Total Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Tradewinds Transatlantic crossing 2015

[scubacruiserx2]

This was an interesting article and your comment about being "diplomats" for USA significant. Having cruised and had a couple excursions with you, I'm sure you were great diplomats and hopefully turned around a few opinions. However there are comments in the story that ring true.....like #3 above...like the "wide gap between the rich and the poor" .... I think there are many places whose opinion of the USA has become more negative in the last decade or so...right or wrong...it is easy to see how some things are perceived....

 

Anyway, your pictures continue to amaze me...... you are so good at capturing the essence of a place...truly wonderful.....:)

 

Thank you Gracie for those very kind words . I think most Russians , like most Americans , draw their information from their and our media , which is not always accurate . The internet helps , but it's not always accurate either . So we prefer first hand experience . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Most prejudices start with half truths or distorted versions of s truth. Time spent being genuine together is the only cure - not the arguments we might marshall in response. Good for you.

 

- Joel

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks Joel , we totally agree ! Building bridges is more difficult than blowing them up , but so much more useful . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Because we were not allowed to photograph in the Museum , we took these photographs from this book that we purchased in their bookstore by Tatyana Muntyan and V. S. Voronchenko .

 

 

 

 

The Resurrection Egg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosebud

 

 

 

 

 

Bay Tree

 

[Gracie115]

WOW! The Resurrection Egg, even a picture of a picture is beautiful....how wonderful that you got to see the real thing!!

[scubacruiserx2]

WOW! The Resurrection Egg, even a picture of a picture is beautiful....how wonderful that you got to see the real thing!!

 

Yes we felt really blessed to see the collection as it was the first time that we had seen the real thing . We latter saw more of them in the Kremlin . Each of these eggs took about a year to make and they became increasingly more intricate . ;)

[jenseib]

WOW!!!!

 

Those are just amazing.

[scubacruiserx2]

WOW!!!!

 

Those are just amazing.

 

The materials , details and craftsmanship continue to endure and amaze to this present day !! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

This collection has the distinction of having the first of the imperial eggs , the Hen egg , from 1885 .

 

 

 

 

 

It also has the last of the 50 imperial eggs , the Order of St. George egg made during WW I in 1916 .

 

 

 

Additionally , there are numerous other objects d' art from Faberge , like this picture frame .

 

 

 

 

Which opens to display the last Tsar , Nicholas II .

 

 

 

 

And this , Lord the Almighty icon .

 

Edited September 2, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[perfect match]

I loved all the fountans at Peterhof, especially the trick fountains. If I ever get to SPB, Peterhof by hydrofoil will be on my must do list.

 

I think that Fabrege museum would also be on my list. My heart sank a bit when you posted that you weren't allowed to take pictures there, so I was delighted to see that you were able to post pictures from the book you'd bought.

[scubacruiserx2]

I loved all the fountans at Peterhof, especially the trick fountains. If I ever get to SPB, Peterhof by hydrofoil will be on my must do list.

 

I think that Fabrege museum would also be on my list. My heart sank a bit when you posted that you weren't allowed to take pictures there, so I was delighted to see that you were able to post pictures from the book you'd bought.

 

We think that our Baltic cruise is in our top 3 of favorite cruises . SPB was our favorite city but we also love London and would recommend that anyone who goes on a Baltic cruise to spend some some extra time in that beautiful , historic city . But a couple of the historic churches there , and Buckingham Palace , don't permit photography either . :(

[scubacruiserx2]

Here's some of the most beautiful of the Faberge eggs :

 

 

The Renaissance Egg of 1894

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lilies-of-the-Valley Egg 1898

 

 

 

 

The Fifteenth Anniversary Egg 1911

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cockerel Egg - clock 1900

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

There is 1 more set of photos from the Faberge Museum and then our next stop will be the Russian Museum .

 

 

Edited September 3, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The last of the Imperial Eggs is a show stopper , the Coronation Egg . It's the egg used for the cover of the book that these photos have been taken from . The surprise found inside of the egg is an exact replica of the carriage used to carry the last Tsarina , Alexandra , to her coronation ( think Diana and Charles ) .

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Coronation_Egg

 

 

The Imperial Eggs are found in the Blue Room of the Faberge Museum . Photo from the Faberge Museum website :http://fabergemuseum.ru/

 

 

 

 

There are thousands of other works from the House of Faberge like the Duchess of Marlborough egg clock .

 

 

 

 

 

And the Kelch eggs

 

 

http://www.mieks.com/eng/Kelch-Eggs/Kelch-Eggs.htm

 

 

 

The Kelch Hen Egg

 

 

 

 

The Kelch Chanticleer Egg clock

 

 

 

 

When the hour strikes , the chanticleer pops up from the clock , and moves it's beak , head and wings .

 

 

 

There was a time , just 2 years ago , that if you wanted to see Imperial Eggs , it required a trip to the Moscow Armory in the Kremlin . But now , thanks to the tireless work of many craftsman , and the vision and generosity of Mr. Viktor Vekselberg , the Imperial Eggs have returned home , where they were created .

 

 

 

 

This is some of the collection which Mr. Vekselberg purchased from the estate of Mr. Malcolm Forbes for 100 million dollars in 2004 . This museum is the new superstar in St. Petersburg , and is a must see . There also have an excellent , interactive web site where you can see much more !

 

 

http://fabergemuseum.ru/

[Issyalex]

I love all the Faberge eggs but love love the blue room. I could live there quite happily. :D

[Groovybusybee]

The floor is spectacular, a truly beautiful wooden floor.

 

It's like Buckingham Palace, of all the wonderful items on display I thought the best was the hand painted wallpaper and the wooden floor in I think, the music room. A dazzling sun ray pattern.

 

Debbie

[scubacruiserx2]

I love all the Faberge eggs but love love the blue room. I could live there quite happily. :D

 

Us too , it's great to see it in person where the details really shine . The Blue Room used to be the dining room of the Shuvalov Palace , quite a nice place to live !

[scubacruiserx2]

The floor is spectacular, a truly beautiful wooden floor.

 

It's like Buckingham Palace, of all the wonderful items on display I thought the best was the hand painted wallpaper and the wooden floor in I think, the music room. A dazzling sun ray pattern.

 

Debbie

 

There are many spectacular parquet floors in the various palaces in SPB , and the silk wallpaper is dazzling in person ! Most of the 12 galleries have new furnishings - and it shows . We really did love our visit to Buckingham Palace also with it's rich history . But I must admit , it's been a while since we last visited there and without photos to remind me , many of the details become lost in my fading memory . :p We had really hoped to visit there and some dear friends in the Isle of Man just now , prior to a TA on the Caribbean Princess that leaves from Southampton tomorrow . But accidents happen , and now , we hope for a future visit to UK soon . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

The State Russian Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of Russian fine art. It was opened on March 7 (19) 1898 by decree of Tsar Nicholas II and was country’s first ever state museum of Russian fine art, which was able to present the visitors the whole history of its development. From the very beginning the collection was housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was built for the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, son of Paul I.

 

Source:http://www.rusmuseum.ru/eng/museum/history/

 

 

If you want to see Russian art ( there is none in the Hermitage ) in a beautiful , uncrowded palace , then this is the place for you . We came here with our driver and guide , Polina . This would be both an enjoyable and informative day .

 

 

The museum proceeds chronologically , from the oldest to the newest . The oldest paintings are icons painted on a variety mediums , with many being on wood .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not an easy place to shot photos because of the glare and lighting . There was a professional shoot getting ready , but we weren't permitted to have tripods or lighting .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our guide for the day was Polina . Her daughter had been a little ill ( like us ) and she asked if would be OK if she could go along with us and we were thrilled . With 3 grandsons , we would love to have a grand daughter ! Here's Polina with the painting The Portrait of Sarah Eleanor Fermore .

 

 

 

 

A bust of Peter the Great

 

 

 

 

 

The tombstone of Princess Yelena Kurakina

 

 

 

 

A tapestry of wool with metal threads of Peter the Great The Battle of Potava . The battle was a decisive win for Peter over Charles of Sweden which secured the area around SPB . Al Stewart wrote a song about it called The coldest winter in memory .

 

 

 

 

Empress Anna Ioannova with a Moorish Boy

 

 

 

 

Our first guide in St. Petersburg and in the Russian Museum was Oksana , here pictured with Pat and a statue of Catherine the Great .

 

 

 

Up next : An observation about guides in St. Petersburg .

[scubacruiserx2]

When we first visited the Baltic and St. Petersburg exactly 9 years ago on the NCL Dream , ignorance and fear was pervasive . We knew little about Russia and like most of our fellow cruisers , booked a ship's shore excursion , based on the information available to us . After all , we were visiting The Evil Empire ! Does it sound familiar ? Well the music is the same , but the words have changed . If you plan on visiting SPB , you will get lots of help both pro and con . :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

The cons:

 

You will have naysayers . " I don't like the politics , you can't trust the Russians , you'll be stuck on the ship , I'm not giving my passport number to anybody " and , the always popular " You'll get left behind " . It worked then and still works now . :eek: Undaunted , we met 2 other couples on our roll call on Cruise Critic interested in doing a private tour . At that time , the two biggest tour groups were Red October and DenRus . There was no Alla , SPB tours or TJ's . Our main deciding factor was that DenRus was American owned and that we could have all of our questions answered , in English , by dialing a 7 digit phone number ( the same area code as us ! ) We booked a private tour with another couple , including some specific requests that no other tours offered ( like a metro ride ) . The other couple booked a standard tour . The other couple had no one else on their tour , so they they got a " private " tour also , shorter in time and with fewer stops , but stuck to the schedule , with no flexibility . But in the end - both groups were happy with their choice . :) :D

 

Next time : The pros and the St. Petersburg Syndrome

[cruise47]

To the OP, thanks for you candid look at SBP & Russia. I have an observation about their metro system. They look so much better built and newer than our metro system in the USA. Plus, they looked like that could be use as nuclear bomb shelters.

 

SBP in my humble opinion looks so much better than most cities in the USA.

[scubacruiserx2]

To the OP, thanks for you candid look at SBP & Russia. I have an observation about their metro system. They look so much better built and newer than our metro system in the USA. Plus, they looked like that could be use as nuclear bomb shelters.

 

SBP in my humble opinion looks so much better than most cities in the USA.

 

You're welcome , we hope that our experience and photos help others to choose what to see or do if they visit SPB . And yes , they can be used as bomb shelters . The Russians ( and many other countries in Europe ) , suffered terrible losses during WW II and are now more prepared than before . The lessons learned there after the war remind me of the changes that occur after a hurricane like Andrew or Katrina . Much of the city looks great , and especially in the tourist areas . And the locals do take great civic pride in their city . It reminds me of how Miami used to be when I was growing up there in the 50's and 60's . :cool:

Edited September 7, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

When we got off of the NCL Dream in September of 2006 , we expected to meet someone like Boris and Natasha from DenRus .

 

 

 

 

But what we got instead was Alex (the great ) and Oksana , a very capable driver and a very articulate guide and translator who spoke English with an English accent . Here we are at the Russian Museum with Oksana in this video clip from 2013 :

 

 

 

 

Here's Pat and Oksana in 2006

 

 

 

 

But that was then and this now .

 

 

The Pros :

 

 

St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world . The guides there are required to pass strict exams about history , art etc. in English . We have used about 10 guides from 3 agencies and they were all very good and some - the best guides that we have ever used . It is now a very competitive market and that's good for the traveler . It is now also a more acceptable practice to use private guides with smaller groups that cost less and see more than the ship's large bus groups . Most people that take the private tours are very happy , perhaps a little too happy and that may cloud objectivity when reviewing their tours . Thus , Everyone's tour and guide are THE BEST !!! It reminds me of the old dog food commercial " My Dog's Better than Your Dog " .

 

 

 

Perhaps some of this loyalty can be attributed to a kind of St. Petersburg Syndrome . :eek:

 

 

 

Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors .

 

source wikipedia

 

 

Because of the unique circumstances and challenges inherent in traveling and learning so much about such a strange foreign land and language , your guide will step in and be a superman or superwoman , who will calm all of your fears and meet all of your needs . They are usually very hospitable , patient and friendly - like many of the workers on the cruise ship . In fact , you may think of them as family , or want to take them home - so be prepared for this feeling it's normal !! :) :D

 

 

Oh , by the way , we found out on our last trip that guides are independent contractors that may work for several different agencies . Polina works for Alla , Tickets and Tours , and Tours by Locals - who we first booked her through . Our second tour with her was booked through her directly - at a much better price ! ;)

 

 

Next : Russian art of the 19th century

Edited September 7, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Before leaving the 18th century , some quick observations :

 

A mosaic of Catherine the Great

 

 

 

 

And in the room of Catherine the Great as a Legislatress , please notice the floor

 

 

and the ceiling .

 

 

 

And , as a segue into the 19th Century

 

 

 

 

is the White Hall .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After the White Hall , you enter 2 large rooms , the Academic Halls .

 

 

 

Large rooms with some large paintings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A major work in this room is The Last days of Pompeii by Karl Briullov , who studied and painted this in Italy .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Day_of_Pompeii

 

 

It was displayed in Paris and Rome before finding it's home here in 1895 . It measures 15' X 21' .

 

 

 

 

He later did the paintings on the ceiling of St. Issac's Cathedral . :)