Fall in suburban Alexandria Park

While the weather in our city is generous with rain and wind, I decided to look through old photo folders. In one of these folders I found photos that I took three years ago during a walk in Alexandria Park. It was one of the most beautiful days of Golden Autumn. The weather was dry and sunny for several days in a row. I tried to use all my free time to walk. I managed to visit several city gardens and two country parks. I took so many photos that I published only a part of them at once, the rest were postponed for later.

Park Alexandria is one of the imperial parks in Peterhof. If I had to describe the mood of this park in one word, I would say that it is a family park. If you want to have a place for country rest with your family, you buy a cottage with a small plot of land, build a gazebo, organise a place for barbecue... That's how this park appeared - as a place for rest. No lavish palace receptions and balls, just breakfast with your family and leisurely walks.

The main imperial palace in this park bears little resemblance to other imperial palaces. It is a small cosy building in the centre of the park, which bears the name ‘Palace Cottage’. Emperor Nicholas I built this palace-cottage for his wife, Empress Alexandra. The Empress did not like opulence, her dream was a simple pastoral landscape. The park was named Alexandria in honour of the Empress.

Palace Cottage stands at the top of the coastal escarpment, then the shore slopes gently down towards the bay. I arrived at the park in the middle of the day, and walked until sunset. At the beginning of the walk, I walked down the park alleys down to the bay. The bay is shallow at this point. Along the shore stretches a strip of shrubs and low trees. Their branches form beautiful natural frames for seascapes.

I then walked up to the Cottage and reached the western boundary of the park. The autumn days are short. Even in the middle of the day, the sun doesn't rise too high above the horizon and the trees cast long shadows. The further I walked, the longer and thicker the shadows became. Gradually, the alleys and paths were completely in shadow, the sun reaching only to the tops of the trees.

The Church of St Alexander Nevsky is located near the western border of the park. This church was the house church of the imperial family. It is built in the Gothic style - in the years when this church was built, the Gothic style was popular. It was the time of the Romantics. Medieval ballads, mysterious castles... Some of the park pavilions were built in the Gothic style.

Near the church, I walked down to the bay again. The character of the shoreline had changed quite a bit at this point. No bushes or reeds, just a few tall trees, a clean sandy beach and a rocky path. A flock of ducklings swam up to the shore. The sun was already finishing its daily route and soon disappeared behind the horizon.