The Sisters Go Royal--Our Scandinavia and Russia Cruise

[GolfMom321]

OK, my apologies to all. I will have to repost everything, as I reorganized my photos on Photobucket without realizing it would mess things up. And I can only edit within 20 minutes of the original post. *sigh*

[GolfMom321]

OK, let's try this again and see if the photos work this time!

 

The Backstory:

 

My sister and i had a year from hell, with multiple medical issues, surgeries, and way too much time in hospitals. So we decided to celebrate the fact that we survived, and go on an awesome cruise. We booked the Royal Princess sailing from Copenhagen on July 6.

 

Less than 2 weeks before we sailed, we were upgraded to a Full Suite. Thank you Princess for treating US like Princesses!

 

Precruise—Copenhagen

 

We stayed at the Palace Hotel, across from City Hall. It was a very nice area, with a 7-11 right up the street for water and snacks. After checking in, we set out to explore the city. We took a taxi to the Rosenborg Palace. It was pretty cool to see the Danish crown jewels, as well as the royal thrones.

 

Throne Room

 

The Crown Jewels

 

Afterwards, we tried to find a bus or taxi, and were going in circles. So we set out on foot, and finally a taxi came along. We went to Nyhavn, a really nice and colorful area along the canal. I loved the colorful buildings and old world architecture. We got hot dogs (Danish style) , and took a canal cruise. It was such a nice area. We went out into the bay, and we saw some people sitting on a bench by the water, stark naked! They dived into the water when we waved. You sure don’t see that at home!

 

Nyhavn

 

After the cruise, we went back to the hotel briefly, and then walked over to Tivoli Gardens. It was really beautiful, with all sorts of different pavilions. I especially liked the gardens—wish I could get mine at home to look like that! They even had a parade.

 

Tivoli Gardens

 

 

We looked at some of the restaurants, but the prices were just obscene! So, after walking around awhile, we headed out onto the main road where Deb had seen an Irish Pub. Well, it turned out to be a Scottish Pub that was a Mexican restaurant. In Denmark. Kind of surreal. It was cool to sit out along the street and people watch, but it started getting cold, so we moved inside. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at 7-11 to get water.

 

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 1--Copenhagen

 

In the morning, we went back to 7-11 to get breakfast (the hotel wanted a ridiculous amount for a breakfast buffet, and we weren’t all that hungry. ) Then I headed out to meet our Cruise Critic friends for a Segway tour around the city. Deb had opted out due to concern about her ankle. The tour was outstanding. Our guide, Dea, was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. We had speakers in our helmets, so we could hear her as we rolled along. It was quite bouncy over the cobblestones, but we managed without any mishaps. We got a closeup look at the Little Mermaid, Amalienborg Palace, City Hall, Nynavn, and some typical European squares and narrow streets. Afterwards, Deb met up with us and we took a van to the port to board our ship.

 

City Hall Clock Tower, across from our hotel

 

Our wonderful Segway guide, Dea

 

The Little Mermaid

 

Panoramic view of the palace

 

Embarkation wasn’t bad at all. Our luggage was collected as soon as we arrived at the port, and we then went into the terminal to check in. We waited in a long line to be handed a health form asking if we’d had any signs of illness in the past couple weeks. I guess they’re screening for Norovirus, but as they had no way of knowing if people were telling the truth, I don’t see that it’s very effective. Fortunately, the line moved quickly. Once we had those forms, we got in the much shorter line for Suite and Elite passengers. Before we knew it, we were onboard!

 

We found our way to our cabin, R614. Our cabin steward, Ernie, from the Philippines, introduced himself and said he would switch out our minibar contents—taking away the booze and replacing it with water and some Cokes. He opened our complimentary bottle of champagne and poured us each a glass. Within about 3 minutes, our luggage arrived.

 

We headed up to the Horizon Court buffet to grab some lunch, and found out they offered a fondue dinner on the last night of the cruise. We signed up for that ($20 a person), as well as our complimentary first night at the Crown Grill, and our main dining room reservations for the first few nights. After lunch we returned to the cabin to unpack a little, and change into our sports jerseys for the first Cruise Critic meet & greet.

 

The meetup, in the Horizon Terrace bar area, was really nice. We saw the gang from the Segway tour, and met some other folks we’d "seen" online. It was nice to put faces to the names. We brought our life jackets along so we could go directly to the lifeboat drill afterwards. It is so much more civilized to have the drill seated comfortably inside, rather than standing on deck like sardines.

 

Following that, we headed back to the cabin to change for dinner at the Crown Grill. We had filet mignon, which was pretty good, and some overly salty potatoes. Dessert was a sampler of their offerings, which was obscenely good. It did not bode well for our figures…

 

 

After dinner, we checked out the show in the Princess Theater. The singers and dancers were pretty good, but we left during the illusionist, as it really wasn’t our “thing”. We headed to our first of many, many game shows, the “Where in the World Am I”? show. Unfortunately, it conflicted with the first karaoke session, and the second one, at 11 pm, was too late for us to stay up for. The time change was still slowing me down.

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 2—Oslo

 

We had changed a small amount of US Dollars into Danish Kroner (DKK) at the airport, but hadn’t made any arrangements for Norwegian Kroner. There were money exchange machines on Deck 4, and we decided we should get at least SOME, lest we be in need of a rest room and lacking in funds to pay for it. (We’d been warned that they are often not free in the ports we were visiting.) It was a complex procedure. First we had to take dollars out of the ATM, at an outrageous $6 transaction fee. Then we had to put the dollars into the change machine, which spit out the requested currency, minus a $4.50 service fee. So we paid $10.50 to get $50 worth of DKK! That is highway robbery in my book. We did NOT make this mistake again.

 

Welcome to Oslo

 

We stopped at the International Café to try to pick up sandwiches or something to take along on our tour, which would begin just at lunchtime. We ended up eating them there at the IC. Both the Ham & Cheese and the Tomato & Mozzarella were very good.

 

With that taken care of, we headed to Brunchtime Trivia in the Vista Lounge. This was the first of many trivia sessions for us, as we really enjoy it. (We’re also quite good at it, as was evidenced by the 14 water bottles and miscellaneous other Princess prizes we accumulated over the course of the trip!)

 

Then it was time to report to the Princess Theater for our tour. We were taken out by groups and quickly got off the ship and into the port, where we met our driver, Thor, and our guide, Kirsti, who spoke excellent English. Our first stop was the Hadeland Glassworks. We watched some beautiful vases being made via a really interesting process of twirling, blowing, heating, and many other steps. I can’t imagine how hot it must be for the workers. It rained on and off all afternoon, but we had some clearing while we were at the glassworks. They had some little shops, and a café where we had tea and pastry. The shops offered glassware made on site, as well as various other gifts. I got the requisite postcards and refrigerator magnet—I collect them from everywhere I go.

 

 

 

Next we visited the Viking Ship Museum. It was amazing to see the ancient ships so well preserved. The intricate carving was really beautiful.

 

 

We then drove back into the city, with Kirsti pointing out the sights along the way. We saw a girl riding what appeared to be an elliptical bicycle or scooter, which I determined to look into online when I got home.

 

Back onboard, we had dinner in the Symphony Dining Room. We’d made reservations for 6:30, and arrived about 15 minutes early. We were seated promptly, as no one else was waiting for a table. Dinner was good, and the Crème Brulee for dessert was outstanding.

 

After dinner, we headed to the Vista Lounge for a comedy show. The comedian, Tim Walkow, was pretty decent, and we had some good laughs. Deb wanted to see the “Dynamic Entertainer” Chris Watkins, so we went to the Princess Theater. We weren’t terribly impressed, so we left and opted for the “Yes/No Game Show”. One of the guys who won was Michael, who we would get to know very well as the cruise went on.

 

Our final activity for the evening was Princess Pop Star karaoke. It was the first of 3 heats for the “famous” contest. We met some of our fellow Cruise Critic folks there, and one of them, Ken, was chosen as a finalist for the first heat. Alas, I was not so fortunate, and resolved to try again the next time.

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 3—Aarhus

 

We were up early, so after breakfast at the International Café, we headed up for Morning Trivia. The Assistant Cruise Director, Nat, who is from Brazil, remembered us from the day before, and began to refer to us as “The Sisters”. The name stuck, as we found out many times over the course of the cruise.

 

Next up was the Taboo Challenge. There were only four of us playing, under the direction of the Cruise staff. We remembered Michael, who had won the game show the prior evening, and met his lovely wife, Tessa. The game ended in a draw, and the four of us became fast friends, spending lots of time together in the coming days.

 

We headed off to the Vista Lounge for BINGO, which is one of our favorite things to do on a cruise. Much to our delight, I won $150 in the second round, which paid for 2 games apiece. It was worth missing Trivia for that!

 

We grabbed lunch back at the International Café—some lovely quiche that I’d have loved to get the recipe for. Then we headed ashore to board a bus which would take us to the Welcome Center just outside of Aarhus. There was free WiFi, and people were just standing around, phones in hands, checking mail, sending messages, taking advantage of that tenuous tether to the outside world. Unfortunately, the connection wasn’t very good—possibly due to the overload of users. And Deb realized she had a dead battery and no charger, so she headed back to the ship to take a nap. I decided to wander into town to look around and find some souvenirs, as I hadn’t gotten any in Copenhagen. After quite a bit of walking, I finally did find some postcards. I was running so low on DKK that I couldn’t even afford to splurge on a chai at Starbucks, but I did manage to purchase a Coke before I went back onboard.

 

Panorama of port of Aarhus

 

Town square and cathedral—there seemed to be major reconstruction going on everywhere we visited.

 

Cafes and shops along the canal

 

 

We met up with Michael and Tessa for Afternoon Trivia, which we won handily. The water bottles were starting to pile up. And David, one of the Assistant Cruise Directors, was becoming a favorite of all of ours with his wacky sense of humor.

 

Before dinner, we went up to Deck 16 for the “Watercolor Fantasy” of pool fountains. It was supposed to be “like the fountains at Bellagio”. Well, it WAS fountains, but that’s where the similarity ended. It probably would have been much better if it were at least somewhat dark out, but in the daylight it was hard to see much of anything. It was a disappointment, but we soldiered on. Dinner was back in the Symphony Dining Room, and again, we had no wait to get in.

 

After dinner, it was time for 70s Music Trivia. Then we had some time to kill before karaoke, so we played Mahjong, which Deb had brought along. Brazil was playing Germany in the World Cup, so the Vista Lounge was hopping! We stayed at Karaoke long enough for me to get a song in, and to hear a few others, but ran out of steam before it ended, so we trudged on up to the cabin to get some sleep.

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 4—Warnemunde/Berlin PART ONE

 

Since we had to report at 7 AM for our tour, we requested room service breakfast for 6:30. Promptly at 5:50 AM, there was a knock on our door, and breakfast had arrived. We were NOT amused, and promptly went back to sleep for half an hour. We had requested “croissants”, and were provided with exactly ONE. The meal was passable, but that’s about all. Not a great start to the day, but fortunately, things got better.

 

Warnemunde

 

We assembled in the Princess Theater again, and were then called out in groups for the tours. Rather than buses, we boarded a train for the long ride to Berlin. It was quite a hike out to the train, which we had not expected. The train ride was fine, and gave us an opportunity for a decent nap. They also provided drinks and snacks, which was appreciated, given our breakfast fiasco. We had been warned that the trains were not air conditioned, and it wasn’t an issue at all.

 

When we got off the train, we transferred to buses, and ended up in the same group as Michael and Tessa. Our driver was Ingo, and our guide, Birgit, was outstanding. Her English was impeccable, and she had a wealth of knowledge about everything we saw. It was obvious that she had very strong feelings about her country’s past, which made it all more personal. We were equipped with headsets, through which we could hear Birgit speak. With a large group, this was a huge help.

 

Our first stop was the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. All I can say is, it was haunting. Seeing the actual buildings where prisoners lived, the conditions they endured, reading/hearing their stories, seeing the gas chambers and the ovens—very, very emotional. Our group, like most of the others, was very, very quiet. There were some groups of younger, probably teenage visitors, who were chatting, laughing, smiling. I couldn’t understand that. Birgit told us that school children in Germany take trips there to see the past of their country. I certainly hope these were not those German students, having such a cavalier attitude towards the atrocities of the Holocaust.

 

 

 

 

Toilet room for 400 men

 

Memorial Tower

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 4--Berlin PART TWO

 

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

 

Execution Trench

 

Foundation of the gas chambers

 

The ovens

 

We stopped for lunch after leaving the camp, and our moods brightened up considerably. Then we were off for a driving tour of the city. We saw the Reichstag, with its dome. We stopped off in the square by the Brandenberg Gate, and saw the US Embassy right on the square (a really ugly building compared to the beautiful old buildings around it). So much was damaged in the war, as photographs along the way depicted. There has been a good deal of reconstruction, much of it happening in the past decade or so since the wall came down. We walked around the block to the Holocaust Memorial. Another quiet spot of reflection. We had a few minutes to grab some souvenirs, and then we were back on the bus. We drove through East and West, noting the typical Soviet era drab and ugly buildings, a stark contrast to the beautiful pre-war architecture.

 

Reichstag

 

Brandenburg Gate

 

US Embassy

[GolfMom321]

REPOSTED WITH PHOTOS

 

Day 4--Berlin PART THREE

 

Holocaust Memorial

 

We went to Checkpoint Charlie—a total tourist trap if you ask me. Then, just after we boarded the bus again, down came the rain, in a torrential downpour. We had planned a stop where we could get out and actually touch a part of the wall that was still standing, and I feared the rain would prevent it, but we did stop, and a few of us brave souls stumbled out, umbrellas in hand. The rain suddenly stopped, and then everyone climbed out, only to have it start up again. The timing was great though, and while we were a bit damp, it didn’t put a damper on our experience.

 

Checkpoint Charlie

 

 

Part of the wall remains standing as a reminder

 

Typical Soviet-era apartment building

 

All over the city, we noticed German flags flying from home, even cars. It took me awhile to realize that this was because Germany had defeated Brazil in the World Cup match the night before! We later learned that Nat, the Assistant CD from Brazil, had been stopped by the German passport control guy, asked to step aside, given a bear hug, and told "Enjoy your day in GERMANY!" Fortunately, Nat was a good sport about the whole thing.

 

The train ride back to the port was uneventful. We were served some sandwiches and snacks, and fortunately had plenty to drink, as we were thirsty from all the walking we’d done. When we arrived, we remembered we still had that long hike back to the ship. Ugh. But we made it! We opted for a quick bite up in the Horizon Court. We were consistently impressed with the quality of the food up there—as good as the main dining room. And the variety was also very good.

 

The evening’s activities began with the Princess Pyramid Game Show. We won (again), and were promptly “drafted” by David to participate in the next event, the “Hollywould You” Game Show. Deb and I were split up for this one. It was hilarious, with Lisa, Toby and David from the Cruise staff. Deb’s team won, but it didn’t matter as we all laughed our heads off the entire time! Our final event was karaoke, and I ended up singing first and leaving soon after. We had to set our clocks ahead an hour, so we were grateful it was going to be our first sea day.

[GolfMom321]

THIS ONE IS BRAND NEW!

 

Day 5—At Sea

 

Figuring we’d be up by 8 or so, we didn’t set our alarms. So we were shocked to wake up and find that it was already 10:00! We got ready in a hurry, ran to grab some breakfast, and headed to BINGO. Didn’t win this time, but it was still fun. We returned to the cabin to shower and get ready for the day.

 

Lunch today was an English style “Pub Lunch”. I went with the Fish & Chips, as I wasn’t in the mood for Bangers and Mash, and none of the other choices appealed to me. It was good, not great. Served in the Wheelhouse Pub and the Crown Grill, there was almost no one there when we arrived, but it was pretty full when we left. Always nice to have something a little different.

 

After lunch, we again played Mahjong. Then it was time for rehearsal for the Princess Pop Choir. As David (Asst. CD) had personally asked me to participate, I headed on up to the Wedding Chapel to see what was going on. Singing, I can do. But, what? You want me to DANCE? I have three left feet! I can trip and fall off my own shoes! But the moves were simple enough that even I could handle it. We ran through half of the program, and I was feeling pretty good about it.

 

Next it was time for our CC Meet & Greet in Club 6. With the added benefit of name tags this time around, it was much easier to remember names. We had a good turnout, including some folks who had come aboard in Warnemunde the day before, so hadn’t been at our initial meetup. We enjoyed seeing our Segway group, and some others we had met earlier, as well as meeting some new people.

 

We then headed down to the Lotus Spa for our first massage of the trip. On our way, we ran into Lisa, the Cruise Director. We got a real kick out of the fact that she recognized us and greeted us by name! The massages were OK, but not the best we’ve had. At least no one gave us the hard sell on products.

 

As it was the first Formal Night, we returned to the cabin to get all dressed and ready. We even had flowers to wear, since we were in a suite. Since I rarely have occasion to get dressed up, I really enjoy it when I do. Deb, not so much. After much begging and pleading, she agreed to do photos—we haven’t had a formal “sister photo” in years. We did one with the curving Atrium staircase behind us. I did end up buying one of them later on in the cruise, so I now have another memento of this great trip. We went to the Symphony Dining Room for our 6:30 reservation, and were promptly escorted upstairs to the Concerto Dining Room. I guess more people with Anytime Dining go to the MDR on formal nights than on other nights, so they had an overflow. We were seated at a table near the windows, so we had a nice view. It was nice to see the other passengers all dressed up, and we even saw a guy in a kilt and full regalia! (I do so love a man in a kilt!) Dessert was the Princess Love Boat Dream, a decadent choice that we indulged in more than once.

 

 

After dinner, we met up with Michael and Tessa and went to “Name That Tune”, and “Liar’s Club”, which we won. Lots of laughs on this one, as David, Toby, Lisa, and the gang told one whopper after another. Our prize this time was a little pouch that you could put your cruise card, passport, pen, or other little things in. Karaoke was next, with the 2nd heat of Princess Pop Star. Al our CC friends were there to root for me. I tried a different song this time, and was one of the 2 singers chosen to advance to the finals. ACD Michele told me I almost made her cry—I think that was a good thing…

 

One of the things I really enjoyed about the Royal was the quotes written on the carpets of the elevators. I tried to catch all of them, but missed a few. Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2014 by GolfMom321

[GolfMom321]

Day 6—Tallinn PART ONE

 

OK, enough relaxing. It was the first of 3 very intensive days of sightseeing in port, and we were up in time to make breakfast at Sabatinis before meeting for our tour. I had a very nice omelet, and fresh squeezed OJ—what a treat!

 

We really had no expectations for Tallinn. We knew absolutely nothing about it, and had actually considered staying onboard rather than going ashore. But we decided to give it a try. We are SO glad we did!

 

We headed off the ship to find our SPB tour, which we had heard about on CC. Our guide, Silja, met us at the mini bus, which we were delighted to learn had free WiFi. Silja was outstanding. She was very knowledgeable, and obviously loved her country very much. It was hard to believe she was only 23. We had headsets again, which made it easy to follow the tour. The city is beautiful, with an architectural style that I could look at forever. By the end of the day, I wasn’t a fan of the cobblestone streets, but we managed, even though there was a LOT of walking. The city was having a Medieval Festival, and the town square was full of displays, and of people in period costume. It felt like we were in a time warp.

 

We saw a beautiful cathedral, the town hall, and a marzipan shop (where we watched the sweets being hand painted). We saw the view of Lower Town from above, and walked down the long sloping street from Upper Town. Lunch was at a little Medieval style restaurant. The food was outstanding—fried pie filled with elk and wild boar. I would love to know the seasonings they used, as it was really delicious. Our waiter, who dressed in the appropriate style, even posed for a photo with me after lunch. We saw the old town wall and tower, and the beautiful home of the President. It was amazing that you could walk right up to the house—minimal security. Nothing like we’re used to in the States.

 

 

 

Looking down over Lower Town.

 

Medieval marketplace

[GolfMom321]

Day 6--Tallinn PART TWO

 

Restaurant where we had lunch

 

Our waiter

 

Elk and Wild Boar pie

 

We had some time on our own to do some shopping, and I bought a beautiful woolen cape. It will keep me warm AND remind me of our visit to this beautiful city. Our final stop was the Song Festival Grounds. Every 5 years, singers from all over Estonia converge on the grounds and sing traditional national songs. During Soviet times, they were not allowed to sing anything but Soviet songs, but after the official program, someone would always start singing an Estonian song, and people would join in, until they were made to stop. It sounds like something I would really love to see. Maybe in 2019… Then it was time to return to the ship, having had a truly wonderful visit to this beautiful city.

 

Presidential palace

 

Song Festival grounds

 

We went to afternoon tea, which was nice. I do love tea and scones with clotted cream! Afterwards, we went to the Vista Lounge for another round of Trivia, this time with Gary, one of the Junior CDs. It was like watching paint dry. No humor. No cheesy jokes. Barely a smile. And the questions were HARD. No one did particularly well, and we weren’t disappointed that we didn’t win yet another water bottle. (Fortunately, Gary's personality seemed to wake up later in the cruise, and while he was never our favorite, he turned out to be a decent sort.)

 

Dinner was back in the Symphony Dining Room. We were seated in the very center of the room, a sort of rounded area with a lot of wasted space. The service was slow. Like, really, really SSSLLLOOOWWW. I know people like to linger over dinner, but this was ridiculous. Fortunately, the meal was good, but it wasn’t our best dinner experience.

 

The evening’s activities began with 50s Trivia, where we did “so-so”. Next was “Name That TV Theme Song”, which we won handily, and Travel Trivia, which we came in second. By this time, people who had seen us win so often were asking to join our team, which just made it more fun. We won the pouches again, and as we knew we didn’t need another set, Deb tried to offer them to a couple of kids. After being VERY rudely turned down, their poor grandmother accepted them with a sheepish smile of apology. Later in the cruise, when we saw them win at trivia, we said it would be so funny if the prizes were the pouches instead of the usual water bottles. And they were!! We laughed our heads off at the looks on their faces when they were handed their winnings!

[dchip]

I'm so sorry you had to redo all your photos but so glad you took the time to do so. I am enjoying your review very much!!

 

Cheers, Denise

[Woobstr112G]

I'm glad you got your pictures working:). Absolutely love a review with pictures. When we did our Baltic cruise some years ago I fell in love with Tallinn. Someday I hope to return.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited August 1, 2014 by Woobstr112G

[long cruiser]

Looks like you had a great trip.Four future reference,if you have a mini suite or a full suite you can swap out your mini bar for two coffee cards worth about $70.00.

ling cruiser

[GolfMom321]

Looks like you had a great trip.Four future reference,if you have a mini suite or a full suite you can swap out your mini bar for two coffee cards worth about $70.00.

ling cruiser

 

We knew that, but we don't drink coffee. The water and coke was all we really wanted, and it ended up to be just the right amount. Now my next cruise, I'll have my son with me. That coffee card might just be the way to go!

[DaisyGirl45]

I am loving your review! Thank you for taking the time to do this. I was on the cruise before yours and also had Silja as our guide, she was marvelous. Estonia was our favorite port.

[kayzmarie]

Wonderful review & pictures... thank you!

[IECalCruiser]

Looks like you had a great trip.Four future reference,if you have a mini suite or a full suite you can swap out your mini bar for two coffee cards worth about $70.00.

ling cruiser

A minor correction. There is no free mini-bar in mini-suites, only in full suites. Mini-suites do not receive full suite perks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Grammyluvs]

I am so enjoying your review. You are a real trooper for going back and including your pictures. Thank you.

[GolfMom321]

Day 7—Saint Petersburg PART ONE

 

This was the port we were most looking forward to, and finally, the big day had arrived. The clocks had moved ahead another hour overnight, and we had an early call. So we were up super early, and didn’t even have time for breakfast. We got through customs with no problem, and went outside to meet our SPB tour guide. We found our group with Vika, the owner of SPB, who had come down to make sure all was well with her many tour groups.

 

Our group was 10 people arranged via our roll call here on CC, and we had a 15 passenger Mercedes van—very comfortable. Our driver was Konstantin and our wonderful guide, Elena. We began with a short city drive, which only piqued our interest further! Our first stop was the Metro. Wow, it is DEEP! Down, down, down we went on the escalator, with beautiful mosaic artwork on the walls. Nothing like our subway in NYC. We boarded a car, got off a couple stops later, and rode the escalator back up, up, up to the street, where Konstantin was waiting with our van.

 

Mosaics in the Metro

 

The next stop was a hydrofoil ride to Peterhof. We had a nice view of the city on the way. But nothing could have prepared us for the sights we saw. The most exquisite gardens, with fountains everywhere. Gold everywhere. Opulence everywhere. We walked, and walked, and walked.

 

Deb & me ready to board the hydrofoil

 

Gardens at Peterhof

 

Peterhof with fountains

 

We boarded our bus and went to our lunch stop, Aleksandria. The food was ok, but the highlight was the Free WiFi! We all pulled out our phones to check in, and were soon “friending” each other on Facebook, swapping emails, etc. It was a nice break from all the walking, which we needed before our equally busy afternoon.

 

Next on the tour was Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar’s Village). As a lover of historical fiction, I had read many novels about it, and was delighted to see it for real. It did not disappoint. Absolutely breathtaking! It is called the Catherine Palace, but it was actually built for her daughter, who really knew how to spend a rouble! Unbelievable opulence! I think my Mom is going to need to revise her definition of “ostentatious”. I can’t begin to imagine living in such a place. For starters, I’d need roller skates and a map to get around! By this point, I was starting to think of all the peasants who could have lived for years on what it cost to build this place.

 

Catherine Palace

 

I just loved this blue room!

[GolfMom321]

Day 7--Saint Petersburg PART TWO

 

More of the Catherine Palace:

 

Furnaces with Delft tiles

(doesn’t everyone’s furnace look like this?)

 

The Romanovs, Nicholas II and Alixandria

 

This looks so much nicer than plain scaffolding! This was a frequent sight with so much construction going on.

 

Back through town we went, to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. A beautiful place, very opulent. The burial crypts of the Tsars are inside, and a special room dedicated to the Romanovs and their servants who were murdered after the Revolution.

 

 

 

 

Our last stop was for souvenirs. The place was jam packed, with many tour buses stopping there. The prices seemed high, but since my last trip to Russia was in 1998, what did I know? Still, $1000 for a 12 piece Matrioshka doll did seem a bit high, since it wasn’t even hand painted. I got a much smaller one, and a music box and some postcards.

 

We dropped off the rest of our group for the evening’s Folklore Show. We had planned to go, but all the walking had forced us both to use our canes the last couple of places, so we decided to go back to the ship. Deb’s ankle was throbbing, and my legs looked like sausages. And we still had another full day ahead of us! We stopped in the shops at the port, and were shocked to find that the prices there were actually better than the place we had just been. Deb got a much nicer and larger music box than mine, for just a few dollars more than I’d paid. I got my Matrioshka at a reasonable price (not the 12 piece one—that was WAY to rich for me!), and some Russian candy for my kids.

 

Back onboard, we got dinner at the Horizon Court, which was quite good. We checked out the Russian Folklore show in the Princess Theater, but weren’t really thrilled, so we didn’t stay. We went to play the “Family Feud” type game show, which was also a bit of a letdown, so we gave up and went to bed “early”.

[GolfMom321]

Day 8—Saint Petersburg PART ONE

 

We met up with our group onboard, and went out through passport control together. It was even faster today, since they basically just looked at our stamp from yesterday. We met up with Elena and boarded our mini bus.

 

First on the agenda was a boat ride on the canal. We had a really nice view of the city from the water. The guide on the boat was not a great speaker, unfortunately, so it was often hard to understand what she was saying. But we did hear a bit of Russian history, and the beginnings of Saint Petersburg from the fortress. Even though it was relatively early in the day, there were people out sunbathing on the lawn next to the canal.

 

After the boat ride, it was time for The Hermitage. Now, I’m not an art fan, and would generally have no interest in an art museum. But this is like going to the Louvre or something, and it was just amazing. Again, extremely opulent, but just beautiful. We got to see a painting by DaVinci, which was cool. The place was absolutely mobbed, even with our “special early entrance”, and some of the guides would stop with their group right in front of a picture and talk about it, which made it hard to get close enough to see. Plus, people were pushing and shoving a bit due to the crowds. We went into a room that had a bunch of Rembrandts. Just awesome. And then we came to one with a guide standing in front of it. I waited patiently for the guide to finish and move along, so I could step forward. Just as I took a step, a guy pushed his way in front of me, turned around, and stuck his arm up, blocking the view for those of us who had been patiently waiting. At that point, I’d had enough rudeness, and my Jersey Girl came out. I said “don’t stand in front of a painting with your arm in the air so people can’t see!” He turned to me, stuck his nose in the air, and said “I give private art tours.” My response? “Congratulations. But you still don’t put your arm up and block other people’s views”. He told me not to tell him how to do his job, and I said “someone has to, because you are just rude.” At that point, Elena came over to see what was going on, and exchanged some heated words with him in Russian. Turns out, he had the credential badge for Peterhof, not for the Hermitage, so he was probably not supposed to be doing that anyway. Wish I’d known it at the time—I might not have been so polite!

 

Panorama of The Hermitage

 

One of many beautiful chandeliers

 

Peacock Clock

 

Mosaic Urn

 

Painting by DaVinci

 

Ceiling of the hallway

[GolfMom321]

Day 8--Saint Petersburg PART TWO

 

More from The Hermitage:

 

A Rembrandt

 

The Rembrandt from the story

 

Having avoided an international incident, we moved on to the display of clothing. This was my favorite part of the tour! It was especially cool to see the clothing of the Romanov girls, and to realize that both of my grandmothers probably wore similar (if less luxurious) clothing as children, as they were of the same “vintage”.

 

It was time for a much needed break, so we headed to the “pie place” promised in our tour description. We went to Stalle, a cute little place that was apparently popular with the locals as well as the tourists. It was packed! Elena called the pies pierogii, but they certainly bore no resemblance to the pierogis I have eaten. They were large pies, about the size of a Sicilian pizza, but with crust all around, top and bottom. There were savory pies—green onion and egg, salmon, beef, mushroom, and others, and sweet pies—cherry, apple, poppyseed, etc. We could have 2 pieces of pie, or one piece and some soup. I opted for the beef pie and some hot borscht. Delicious!!!! Everyone seemed to really enjoy their choices. We decided to use the rest room before we left, and as we were standing in line, a woman from the ship recognized us and said, “it’s The Sisters!” We got a real kick out of that.

 

After lunch, we went to the Church of Our Savior On The Spilled Blood. Inside is a monument right on the spot where Alexander II was murdered. There are mosaics all over the walls and ceilings, and it is really a work of art. Hard to imagine it was a place to store dead bodies during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII—the ground was frozen so hard they couldn’t bury them, so they just kept them in the church until it warmed up a bit.

 

 

 

Site of the murder

[GolfMom321]

Day 8—Saint Petersburg PART THREE

 

We then saw the Yusopov Palace, where Rasputin was lured so that Felix Yusopov and his friends could murder him. They had sort of a life-sized vignette of the plotting, as the rooms would have looked. The figure of Rasputin was creepy! The palace, like the others we’d seen, was elegant and opulent.

 

One of many bedrooms

 

This ceiling is painted, but looks 3D

 

Private theater in the palace

 

Rasputin vignette

 

Our final scheduled stop was Saint Isaac’s Cathedral. Another beautiful church, this one with the fourth largest dome in the world, behind St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, and one in Florence. Out in the square stands a statue of Nicholas I.

 

Saint Isaac’s Cathedral

 

Some of the people in our group had asked where we could get some good Russian vodka, so Elena took us to a local supermarket! We had a grand time picking out Russian cookies, candies, and of course, vodka. The guard standing watch by the checkout did not appear to be pleased with the group of crazy Americans who invaded his quiet domain. I suspect the other shoppers thought we had lost our minds, but it was great fun!

 

Inside the supermarket

 

Back on board, we went up to the bar at the Horizon Terrace, and watched the sailaway. Then we headed down to the Symphony dining room for our Italian Night dinner. Again, we were seated in the center area with the same waiter, who was even slower than the last time. Dinner was very good though.

 

Our evening entertainment consisted of “Before They Were Famous”—trying to guess who the kid in the picture grew up to be. Some were pretty obvious, but most were really hard to guess. Next was Royal Trivia, which was a combination of totally obscure trivia about Royal Princess, and trivia about the British Royal family. We did NOT do well on this! After that was the much awaited Murder Mystery, with Toby and Lisa and the rest of the CD staff. The audience had to guess who had committed the murder, and how, and why. I laughed so hard my sides hurt, and David later told us that they had ad libbed most of it because they were all laughing too hard to remember their lines!

 

The evening concluded with Heat #3 of Princess Pop Star karaoke. The girl who won sang “I Will Always Love You”, by Whitney Houston. She was really good, and I commented to Michael that “this competition is over.” It was a late night after two long days, and we were very grateful that the clocks were moving BACK overnight.

Edited August 3, 2014 by GolfMom321

[caribill]

Our first stop was the Metro.

 

Enjoyed seeing your picture from the subway station.

 

When we had our subway ride we were not allowed to take any pictures of the stations.