9: View of the Hermitage buildings from Trinity Bridge

The Neva River, divided into two streams by the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, is carrying its waters down to the Gulf of Finland, past the most beautiful architectural ensembles gracing its banks. The left bank is lined with an austere and clear-cut row of palaces. The elegant arch of Palace Bridge spanning the river links the left bank with the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island where the white colonnade of the Stock Exchange building flanked by the solemn Rostral Columns attracts our attention. To the right of this fascinating complex, on Hares' Island, stands the formidable Peter and Paul Fortress with a trumpeting angel glistening over it on top of the gilded spire of the cathedral.