Scandanavia/russia july 6-17 royal review starring florence the tiny zebra

[caribill]

"oreo crusted chocolate peanut butter pie"

 

The best dessert on the ship.

[Pia1913]

Marla: the Talinn instrument is a Swedish Key Fiddle

[westendgirl]

The first time we visited Tallinn, we had never experienced so many and uneven cobbles. We decided they should change the country's name to Es-STONE-ia! :D

[bluenoser2]

Aha! The nykelharpa! Thank you Pia! That one I hadn't had time to figure out yet. And thank you everyone for your encouragements - I'm trying to get this out there as quickly as possible, but you know, life interrupts.

WHAT I LEARNED ON THE ROYAL PRINCESS TODAY: Today, yes, today, I finally reached for the toilet paper first before accidentally getting the facial tissue as I have every other day on the cruise. (Aren’t you glad I shared that with you? It seems fitting somehow for today, where you may notice a bit of a potty theme for the first installment.)

 

 

Anyway…..Up and at’em very early today what with yet another time zone change to contend with. We were up at 5 to get to Horizon by 6 just like everyone else was doing. We were doing another tour with SPB for St. Petersburg, so as directed, we congregated in the assigned waiting area, were given our number for departure, and then in much less time than I had expected, we got off the ship, formed line-ups and went through passport control. Passports solemnly stamped, cards placed inside (that were taken out on our return) and that was it. I had pictured something much scarier after all my research, but it really wasn’t that bad at all. Florence slipped in undetected. Once on “the other side”, SPB was very easy to find again, and we met Vika, the owner of SPB who greeted us, and introduced us to Tatiana, who would be our tour guide for the next 2 days. She in turn, introduced us to Vlad, our driver, and he took us to our Mercedes bus which we would fill with 16 tourists.

 

I struggled to stay awake for the first part of our journey – not because it was boring – I was just THAT tired! I mean, here I was, in Russia, land of my ancestors, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open to see the beautiful buildings on our way into the city! I would have drank more caffeine for breakfast but I was a little concerned about the washroom availability and …uh…how to say this nicely…..cleanliness. Groggy as I was, I did see most of what was going by, and soon we were at our first stop – the subway station.

 

 

We walked through the hallways, and then took the subway for just a short bit, just to have bragging rights – “oh yeah? Well, I’ve been on the subway in Russia!” (I’m sure that will come in useful in many arguments to come…..right up there with “Rain? You call this rain? You haven’t been to Oslo!”). Compared to our first underground experience in London, this was a piece of cake, or torte, or something. But they do dress up their underground areas nicely with mosaic art, and the long escalator ride was fun too. When we returned above, we went to a farm market, where DD2 and I explored the produce (biggest cherries I’ve seen in a long time!). I don’t know about the place you’re from, but they don’t sell caviar in my farmer’s markets! The others went to “try” the public WCs. They chose in the end (pun intended) to forego the experience.

 

 

 

 

Then we were on our little bus again, and off to the hydrofoil that would transport us to Petershof.

 

 

Here DD1 and I braved the WC on board – I wouldn’t have wanted to be any bigger to manoeuvre to get in AND shut the door…. I stayed awake for the whole trip (see, it’s just busses), and on the other side we wended our way to the front of the palace, where the fountains would come on at precisely 11:00, with Gliere’s Hymn of St. Petersburg playing through the speakers. Everyone was there. Everyone. I mean, it was nice and all, but really? I didn’t see much, but I enjoy watching everyone else take pictures of water. It was a lot easier to take the pics at 11:05 when all the fuss was over – no more music, but the fountains really don’t change.

 

 

 

So apparently Pete really was enamored with fountains – there are 150 of them on the grounds, of all different shapes, sizes, and types, including the trickster one that gets you soaked if you don’t know the secret to stepping the right way at the right time. It is a beautiful place, and the gardens were lovely to stroll through.

 

 

 

 

[ggprincess2004]

No Florence!!!! Don't do it! Don't jump!!!! Pleeeeaase......

 

Need to know if Florence jumped or not - please forget the laundry and grocery shopping and continue with the next installment........thanks so much for doing this, it continues to be a wonderful tri!:D

[nisky]

bluenoser2 -

 

We're very much enjoying your reports! When you were docked in Aarhus, where did the shuttle bus drop you off? Was it near any specific building or street?

Thanks very much

nisky

[bluenoser2]

No Florence!!!! Don't do it! Don't jump!!!! Pleeeeaase......

 

Need to know if Florence jumped or not - please forget the laundry and grocery shopping and continue with the next installment........thanks so much for doing this, it continues to be a wonderful tri!:D

 

Oh my, I certainly didn't mean to alarm you with that, though I can see why, with all the concern over her not getting food (she did a lot of room service) and her falling off of precarious photo op points earlier. She was just admiring the view from the Statue of Neptune at Petershof there. No worries. She's the sanest one of our bunch!

 

I'll get back at it. The ironing is done now.

[bluenoser2]

bluenoser2 -

 

We're very much enjoying your reports! When you were docked in Aarhus, where did the shuttle bus drop you off? Was it near any specific building or street?

Thanks very much

nisky

 

You're ever so welcome. It's a lot of fun. In Aarhus we were dropped off an easy 10 minute walk to the Cathedral and then we were pretty much in downtown. Or as DH puts it, 5 minutes to off-centre of town. There are several friendly and helpful tourist information people right at the shuttle drop off who can help get you where you want to go.

[bluenoser2]

Still with me? Excellent. Moving along then......

 

After this little excursion, Vlad picked us up and we were driven to our restaurant for lunch. And washrooms! Real washrooms. Very nice washrooms. After reading reviews on trip advisor about the lunches that weren’t up to much on the 2 day deluxe tour, I wasn’t sure what to expect for the pickier eaters of our family. There was a mushroom noodle soup which I found tasty, but which my DDs – mushroom lovers that they aren’t – wouldn’t touch. The bread was nice, but then, I glanced over across the table that we were sharing with 2 couples on our tour…..and there was DD2 discreetly reaching into her purse, and pulling out half a roll she had saved from the ship the previous day, slathering it with butter and happily munching on it instead of the soup. Oh my. She really is her Russian great-grandmother’s daughter – if she’d had a scarf tied over her head, she would have totally looked the part of the great-grandma she never met. The next course was a bowl of “dumplings” – really little pasta pockets filled with a meat filling, and served with sour cream. These the kids loved and ate all up – we claimed it to be the Kraft Dinner of Russia. It was tasty and did the trick. Dessert was ice-cream of various flavours, which was a nice finish to the meal. There were no complaints from our family, except for a puzzled look from DS who couldn’t understand why the water pitchers would have pieces of lemon and mint floating around in them. “um…I got a leaf of some kind in my water….”.

 

 

Back to the bus, where in spite of a re-fueling of caffeine at lunch, many of us dozed for the drive back into St. Petersburg. Next stop…Catherine Palace, built for Peter the Great’s wife – originally a modest summer home, but eventually rivalling Versailles in its grandeur and size. We all put on the mandatory and uber-fashionable brown paper slippers to shuffle along in. We walked and gawked through amazingly beautiful over-the-top room after room, complete with the Amber Room which I have no desire to mimic in my own home, but it’s still pretty incredible!

 

 

 

 

(the dessert room....of course! We all have a room dedicated to desserts don't we? I'll get right on it now that I have nothing else to do around the house)

 

 

 

 

This was a very warm day, and we were glad for an air conditioned vehicle. Vendors were selling ice-cream treats and hot corn-on-the-cob streetside – smelled good, but didn’t tempt me.

 

 

Lots of weddings on in St. Petersburg today (Saturday). That meant a lot of wedding parties getting pictures taken in palaces, outside of palaces, at the river, and a lot of pretty dirty looking hems of bridal gowns! And this one was for one of those wedding parties:

 

 

Next stop, the Peter and Paul Fortress. Tour fatigue is beginning to set in at this point, not from the physical exertion, but just trying to hold all the information and beauty in one’s head. We were shown the tombs of the tsars in the cathedral, and admired the work and all the gold in the building. Tombs aren’t a big draw for anyone in our family, so we hustled out of there at the first opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

Last stop today was for vodka sampling for those who wanted it, or souvenir shopping, which I don’t think anyone bothered with. Back to the terminal, through passport control, and back to the ship. Hungry and thirsty, we had a lovely meal at our favourite table – they had to really stay on it to keep those water glasses filled, and they did! I was tired enough that decision making was beyond me, so Narin the waiter chose mostly for me and he chose well. Except the rhubarb dessert which I opted out of, since I had enough at home to last me for the year.

 

Some people ask whether they should experience the evening option in St. Petersburg. I think if your day wasn’t too full as ours was, and your brain wasn’t already saturated with all things Russian, by all means. We were very happy to have Russia come to us and thoroughly enjoyed the Folkloric Singers, Musicians and Dancers that came on board to do 2 shows in the evening. For our family it was a perfect way to end the evening.

 

 

We watched a little of 2Trux acrobatic duo in the piazza before heading off to be horizontal and rest up for the next day’s adventures.

[ggprincess2004]

So glad Florence did not meet a terrible fate! Yup - tour fatigue is a reality in St. Petersburg. It left us wanting to go back for 2 weeks with a private tour guide as great as the lady we had for our two days of touring. So much beauty, so much art, so much much much.....

 

Wes's son was 14 when he accompanied us on this cruise, and the first day at lunch there were a series of beverages waiting at the luncheon tables. A small glass with clear liquid, a glass of champagne, a bottle of water.....DS thought he'd get the small glass of water out of the way first, and he was thirsty! His very first shot of Vodka.......too bad we didn't have the camera at ready!

 

Please keep writing!!:D:D:D

Edited July 24, 2014 by ggprincess2004

[homeinboca]

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures on this amazing journey. I am enjoying your writing and pictures very much, and look forward to going on this itinerary one day.

 

Ron

[bluenoser2]

Hey! It’s a sleep-in day – we didn’t have to wake from our princess-like slumber until 5:30 a.m. When our bleary-eyed selves had managed to load our plates with food, we stood, lost for the first time in our Horizon Bistro, unable to find an empty table. But hurrah! Narin to the rescue – our MDR waiter saw us, and immediately set to work commandeering a table, and then preparing it for us. What a guy.

 

We were to be out by the busses at 7:50 to meet our group, which we did, breezing through passport control like pros. Unfortunately, all but 2 of our group of 16 managed to accomplish this. We then spent ½ hour waiting for the couple, who never showed up. We assume they were too tired to continue, but a simple “Save Yourselves! Go on without us….” would have been appreciated. Payments for all SPB tours were finalized and we were off. Tatiana was not only an excellent guide, but a demanding teacher as well, and we were not accepted onto the bus unless we could greet her in Russian (she let us off the hook on the singing a song part….mostly for her own benefit I’m sure).

 

Our first item on today’s agenda was a cruise on the Neva River. This was very enjoyable as it was already a very warm day, and we were a small group on the boat, just one other small tour group with ours (“We are now 14…” Tatiana would remind us ominously and periodically). We were taught a Russian song that we were expected to remember and were quizzed on later in the day).

 

 

 

 

When the boat ride was completed, we hopped in the bus, and went on our way. When we stopped and were told we had about 15 minutes to do what we’d like, people were thrilled to find ….. the cathedral right in front of us? The statues all around? The beautiful architecture of the area? Nope! Guess again…..Starbucks! (They had nice washrooms, I can vouch for that.)

 

 

After that little stop, it was time to visit the Hermitage as it was now open for the tour groups before the massive lineups that had begun were allowed in. We were barely inside and I was already amazed at the 2-ton chandeliers in the vast entryway.

 

 

 

 

 

Even though we were with the early groups, the place was jam-packed with humanity. We spent 2 hours there – I would not have wanted to try this place on my own during tourist season. I wouldn’t know where to begin, end, and probably would have been a little quivering puddle of tears, lost somewhere with no one but Florence to comfort me. But that’s not what happened – oh, we did lose one of our group for a time, and we heard Tatiana through our earpieces saying in a hushed voice marked with foreboding “…and now we are 13”. As she continued to explain works of art to us, she would whisper into her microphone…”Florence? Can you hear me? Florence?” Our little Florence was getting quite excited and trying to show herself to Tatiana, but I had to explain that she wasn’t part of the count, confined as she was to the inner regions of my purse. Many hugs ensued when the lost was found, and our little zebra relaxed.

 

 

 

 

With the fearless and totally knowledgeable Tatiana at our helm, we were not daunted. We braved the crowds and she made sure we saw all the Da Vinci, the Monet, the Michelangelo, the ….well you get the picture….so to speak. Well, you don’t GET the picture, it has to stay in the Hermitage….but….yes. Well. On with it.

 

 

 

Lunchtime! We travelled to the Russian “Masha and the Bear” restaurant and waited expectantly to see what today’s dishes would be. We started with borscht, served family style from a big tureen at the table, and some very Russian tasting and feeling, dark, heavy, dry bread – it was really good soaked in the soup. This was followed by beef stroganoff and mashed potatoes, and cake for dessert. And then - a washroom break – no opportunity wasted!

[bluenoser2]

The Church of the Spilled Blood was on the itinerary next. You could just stand and look up for ages at this building. So beautiful. Inside wasn’t too shabby either. The mosaics are breathtaking – hard to believe this would have been used as a storage place for potatoes instead of a place of worship, after WWII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we went to the Yusupov Palace (where we were watched very closely (and not permitted to take pictures) by stern matrons that you did not want to mess with – “Never argue with a museum worker” were Tatiana’s words “They are ALWAYS right….”). DH learned this after we entered the first room and he inadvertently put his hand on a marble pillar to steady himself and was quickly and efficiently encouraged not to do so. This was the site where Rasputin (Rah, Rah….) was murdered, and it was an informative and very interesting tour, with rooms done up with wax figures in them depicting the scenes of that fateful evening. We visited many rooms in the palace, oohing and ahhing appreciatively, and were treated to a men’s acapella singing group – awesome acoustics! All this before touring the private theatre complete with balconies and full stage (kinda makes home theatre rooms today look pretty cheesy). Here we also saw some huge chandeliers vying for size with the Hermitage, but these were a mere 80 kilograms because they were made of Paper Mache!

 

One more sight to see! While this day was less demanding physically, and very…er...varied, it was becoming obvious that we were all tiring. Tatiana was sensitive to that, and would review with us en route to places so that we wouldn’t lose all that we had seen in the day. I was sure that by the end of the 2 days I would at least remember how to count to 16, or 14 in Russian – since she did it so many times keeping track of us all but the only number I remembered at the end of it all was 3.

 

St. Isaac’s Cathedral was indeed magnificent. I think we could all appreciate that in spite of our saturated brains! Lovely, and just amazing the work that was put into every detail, including the 10 ton doors. Yikes! Wouldn’t want to get my finger caught in one of them!

 

 

 

 

 

Last stop of course – vodka and souvenir shopping, and then it was back home to the ship. Vika was there to greet everyone and make sure all was well with every person on every one of her groups she had sent out. I was very impressed with her customer relations. We had no complaints about our tour for sure, and left singing our little Russian song.

 

(random pic of my favourite restaurant....)

 

 

After all that touring in the heat, we were ready for a dip in the pool, so DH and I hurried up to change, and then I suggested we try the adult-only pool as that looked to have less splashing going on. We just wanted a quick cool-off to refresh ourselves – that’s when I discovered that the adults pool is hotter (in temperature) than…..well, umm, hotter than a really hot pool. We could hardly move – it was so warm in there – the refreshing part was the bracing breeze that met us as we got out. So we returned to the main pool, where DH got his refreshing dip and I dried off.

 

Dinner was ok, but Narin had really loosened up since getting us every night, and that was fun. We went to Showtime “What the World Needs Now” which we all found ……what’s the diplomatic word…..um…..well, it left something (quite a lot of somethings) to be desired. The girls left early to see the acrobats and we endured, before leaving to find another movie in our room to fall asleep to.

 

[smtcan]

Marla, I am enjoying your review, especially because we leave in a couple of weeks on the same cruise. We have booked a two day tour with SPB, and hope it is not too intensive for our extended family of ten, which included four grandchildren aged 9 - 15. We selected a private tour so we can make adjustments to timing if necessary. Do you have any hints for us?

 

Sheila

[Pia1913]

Marla: SPASIBO

 

And, do you still remember TREE? lol. No wonder that you remembered number 3. :D

[jdm]

Marla -

 

Thank you so much for your posts. I'm so glad I was able to read about your adventures up to St. Petersburg before I leave in a few hours for Copenhagen going on the same cruise Monday. Would Florence like me to make a stop and pick her up for a repeat trip? She seemed to have enjoyed it. Numb with excitement and anticipation at this point.

[bluenoser2]

Marla -

 

Thank you so much for your posts. I'm so glad I was able to read about your adventures up to St. Petersburg before I leave in a few hours for Copenhagen going on the same cruise Monday. Would Florence like me to make a stop and pick her up for a repeat trip? She seemed to have enjoyed it. Numb with excitement and anticipation at this point.

 

She'd love to go! She's such a world traveler, and she could give you all kinds of tips! Have an absolutely marvelous time - I know you will. Look for all the beauty and you will not be disappointed!

[bluenoser2]

Marla: SPASIBO

 

And, do you still remember TREE? lol. No wonder that you remembered number 3. :D

 

Da!

[bluenoser2]

Marla, I am enjoying your review, especially because we leave in a couple of weeks on the same cruise. We have booked a two day tour with SPB, and hope it is not too intensive for our extended family of ten, which included four grandchildren aged 9 - 15. We selected a private tour so we can make adjustments to timing if necessary. Do you have any hints for us?

 

Sheila

 

If you know what your family's favourite things are you will be able to customize your tour accordingly. If they like the outdoors, they might enjoy spending longer at Petershof - we weren't there very long. If shopping is your thing, you might ask for more shopping and take one of the other stops off, if you think the younger ones might not enjoy traipsing through another big cathedral at the ends of each day, as our tours did. They will be very accomodating to you. I know our kids reached their saturation point a little before the last church of the day.

[wallycat16]

Marla which tour did you do with spb in spb? The 2 day deluxe? Really loving your posts. So entertaining. We leave in two weeks. Reading your adventures is making me even more excited for our trip.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Just found this thread. I am rnjoying reading your posts a d looking at your very cool pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

[dchip]

Marla, your writing and photography are fantastic. Love reading about your adventures and Florence. Can she see out of the purse? It would be a shame for her to miss so many wonderful sights.

 

Cheers, Denise

[smtcan]

If you know what your family's favourite things are you will be able to customize your tour accordingly. If they like the outdoors, they might enjoy spending longer at Petershof - we weren't there very long. If shopping is your thing, you might ask for more shopping and take one of the other stops off, if you think the younger ones might not enjoy traipsing through another big cathedral at the ends of each day, as our tours did. They will be very accomodating to you. I know our kids reached their saturation point a little before the last church of the day.

 

Thanks for some good ideas Maria.

[bluenoser2]

Marla which tour did you do with spb in spb? The 2 day deluxe? Really loving your posts. So entertaining. We leave in two weeks. Reading your adventures is making me even more excited for our trip.

 

 

Yes, it was the deluxe 2 day tour. Worth every penny. Our guide was fantastic, and when I saw the ship's tour group of 40 or so at the Hermitage trying to stay together, I was even more glad to be part of a small group. (If you do it, try to get to the meeting place early so you don't have to be in the back of the small bus!)

[bluenoser2]

Marla, your writing and photography are fantastic. Love reading about your adventures and Florence. Can she see out of the purse? It would be a shame for her to miss so many wonderful sights.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

Oh I can assure you she got out of the purse many times, if only to embarrass DD1 more! There were a few times when I had to remind her to tuck her tail in as it was sticking out of the purse and looking a bit odd. Well, I was looking a bit odd I suppose. I mean, who goes out touring with a small crossbody purse that only holds her i-phone and a small zebra, and i.d.? Nothing else. Any pickpockets would have been confused and disappointed I'm sure.