St Petersburg, Russia - 20/21 Aug 2000 My photo albums of St Petersburg
	Well, I could have spent a week here!! Really did enjoy the place. We only had the two days. This was the only place we took any of the arranged tours. Arrived a bit late on Sunday as we didn't dock until 9am and the first tours should have gone by 8.30. Anyway Dave was taking Beverley and Howard on the tour of the City, and I was going to the Hermitage and Winter Palace. Dave & Co got away about 9.30 and me not long after. There was actually a band playing here. The only other place there was anything was a single lady playing an accordian in Helsinki. The customs scrutinised our passports as if we were all terrorists, but let us through giving us little red cards saying we were cruise passengers. The terminal building was dark and dismal and there was only a light on where it would have been impossible to see anything without one. The Hermitage The Main Staircase, Winter Palace entrance. The place was dilapidated. Obviously at one time it had been a nice terminal with shops etc, but they were all empty with shelves hanging off, and we had to use a single walkway to get through where there had once been numerous channels like an airport. The walkways to the cruise ships, like aircraft jetways had once been in use, but were beyond repair, falling apart and can't have run along the rails for 15 years or so and they call this their 'modern' cruise passenger terminal! Landside there was a shop, quite a fair size full of Russian gifts, all priced in roubles. Signs saying they are NOT allowed to use US dollars as a government run shop..BUT, they are quite happy to walk around telling you the US or £ price of everything and will on one till take US$ or GPB£. Hmmm! Can use credit cards too, but goes through in roubles. I got on a rundown coach and we bumped and banged down the potholes to the main road. These however were newly tarmaced and very smooth in the main. Most of the streets seemed to be newish. Only the drains which didn't fit well and the tram lines caused big bumps then. Beautiful sunny day all day. It took about 25 mins to get to the Winter Palace. It didn't open to the public until 10.30 but we were allowed in early as a tour. The first 20 mins were therefore peaceful. The place is amazing. Took loads of photos of walls and ceilings:) Then into the Little Hermitage, with elaborately decorated table tops made with tiny semi-precious stones. They were lovely. One of the many canals Then onto the main Hermitage. By now the place was CROWDED and in parts you could hardly move and although only about 15 people in our group, it was hard to keep together. We were allowed some time on our own in a few sections, and by the time we got to the Impressionists we only had 15 mins left, so the guide told us, to meet at the exit in 10 mins, and to see the next 9 rooms! Well you can't do one in that time! Just long enough to walk through to the end. Anyway, I wasn't bothered as I don't like that part anyhow. Apparently the Hermitage contains the largest collection of any museum in the world, some 3million exhibits, but only 5% of which are on display. If one spent 5 mins looking at every item it would take you 4 years to get round...[although another guide said 8 years..anyone want to work it out?:)] Once outside people were setting up stalls etc, but we weren't allowed near them and had to get the bus back. 12.20pm by the time I was back at the ship and spent sometime in the shop pricing things. It was a good trip. Dave and the children were already back, having had a good time, and had stopped at numerous places to get out and walk around. Beverley had taken loads of photographs too. The Marble Palace We didn't go on a trip in the afternoon. Howard slept while Beverley and I played cards and wandered around, but Beverley and I had to be ready for dinner at 5,as we were going to the ballet at 6.45pm. We went to see the Musorgsky Opera and Ballet Theatre company performing "Giselle", Mm. Habibulina and Mr. Myasnikov were the soloists, at The Alexandrinski Theatre. The oldest theatre in St Petersburg. The ballet itself was excellent and very good indeed. But the theatre!!!!!!!!!! On the way there the guide told us how comfortable it was etc etc.....Hmph! Admittedly we had the worst/cheapest seats in the place, but they were wooden benches covered with a bit of red felt! Arrandged in a semi circle with 8 'small' people to each bench; we had 9 people to squash into room for 8! We were virtually sitting on top of one another. It was hard on the rear end and everyone kept shuffling and fidgeting. The row in front was not much below our level and Beverley couldn't see a lot without moving around all the time:( It was also hot and uncomfortable. At the interval we discovered the woman at the end was taking up 3 seats with her husband as she was sitting sideways on and had her handbag on the bench. Hints didn't work and nor did shuffling along with 2 people coming back to squeeze into about 12" next to her husband. They did not budge even when asked to move up a bit! Glad I wasn't directly next to them! At least there was a breeze with the door open, but they shut it again when the show restarted. By the end all we wanted to do was get outside in the fresh air. Back at the ship by 11 and went to bed. Did debate the midnight buffet, but it was a bit crowded. Woke late on the second day..drizzling too....at 7.50am and Dave and Beverley were going on the same trip as I did yesterday at 8.45am. So a rush get dressed and off they went. They were luckier than me, as The Winter Palace and Hermitage are closed on Mondays, but were opened especially for the tour from the ship! So they didn't have hoards of Spaniards and Italians and Swiss to plough through. They enjoyed it anyway. I stayed aboard with Howard. He went to the kids club, while I just wandered about and read my book for a bit. Then Howard and I went to lunch about 12 and they arrived back as we finished having thoroughly enjoyed it. Still raining. The sister canal boat to the one we were in! At 1.45 we were all going on a shopping/canal trip. The whole place was packed, traffic jams, and it took us 45 mins to get to the Square of the Arts by coach where we then only had 35 mins for shopping! We were told to either wander up the Nevskiy Prospekt or go to the Flea market. We chose the latter as both still 5 mins walk away. Only Beverley and I got off the coach. There were 3 small stalls there:( Nothing like Beverley saw yesterday, so we just bought a few things and hoped to get something more at the cruise terminal although it was more expensive there. We had to run really, hardly a shopping trip. Back to the coach and onto the canal....boy, will this thing we are getting on float?????? More like a rust bucket, including the holes!! The Aurora  Well we got round a few canals and rivers and saw the Aurora etc and Summer Palace & gardens. St Petersburg is built on 120? islands and was once just marshes. Some of the trip was pretty, some of the buildings impressive, some awful and some dilapidated, such a mixture. It was worth it though...back to the ship and we were already late for the 5.15pm 'be back on the ship or else' demand. But as everyone else was too we did some shopping in the shop first; rather hurried though. We were leaving at 6pm, and actually got aboard at 5.30pm. Some people were still walking along the quay at 5.55.... Finally left to the tunes of the band playing, not bad......we had given them a tip, and everyone was clapping and waving from the ship. A nice send off really compared to the other ports. Howard & Beverley were both dead beat. Howard had a shower and Dave ordered room service for the 2 boys, while Beverley and I ate in the restaurant. The waiter gave Beverley Howard's usual chocolate ice cream to take down to the cabin!:) He was missed! Beverley then went straight to bed too. 1 ½ hours from St Petersburg we passed the Russian Naval base. So I went up on deck. Hmm, do they still have a working Navy? The place was a rundown, dilapidated, rust bucket graveyard. Couple of cruisers and subs, a few people waving. Must be/have been awful living and working there, seeing the concrete apartment blocks the workers lived in. The Naval base is on its own island. St Petersburg was not as poor and rundown as expected though. Cars are everywhere, from the latest sports cars to the rusty ancient Hillman Imps and Ladas, Zephyrs etc. All the latter seem to break down and have numerous people with their heads under the bonnets:) Traffic jams on the very wide 3 or 4 car width roads too. Most of the people seem well dressed, only saw a handful of beggars and they were round the tourist buses, kids with no shoes on and looking dirty. Could have been anywhere. Saw one bloke with ricketts begging, but the rest seemed OK. The people we talked to were friendly and smiling, and the guides very proud and loyal to their country. The buildings were all in a state of repair! A lot had obviously been recently painted, others had new guttering everywhere. Some however were filthy and rundown, but nowhere near as bad as I'd thought it would be. Nevskiy Prospekt Roadside flower patches tended, but in other places the weeds grew everywhere...wouldn't take much to cut them down though. Might be an idea if some of the cars were washed. Maintenance is the problem. Trams...Oh dear...well what rust buckets. Things drop off and the driver gets out, picks up a bit of metal and sticks it back on. They are packed with people during the rush hours. Not painted on the tops either and look filthy. Likewise the trolley buses. The main streets are 24 hour with nightclubs bars etc, the usual shops you would see in any city, Boss, Reebok etc etc.....The largest department store is one mile long. Some of the suburbs are rough looking and I don't think it would be wise to wonder around them alone or at night. Some 15 million people live in St Petersburg, only Moscow is larger. They were doing an excellent business in flying tourists over the city on helicopter tours! One wonders if they were maintained in the same way as the trams. Lots of people waiting to go up in one. I wonder if they'd noticed the look of the rest of the transport around:)-p Well, I enjoyed the visit, but there was a lot we didn't see and get too. St Catherine's Palace, Peterhof etc, and a multitude of museums. Maybe come again.
	My photo albums of St Petersburg

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	The Ports of Call
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