird border near the middle of the picture is actually a protective barrier for the strangest ship I've ever seen: The Flying Dutchman.

Now, in and of itself, the ship isn't that impressive; it's just a giant pirate-style ship, after all. We have those in the US. The thing that makes this ship strange is that one half of it is a restaurant, and the other half is a fitness club. (A boat-restaurant-fitness-club? What genius!)

Anyway, the river Neva is absolutely gorgeous. I feel very little shame putting up several photos in a row without text, simply because it allows me to show off how very pretty the "Big Neva" can be.

(For those wondering, that golden spire in the distance is a vastly important fortress with much historical and cultural significance, so I'll save it for another post when I've actually been there and have the story straight.)

Another cool piece of the history: this used to be a port, so there are these really neat-looking lighthouses/torches that used to guide the ships to the port. Each of them has the stern of a ship, and the 4 sterns represent the 4 rivers.

Anyways, I think the buildings around the Neva are worthy of a separate post, but this is just the view you get when just walking towards Nevsky Prospect, much less when you're actually ON Nevsky Prospect. For some of the buildings you can see within the area, look only to the next post.