A 2-day Visit to St Petersburg in Russia
We’re on two back-to-back cruises (28 days in total) on the Viking Sun sailing from Stockholm to Greenwich. We are booked into an Explorer’s Suite and pleased to say that WOW factor has yet again been achieved by yours truly. Our stateroom is hugely spacious with separate bedroom, individual sitting and dining spaces, expansive bathroom, incredibly large wraparound balcony/verandah and overall, immaculately well-appointed inclusive of own personal butler. Incidentally, Viking Cruises do not allow gambling and passage is restricted to 18yrs and older.
Docking at St Petersburg
Our excursion to St Petersburg has been on our “to do” list for many years. Our expectations are seriously heightened. As we moored, the skyline around the large harbour is dominated by the Gazprom Rocket building which happens to be the highest tower in Europe and also numerous newly-built apartment blocks standing alongside the old communist-era apartments. They are quite a contrast indeed!
Gazprom is of course a global energy company who is majority owned by the Russian Government and headquartered in St Petersburg. Its activities gross in excess of US$120B in sales. It owns the world’s largest gas transmission system (175,000 kms!). Rather strangely for Russia, Gazprom is considered a reliable supplier of gas to the world.
Gauntlet of Russian Immigration
We needed to go through Russian Immigration as most of us do not have a visa and so will only be allowed ashore with an accredited and organised group.
Moreover, we were repeatedly and strongly advised that we will need to be patient with Russian Immigration as they are extremely thorough, very official, detailed in perusing documents, will not tolerate any breach in security, have NO sense of humour whatsoever AND at all times we must carry our passport with us, our Viking Card, our Tour Ticket AND our QuiteVox audio sets.
We were subtlety “advised” that any breach of the above may result in consequences, depending on the breech! Nanna of course thought all this is a great adventure…
…. which leads me to my major dread: Nanna’s oft attempt at “sharing with others” her Aussie humour☹!! I “advised” (actually beseeched☹!!) Nanna several times as we walked to the Russian Immigration Hall that she must “honour and abide” the advice given by our esteemed tour guide…. and so, my dread is that she would be detained (or worse locked up!!) for any breach of the above….
I promised myself that I would buy a lottery ticket if she isn’t locked up or detained ☹….
So, we get into the Russian Immigration Hall. There are several lines. Only allowing 1 person at a time!
The officials weren’t interested in a husband accompanying a wife and visa-versa! Nanna’s looking around….
….she thinks that she sees a line which she claimed was going through faster. I said to her we stay where we are as the Immigration Officer for our line is female and I couldn’t see the other officers! …. and it’s a “known fact” that female Immigration Officers have a general disposition to be “less official” (yea, I read a lot of spy novels😊). It is slow going!
So while patiently waiting for our turn, Nanna takes out her iPhone and prepares to take a photo of the Immigration booth…. with the Immigration Officer in it!! …. I freaked! …. I had this momentary nightmare of a platoon of Spetnaz Special Operations soldiers rappelling down from hidden crevasses in the roof and carting her away! …. Fortunately, my gentle persuasion resolved the near calamity! (yea, I snatched the iPhone from her!)…. Nanna is clearly the more adventurous of us two. She relies on me planning our entire travel itineraries to wherever yet I know (and actually look forward to) that at least once a day, my beloved will throw a “random” into my “well planned” itinerary….living on the edge😊….
After what seemed like an eternity, we managed to be processed. We then ran the gauntlet of working out which bus we’re to go on. When we finally get to our designated bus, Nanna precedes me, as usual, and on entering the bus, turns to the Russian bus driver and loudly says “Is this the bus to Disneyland?!?!” …. I almost cried I kid you not! …. I mean, OMG!! The bus driver with large bushy eyebrows and a facial scowl to match, gives her a withering look…. the only salvation I had hoped for is that he didn’t understand English although I doubt it because the “look” he gave her clearly conveyed “don’t take the piss out of me voman!” …. This is my beautiful, impulsive and lively wife! I aged considerably in the last 1.5 hours! …. but she gives me reason to live😊! …. Never a dull moment when she’s around😊….
History of St Petersburg
Insofar as Russia is concerned, St Petersburg occupies a preeminent position in the Gulf of Finland leading into the Baltic Sea. This is principally because such a position provides Russia with access to Western Europe’s seas for trade and military operations. St Petersburg was first settled by Swedish colonists when they established a settlement at the mouth of the Neva River (in Russian it means: “name of a river”!).
At the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great, who was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, wanted Russia to gain a seaport to trade with the rest of Europe. He needed a better seaport than the country’s main one at the time which was Arkhangelsk (on the White Sea in the far north). The White Sea was closed to shipping during the winter (iced over).
Consequently, in 1703 during Russia’s war with Sweden (known as The Great Northern War), the settlement at Neva River was captured and Peter the Great built the Peter & Paul Fortress.
Over the subsequent years, Peter the Great moved his capital from Moscow to St Petersburg and over the next 200 years, it essentially remained the capital of Imperial Russia until the takeover by the communists in 1917. St Petersburg name was so named in 1703. It changed to Petrograd in 1914, to Leningrad in 1924 and finally changed back St Petersburg in 1991 when democratic and free elections were held (after the fall of Soviet communism). St Petersburg has a population of 5.2m. Greater St Petersburg has 350+ bridges crisscrossing its land.
The city of St Petersburg
The city of St Petersburg is a bold and successful attempt by Peter the Great at emulating Europe of his time. He succeeded admirably and so rightly earned the city the title of Russia’s most Western City. It is a splendid city steeped in history, bravery, grandeur and endeavour.
Russia has been invaded a few times but it has NEVER been conquered and this is nowhere more so epitomised then by highlighting the siege of St Petersburg by Nazi Germany in WWII: a siege which lasted 900 days and in which just over 1.0m Russians died (600k from starvation and 400k Russian soldiers). Incredibly, during the Nazi occupation, many of the palaces were almost completely destroyed yet post WWII, they were painstakingly restored to previous grandeur.
Over the past 50 years, the growth in and around St Petersburg accelerated as oil, gas, shipbuilding, trade and vodka manufacture became more prominent after the fall of the Soviet Empire.
I should point out that after Soviet communism collapsed, hyperinflation gripped Russia and St Petersburg wasn’t excluded. This resulted in most people losing their lifesavings (Russian Ruble) as the currency became almost worthless internationally. The collapse of Soviet communism also ushered in the emergence of “oligarchs”. These were/are generally former communist hierarchy members who carved out their empires in the heady days of privatisation usually through stand-over tactics and corrupt means.
Pushkin Town
So, we are now on the tour bus. Our tour guide is Natalie. Competent, knowledgeable, care conscience, streetwise and she has arranged our schedule so as we’re first into the palaces. As she introduced herself, someone loudly says the “do as she says, she’s KGB” 😊Anyway, we’re on our way to Pushkin Town (Czars Village), named after Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.
Pushkin is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet ever and the founder of modern Russian literature. (Pushkin was born into Russian nobility in Moscow and traces his lineage to a slave adopted by a Royal).
The ride to Pushkin Town is about an hour. The coach exceptionally comfortable! We see a semblance of the old communist rule in some of the apartment blocks: whilst only on the outskirts and only few in numbers, they are worn out, old and desperately requiring maintenance. Reminds me of Romania and Bulgaria.
Pushkin Town is home to Catherine’s Summer Palace. This palace was once the home of the Romanov Imperial Family. On arrival we begin marveling at the HUGE size and majesty of the many buildings making up the palace and the opulence they behold.
Catherine’s Summer Palace
Catherine’s Summer Palace has been a MUST to explore on us visiting St Petersburg. Equally a MUST is ensure booking a qualified English speaking tour of the Palace (the horror stories I’ve read about in my research cued me to this!).
Once inside, we were required to put on a special cloth-like cover on our shoes to protect the parquetry floors (or perhaps to save on polishing the floors😊??).
As we went from room to room, we’re all agog at the grandeur and luxury bestowed on these buildings by the Romanovs (perhaps little wonder there was a revolution??). Gold is everywhere and heralds the Romanovs’ affluence. Carrara marble is in abundance. Art work is beautiful, many of which depict the then known world. Architecture is astounding.
The Amber Room in this palace is amazing. It was ransacked by the Nazis and was rebuilt after the war. It cost 25.0m euros just to buy the basic amber material to reconstruct the room let alone the painstaking task (25 years!) of actually replacing it.
What made this amber rebuilding job so expensive was that cutting, carving and tinting the amber suffered a loss of 90% of the amber bought thus only 10% was able to be used!! Fortunately, all of the amber required was sourced “locally” (from within Russia/Soviet Union).
The palace has many large sitting rooms. According to our guide, the reason is that in pre-electricity/gas light era, the only light available for dinner parties (which was everyday!!) came from candles. Candles only burned for 40 minutes and so had to be replaced, therefore whilst the servants replaced the candles in the dining room, a task which also took 40 minutes, guests moved to sitting rooms to await replacement before resuming their dinner. Tough life!!…. All rooms had floor to ceiling blue and white porcelain fireplaces. Ground floors were for servants and food preparation.
After about 2.5 hours, we exited the palace from a truly culturally enhancing tour. Once outside we were glad we booked a tour given the long queue of people buying tickets.
Lunch at Podvorye
For lunch we were taken to a restaurant called Podvorye (The Coach House): a wonderful and huge log structure in the middle of a birch forest. Totally quaint, serving delightful food and apparently was used by President Putin to celebrate one of his birthdays. To accompany our great food, we had vodka shots and wines! …. oh, yea😊
Our guide informed us that Podvorye is Russia’s most authentic Russia restaurant and is well patronised by locals and international visitors. The food presented was considerable ranging from a variety of pickled vegetables in a honey sauce, stuffed tomatoes, a selection of grilled meats and fish, numerous condiments (yogurt, sour cream, etc.) and mixture of hot & cold salads….
St Isaac’s Cathedral of Dalmatia
After lunch we went to visit St Isaac’s Cathedral of Dalmatia. The building of this cathedral was started in 1818 and took 40 years to complete. The huge bronze doors reminded me so much of the doors of St George’s Basilica in Gozo. The decor inside is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings, marble columns and large, brightly colored stained glass windows. As for the outside, there’s an abundance of facades decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns….suffice to say that its an impressive structure!
As a result of the Soviets decision in 1931 to close down ALL religious activities, the cathedral has functioned as a museum only since then. Peter the Great was born on the feast day of this saint and so the hierarchy dedicated this to the great Czar.
Evening of Day 1
By this time, it was getting late as we needed to be back at the ship by 5.00. We stopped briefly for a swift visit to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood which commemorates the assassination of Alexander II. It was completed in 1907. On route we passed, Mariinsky Palace, the House of Books (Singer House), numerous canals which, when built, meant to duplicate the canals of Venice and Paris, Faberge Palace, Admiralty buildings and several boulevards.
In the evening we attended a ballet performance of Swan Lake. I have never been to the ballet!! and so, to go for the first time in this city, was…. well, it was a first and a last! The only saving feature was the beautiful music by Tchaikovsky which I have always thoroughly enjoyed however, it ticked THAT box.
Day 2 of St Petersburg visit
Today is a Public Holiday in St Petersburg. It commemorates the lifting of the siege of the Great War (WWII) and citizens march down the streets holding placards adorned with photos of relatives lost in that war.
They certainly revere and honour their fallen soldiers and after the march, they celebrate till the small hours. Very much like ANZAC in Australia.
Our guide (same one as yesterday: Natalie) maintains her mantra around our vigilance. She urges us to stay in a group as she doesn’t want to “lose anyone to Siberia”😊. She warns us of the dangers from pickpockets and stressed on us constantly to put nothing in our back pockets AND hold our bags in front of us….this we dutifully did😊
The Hermitage, St Petersburg
Today we spent half of our day at The Hermitage, the world’s second largest museum after The Louvre of Paris. This place was once the Imperial Winter Palace (or Royal Residence) and subsequently renamed The Hermitage, meaning “the place to be alone”.
We arrived with 40 minutes to spare and so we were let loose to stroll around and explore Victory Square. This we did and in so doing captured a couple of magnificent shots of The Hermitage as the sun continued to climb and cast its gaze on the Hermitage’s golden domes.
Standing erect in the middle of the square and sentinel-like is the Alexander Column which is the tallest triumphal column in the world.
Our guide had done her homework and secured our group as the first group to enter The Hermitage. While we waited for the doors to open, our guide filled us with more information about Russia and St Petersburg. She told us the meaning of the word “burg” is “stone settlement” and “grad” means “medieval or heroic”. St Petersburg has over 100 museums (including The Vodka Museum and The Mitten Museum!!) and 30 different theaters. Russia is made up of over 130 ethnic groups! The double headed eagle on the coat of arms was inherited from the last Holy Roman Empire’s Emperor who married an Imperial Russian princess and so brought the emblem to Russia. The Russian Orthodox Religion has been at the centre of Russian politics for hundreds of years and even during the Soviet era exercised influence.
The Interior of The Hermitage
We were in this magnificent place for over 3 hours, entering through the majestic Jordon Staircase. The time was fleeting and so only glimpsed a small number of its wonders.
We went through Peter the Great Hall, the fabulous rooms with their inlaid floors and gilded woodwork and we saw treasures from ancient Rome and China.
We paused at the magnificent Peacock Clock, a 240+ year old automaton that methodically transforms from a stationary golden statue to a moving work of art…. and wondrously “exploding” into shining metallic peacock! Chandeliers abound, Carrara marble proliferates. A lot of marble is infused with gold. Tapestries and mosaics were everywhere.
We saw some of the paintings produced by the Masters of the Art World which included the heady group of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso and Caravaggio. Despite our group being first through, we were soon overtaken and subsequently “sandwiched” amongst the visiting hordes! This place takes in an average of 10,000 tourists per day (unlike the Vatican which takes in 50,000/day!!)
We had a great time. It’s a place I wouldn’t mind revisiting and doing at our own pace. There’s so much to see and reflect on. The place and its contents are amazingly educational and stunning. I would have to say “bravo Russia” for maintaining and sharing this wonder of the world!
Peterhof Palace
After lunch, we were taken to town of Peterhof and Peterhof Palace itself.
This place is the palace, garden and fountains commissioned by Peter the Great in a direct response/challenge to the Palace of Versailles (built by Louis XIV of France).
Originally intended in 1709 for country habitation, Peter the Great sought to expand the property as a result of his visit to the French royal court in 1717, inspiring the nickname used by tourists “The Russian Versailles”.
The palace-ensemble along with the city center is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We spent the rest of the afternoon here and what a wondrous time it was.
Incidentally, Peter the Great nicknamed this palace “My Pleasure Palace”. The inside of this palace follows nearly the same layout as the Hermitage but obviously on a smaller scale.
It is the gardens and fountains that are the beauty to behold. We couldn’t but help comparing them to the Tivoli Fountains in Italy (on the way to Todi). There are 64 fountains in the display and their waters flow into a semicircular pool. The surrounding gardens are a welcome relief.
We concluded our visit here with a return via hydrofoil. This was exhilarating.
Epilogue to St Petersburg
The 2 days exploring this huge city have been a “bucket list” item for both of us for many years. It was worth the wait and would encourage everyone to visit…. It’s been a highlight.
