Saint Petersburg, Russia

Our arrival was early in the morning and we had a long day ahead of us. We needed to meet our tour group at 7:45. We had, as well, lost an hour during the voyage due to crossing into another time zone.

The first vision of St. Petersburg

From our verandah one could view two incredibly long apartment complexes which appeared to be from the Soviet era. There was a delay by the officials who must give the ship permission to dock and off-load passengers. The terminal building was new, modern and incredibly clean. We had to pass through passport control which took a very long time. Each passport had to be examined, scanned, information entered into a computer, and depending upon the official further examined, paged through, examined again, had the passport picture compared to the live version of the bearer, examined again, more computer entry, finally stamped and a document issued which would allow one to leave the country. It seemed to take forever.

Once on the bus, we began our tour of “Imperial Russia.” This would take us through the city into the countryside to the magnificent summer palace of the czars. The palace is set in the middle of 

A portion of the Summer Palace

beautiful gardens modeled on Versailles, which seems to be the model coveted by many rulers of the previous centuries. 

The palace itself has an incredible amount of gold-leafed carving, beautifully inlaid floors, and an abundance of chandeliers, furniture, china, vases, and other decorative items. It is the antithesis of the life of the poor people of the empire. 

The fountain cascade

There is a canal which connects the palace with the Gulf of Finland. Approaching from the Gulf one sees the magnificent array of fountains including the cascade at the foot of the palace which has been so beautifully pictured many times. 

The canal to the Gulf of Finland

After our tour through the palace and our walk through the gardens, we boarded an hydrofoil to return to the city. Re-boarding our bus we traveled into the city to have lunch at a lovely hotel. There was a salad of vegetables, beef stroganoff over rice, and a slice of rich cake with candied fruit within. I thought it to be very good.

The Church on the Spilled Blood

We then continued our bus tour with a few more stops, including at the Church of the Resurrection, otherwise known as the Church on the Spilled Blood. It is the sight of the assassination of the 

The site of the Czar's death

Czar who admired Abraham Lincoln and had corresponded with him following which he freed the serfs in his empire. He was apparently well loved. The church is spectacular within and without. It is the only church in St. Petersburg to have the ornate and highly colored exterior. 

Mosaics in the Church

The interior is completely covered with mosaics. It is now mainly a museum with the liturgy being celebrated there only on Sunday morning.

Interior of the dome

The Royal Doors

Returning to the ship we had to go through passport control again which was another slow process. We then had an hour for a rushed dinner before congregating for our evening tour of the 
Hermitage. 

This museum began in the small building next to the winter palace in the heart of Saint Petersburg which Catherine the Great built as a place for her to meet with her various lovers. When she developed a desire to collect art the upper level became a gallery. As her collection expanded the buildings did also to accommodate the art. Now it takes up the whole of the winter palace, the former small hermitage, and a couple of other large buildings.  It is one of the largest art collections in the world. 

The Winter Palace

Not only is the collection spectacular, but the buildings in which it is situated are equal to the art. The most amazing thing, for me, is that much of the interior was destroyed by fire in 1837 and then re-constructed. The second most amazing thing is that one walks on the inlaid floors which are not covered with any protection, the walls, the carving, the building are not protected. It is as if one were walking through an inhabited palace, not a museum. It is in pristine condition.

After this three hour tour we returned to the ship and fell into bed fairly exhausted by this long day.

The next day we were up again to take the city tour of St. Petersburg. This was mostly by bus pointing out many areas of interest in the city. Following this overview we left the bus near the city center and had three hours of free time to roam around. Following lunch at an elegant restaurant favored by Shostakovich, we strolled to the Kazan Cathedral to see the most famous of the Russian icons (or at least the most revered), “Our Lady of Kazan.” There was a long line queued up to reverence the icon so I took a “zoom” shot of it instead. Not quite the same but saved a lot of time.

The Singer Building

Across from this cathedral is a famous art-deco building called the Singer Building. The first floor houses a cafe. On the ground floor is a great book store. Our guide warned us that the prices were very expensive, but I didn’t find them so. The selection of books in English was primarily limited to those of interest to tourists.

Walking along the street to our meeting place there was a magnificent view of the Church on the Spilled Blood. We met the rest of our group there. No one was late so we traveled back to the ship with a couple of hours remaining before setting sail. Following dinner a mime was featured in the theatre who provided an entertaining time. At 11:15 a portion of the crew from the Philippines treated us to a show of native singing and dancing. These crew shows are fun to watch and an interesting way to say a small thank you for all their service.

We were chatting with one of the waiters, Mark, in the bar before the show. He is quite willing to ask about our day and to share information.  We asked about the employment situation on the ship. The contracts they sign are for 10 months. They then are able to return home for 2 to 3 months. They are offered another contract before they leave the ship and that would determine the length of their break. They do not have a paid vacation. He said that the prospects for employment and the economy is so bad in his country (he is from the Philippines)  that a position on the ship provides such a much better income people are willing to be away from their families for 10 months at a time. The bottom rung of the “pecking order” on the ship would be: deck boys, runners in the restaurant, waiters, table captains, bartenders, and then dining room hosts, wine stewards.For those whose work is very good, there awaits more salary and a more prestigious position.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Sleep is necessary after two tiring days. We are on our way to Finland and will gain back one of the hours we lost in traveling to Russia.