St Petersburg, Russia - 20/21 Aug 2000 What we did and where we went in St Petersburg
	We were madefast at about 8.30am at the 'modern' cruise ship terminal, after cruising for at least an hour through St Petersburg docks. They stretch for miles. After going down one canal, we saw the Sundream pass the end, off to another terminal. We berthed alongside a small Finnish owned cruiseship, Kristina Regina, which we had also seen in Helsinki. It was clear with sunny skies around 66°F/19°C at noon, definitely cooler than Helsinki. The first tours departed around 9am and a band was playing on the quay. In 1703 Peter the Great drove the Swedes from the River Neva delta, a stop off on the Baltic-Black Sea trade route, and founded St Petersburg. He envisioned his new city as Russia's 'window into Europe', through which it could quickly modernise. Tsar Peter moved the capital of the Russian Empire from Moscow to St Petersburg in 1712. Except for brief periods, it was home to Russia's Tsars and nobility for 200 years. The city quickly became Russia's primary seaport and manufacturing region and an important link to Europe and the rest of the world. Russia opposed Germany in WW II, and from 1914 to 1924 the City's name was changed from the Germanic St Petersbug to its Russian name Petrograd. Lenin's Bolsheviks who seized power in november 1917 returned the capital to the more centrally located Moscow. Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in 1924. During WWII, the city's inhabitants endured the so-called 900-Day Seige by German and Finnish armies, who failed to conquer the city. Nearly a million residents, many of whom are buried in mass graves outside the city, died during the resistance. Today, St Petersburg (whose original name was reinstated by popular vote after the 1991 break-up of the former USSR) is Russia's second largest city, its most important port, and a major manufacturing centre. Its many bridges span canals and waterways, which endure beause of the city's lowland position in the delta. The Neva River and its primary delta arm divides the city into four distinct districts. The city's main boulevard is Nevsky Prospekt. St Petersburg is also a centre of culture and is home to some of Russia's finest architecture. The Hermitage houses one of he world's greatest collections of art, which has expanded into the beautiful Winter Palace. The Kazan Cathedral, just recently returned to the Russian Orthodox chuch, after serving as the Communist Museum of Atheism, stands as an example of extravagent architecture and changing times. [No pics here as it was covered in scaffolding and sheeting]. For an in depth history of St Petersburg please visit The Guide The Black Watch remained in port overnight. The following day it rained most of the time, but it was 68°F/20°C at noon. We all had to be onboard by 5.15, but that wasn't the case as the tours didn't return for another 15mins, and then there was the shop and immigration to go through. We did however cast off at 6pm to the tunes of the band again. It was nice, with everyone cheering and clapping at the end of each tune. The only time we had a 'send-off'. They were given a few good tips. 198 NM to Tallinn. 1½ hours [about 25 miles out] after leaving St Petersburg we passed the Russian Naval base Kronshtadt, on Kotlin Island. What was once no doubt a thriving naval base is now dilapidated with rusting hulks of 'warships', some wrecks even, complete decay. A few people were working and waved to us, but there can only be a handful of token workers there. Saw a couple of subs tied up alongside a jetty, but they may have been there a long while. Judging by the awful concrete accommodation blocks, living standards must have been pretty poor. A Soviet plan to construct dykes connecting the island north and south to the mainland had been abandoned in 1991 with construction halted in midstream. The cranes that were used to start heavy construction of a series of locks are rusting in place alongside the uncompleted bridges and breakwaters, that were to protect St. Petersburg from flooding.
	What we did and where we went in St Petersburg My photo album of St Petersburg

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