Off to the land of White Nights

Our adventure got off to an excellent start – Phil and Marg drove us to the station and we caught the 1:30 train to Central. Our airport transfer was smooth and we met Helen shortly before 6. At check in time we were offered an earlier flight with lots of extra leg room and a trip to the Emirates lounge. We accepted and, with not all that much time to spare, we pretended we were rich! 2 glasses of Verve Cliquot and some very nice nibblies set me up for the flight. We ended up flying via Bangkok and many hours later arrived in Dubai. Thence onto St Petersburg – a very different airport to Dubai. Progress through immigration was slow but faster than getting through Washington. Our only concern was that our driver was only booked for an hour and we exceeded that time.  Having finally got through immigration and non existent customs we were very pleased to see a young man holding up a “Barbara Harper” notice. Although we only had 3 undersized bags they wouldn’t fit in the boot so we put one in the car – off we set through some very crazy traffic to our hotel. After 32 hours of travel and still wearing the same socks we arrived at the Nevsky Express. Our driver was excellent.

Through a back door we went and into an establishment that looked a trifle run down - if you had never stayed in a small European hotel before you may have been horrified. We negotiated our arrival and had what turned out to be a very pleasant experience – entering via the front door was more encouraging. The staff, mostly non English speakers, were friendly and helpful and the room itself was spotless. The bed was comfy and the shower was hot. We are apparently the first Australians to stay at this place under this management and we were made most welcome.

Then it was time for a little exploration. Just amazing! We found a very colourful orange fast food / pancake shop where we had a very Russian dinner. No English spoken at all! I had borsch (unlike any I have ever before), Tony thought he was having a buckwheat pancake but ended up with buckwheat and Helen had a pancake with pork and pickles. I even had a beer (nothing else to drink!). It was delicious and very very cheap.

Breakfast was excellent.

Then more walking – and a few hundred photos of some strange and amazing things.

Our taxi was booked for 12 and I was hoping that I had explained clearly that when we got to the indicated area he was not to leave until we were sure we had found the boat. The price was negotiated to be 900 roubles. As we had been warned that the boat might change location the very helpful young man at the hotel rang the shipping line – no answer – so off we set.

Our arrival at the point we were heading for indicated that the boat was on the other side of the river so off we set again. The driver was clearly a little uncomfortable as this was taking longer than expected – he found our boat for us and when last seen he was waving and smiling broadly. We did not stick to the quoted price and our tip was obviously what was needed.

The boat (not called the same as we had expected from our booking) is better than expected. Food is excellent, as is the wine, tea and coffee at all times and a very comfortable cabin. Ours is quite spacious – Helen’s is micro but still very comfortable. We have booked some optional times and we are considering some little purchases in the gift shop! The WiFi seems to be operating, though we have been warned that further north we will lose the connection.

It is now 10:30 – I am about to make the trip down the corridor (do you call it a corridor?) and get a cup of tea. The sky is still light – but we have excellent block out curtains. Tomorrow  -  a trip to The Hermitage and tomorrow evening “Swan Lake”. Should be a great day. The weather is fine -  just worn a light long sleeve top today.

The St Petersburg experience continues…….

Our first land trip with the tour group was to The Hermitage, the largest art gallery in the country. The most special of all its buildings (for me) was the Winter Palace, built between 1754 and 1762. The design was by Bartolommeo Rastrelli, a name we have heard often since we arrived. Catherine the Great began the collection in 1764 and there are now more than 3 million items. It was quite an impressive collection including works by Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet, Manet, Gaugin and more. Lots of people, lots of rules!!!!!

During the afternoon we listened to a concert by the Mariinsky Theatre. Then back to the Hermitage to see Swan Lake. What excellent costumes, sets and orchestra! The ballet was also good though some non ballet fans had a little nap.

We were somewhat tired by bedtime but were up early on Sunday for a drive to Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar’s Village) or Pushkin to visit the palace given to Catherine in 1708. This palace had been built for Peter the Great and was burnt to the ground during the great siege. Now it is restored to its former glory and has a very impressive 600 foot blue, white and gold façade. The Amber Room which we were not allowed to photograph was amazingly magnificent. The gold walls of the halls and the shiny mirrors were also pretty special. During the afternoon it was off to the Peter and Paul fortress – the original citadel and birthplace of the city and then more exploration of the city and Nevsky Prospect. Night time saw us enjoying the Folklore Cossack show in a tent on the shore near the ship.

We decided to pay for some extra tours as well as doing the included ones and, as a result, set off for Peterhof Grand Palace and Park early on Monday morning. It turned out to be a fabulous day weather wise and our exploration of Peter the Great’s Versailles by the Sea was tremendous. The famed Grand Cascade of 3 waterfalls, 64 fountains and 37 statues (12 miles of water movement all without pumping stations) was accompanied by music as the water started to flow. The sun was shining, people were everywhere and the sky was blue. There are souvenir shops everywhere – lots of street vendors and matryoshka dolls pop up all over the place. The flowers in the gardens were in full bloom – lots of tulips in particular. We even saw The Gulf of Finland – I liked that!

Our next afternoon activity was a cruise along the canals of the city. We sat outside even though it was quite cool and at times were sitting on the floor of the boat as the bridges were very very low. Another great excursion.

The long long hours of daylight means that we have been able to look at the scenery until almost midnight and at 10 on Monday night we sailed out of the Neva River and into Lake Lagoda, passing an old fortress, Schluesselburg. Lake Lagoda is Europe’s largest freshwater lake and 70 rivers add their icy flow to its volume.

Tuesday was time for some lectures and learning and then we arrived at Mandrogy. (Verchnie Mandrogi). The 29 homesteads were burned down during the war of 1941-1945. The township has been reconstructed and is now home to 150 people and workers who create and sell crafts. Helen and I had fun here painting our own nesting dolls. The town did not offer us a job in their factories – we were too good!

Kizhi Island was Thursday morning’s start to the day. We landed early and set off at 8. The island itself is right near the centre of Lake Onega and is 3 ½ miles long and ½ mile wide. Kizhi Pogost consists of 2 major churches and a bell tower. This area was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Russian Cultural Heritage List. The wooden domed churches have been built without nails and we saw a shingle maker cutting the shingles from what I think was birch – extremely light wood in both colour and weight. It ages to a beautiful shimmery silver. The icon wall inside the Russian Orthodox church was beautiful and we were able to take photographs. There is also a wonderful old farmhouse and we explored its nooks and crannies – it had lots of furniture, stoves, looms, tools and sleds. Our tourist guide spoke clearly and well – she was a lovely young lady.

And then, leisurely sailing along the Volga Baltic Canal – lots of huge locks, hydroelectric power stations, dredges, timber wharves, boats, and the occasional fisherman. We are now sailing across the Rybinsk Reservoir which sadly had to flood houses and churches. Such is the price of progress. We have decided not to attend this morning’s history lecture but this afternoon we are landing at Kuzino for an afternoon in the Russian provinces.

We have no complaints except that the internet is very slow and we have not actually been able to send messages. I doubt that I will be able to upload any photos until we get to Moscow but I will try. We have taken lots. We have many power points in our room so it is easy to recharge. Health wise we are faring well except for the odd stomach gurgle and some mosquito bites.  Every meal has been different and there is always a selection of meat/ fish or vegetarian for the evening meal. Lunch and breakfast are buffet meals. I had brussel sprouts this morning - I figured one should try what is presented!  I have eaten all sorts of things regardless of the hour of the day – it is always a reasonable time somewhere!

Helen has been upgraded to a full sized room.