Scandinavia #8b

St. Petersburg, Russia

Tour of the Hermitage and Symphony Performance

We were told to "dress" for the evening. The tour was after hours reducing the crowd.

 The Winter Palace and Hermitage was amazing. Just as it was the last time I was here, it took my breath away. The craftsmanship of the ceilings and wood inlays of the floors were so delicate and lovely. The tour through the Hermitage lasted 90 minutes and included a great collection of Rembrandts and collectibles. Then what we had been waiting for, the St. Petersburg State Symphony performance. We were shocked to see it was a full symphony orchestra!  We sat in a large room surrounded by Rembrandt paintings, skylight and ornate ceiling listening to a great collection of the masters. The program included the Blue Danube and Barber of Seville. Afterward, we were treated to a Champagne Reception in the atrium with cherry juice for non-drinkers. When we left the building, several cathedrals and buildings across the canal were lit up against the black night sky reflecting in the canals. It was romantic, I couldn't have planned it better myself.

There were four buses full of people returning from evening events at the same time. Customs took forever and the line to get back onboard was 30 minutes in the freezing cold. Good thing we dressed in layers! We were cold, tired and hungry as we were it was heartwarming to walk into our stateroom and see two covered plates of food waiting in our room.

(For a video of the performance copy and paste: 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrC5pauf8VZ53QA7QosnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=st+petersburg+state+symphony+orchestra%2C+hermitage&vid=097cd68070ce51eefa78ab88c9028efa&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.g7nkrudhIHBF4fjMLmLhEgEsCo%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D168%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCoJT2SlpxVo&tit=Night+at+the+Hermitage+Museum%2C+St+Petersburg&c=0&h=168&w=300&l=356&sigr=11b81da4v&sigt=11cjophea&sigi=12rietj43&age=1470129862&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

We were docked in Russia for a total of three days. It is a Magical City.

Scandinavia #8a

St. Petersburg, Russia

I never thought I would step on Russian soil again, never in my wildest dreams! I was in Russia in 1990 for 3 weeks (went to St. Petersburg, Moscow,  and Prague, Czech Republic). It wasn’t until we cleared immigration and I actually walked past customs, that it sunk in that I was actually here...again.

Faberge Museum Tour

          I saw only a few Faberge Eggs last time I was here because they on an exhibition to the US. I had forgotten how gorgeous they were. The intricate detail of design was truly amazing.

          The museum is housed in the  Shuvalovs Palace, one of the most beautiful palaces in St. Petersburg, formerly owned by the Naryshkins and the Shuvalovs, two famous aristocratic families.

          Carl Faberge was French-born but lived in Russia for many years. He began making decorated eggs for Peter the Great and his royal heirs. When the revolution occurred he escaped to Switzerland where he died around 1920. When he fled, his workshop was left behind and hidden by friends. After WWII Faberge’s heirs retrieved the workshop and sold it to an artist in Italy. They also sold him the Faberge name.

We spent the afternoon relaxing on board the ship, hit the hot tub, and had dinner with our new international friends on board.

Tour of the City

We took a bus tour through St. Petersburg and it was better than I remembered. The streets are repaired, the buildings no longer in shambles and so many new skyscrapers than before. But the sense of antiquity and charm of the city still remained. We spend time touring St. Peter and Paul Fortress which contains the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The cathedral was Marvelous!

After the 4 hour tour, we returned to the ship at 1pm, had lunch and relaxed in the library.

Scandinavia #7

Helsinki, Finland

          Helsinki, Finland was our next Port o' Call. This is a city I have always wanted to see. It was freezing cold, about 62 and windy. However, the sun is very close to the earth this far north and helped warm things to comfortable by noon.

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Harbor Excursion

          We took a harbor cruise along the southern coast of Finland. Our group walked along the harbor to our boat. We noticed the sand was very dark, looked like it was mixed with dirt/mud. I didn't know the harbor into Helsinki had many islands, covered with trees and buildings on high rises. The largest island had a huge fort built to defend against Swedes and Russians in the 1700s. The architecture along the mainland coast was amazing. We passed Ice Breaker ships and learned the entire Baltic Sea sometimes freezes over and the Ice Breakers are needed to keep the sea open for shipping. In other spots, the local government creates lanes on the ice for cars to drive over and for people to ice skate.

We had a perspective from the sea we wouldn’t have had from a tour bus. The city has been around since the 1100AD with the Vikings part of the growth of the city.

Finland had a close relationship with Germany during WWII, they were deathly afraid of the Russians and turned to Germany for protection. They said they had to choose between two evils and chose Germany.

I notice that the Finnish people, men, are very handsome and the women rather pretty, and extremely tall! Their facial features are delicate.

Old Town Helsinki

          After the cruise, we stopped at the ship for a buffet lunch, then took a 30-minute walk to the open air market in Old Town Square. We noticed the cobblestones were like boulders, huge! Also, saunas are a way of life in Finland and apparently in most of the Scandinavian culture and it's quite a ritual.

          This capital city has the most interesting architecture I have seen. The variety in the buildings is superb. Each had a history that added to this amazing city.

Old Town Helsinki

          After the cruise, we stopped at the ship for a buffet lunch, then took a 30-minute walk to the open air market in Old Town Square. We noticed the cobblestones were like boulders, huge! Also, saunas are a way of life in Finland and apparently in most of the Scandinavian culture and it's quite a ritual.

          This capital city has the most interesting architecture I have seen. The variety in the buildings is superb. Each had a history that added to this amazing city.

An evening on the ship

          With such comfortable weather today, we just walked and walked through the city. Hence, when we got back to the ship, we were exhausted.  We had dinner that night in the Grand Dining room, a dress code strictly adhered.

          We were seated at a table of 6 and met the most interesting people. One of the couples, an older couple from Kentucky, escaped Nazi Germany and made their way to Seattle. Their story was heartwarming.

Scandinavia #6

Riga Latvia

          Our next Ports o' Call was Riga, Latvia. It was 54 F and drizzly when we headed to Old Town. The President was working in the castle (Riga Castle), so all castle tours were canceled. But the castle is an amazing structure built in 1330 on the bank of the River Daugava.  It was heavily guarded with sentries standing in their little houses like in London and marched from one corner o the building to the other with their automatic weapons (M16s).

Old Town Riga

          We continued our walk through town, the maps are very confusing. So we decided to stroll through the city. We found the "Three Brothers," three old style buildings attached and beautifully designed in medieval times about the late 1400s.

          The drizzle turned to light rain so ducked into St. Peter's Church to rest. There was a service in progress (we forgot it was Sunday). The building started around 1300s (Gothic) with multiple arches in every corner of the church. The outside was old bricks and turrets.  We happened upon two gentlemen playing French horn and Tuba. Locals stopped and clapped along while singing Latvian folk songs.

          Old Town has many parks and small cafes hidden out of the way alleys, nooks, and corners. The cafes were covered with flowers, wrought iron bistro tables and chairs, all very romantic. The city was considered the "Paris of the Baltic" when it was part of the USSR. I could see why!  

          The sun came, it turned out to be a lovely late afternoon sky. We stopped at a park and enjoyed the huge trees and flowers for a while. We didn't say much, just took in the spirit of the ancient city.

Afternoon Tea

          We got back to the ship just in time for Afternoon Tea.  It was held in the lovely formal dining room, with the panoramic view of the city. Crystal chandeliers hung from a high ceiling, white linen tablecloths, crystal glassware, china and real silverware. A string quartet played the entire time, distinguished waiters in white jackets scurried around to meet your every want, and a dress code for attendees made it an extraordinary experience. The pastries, sandwiches and various teas were delicious. The head cook had a lovely dish waiting for me with my gluten-free diet.

Leaving Latvia

          We sat on our veranda and watched this charming medieval town pass by us as we left the docks. Our reservations were for 8:00 dinner at Toscana, a select restaurant on board. The interior of the restaurant was just like Italy, the food amazing. We lingered over dessert enjoying our seating partners from Australia.

Scandinavia #5

Klaipeda, Lithuania

          Our next Ports o' Call was Klaipeda, Lithuania. As we pulled into the dock we could see beautiful forests along the shore with wonderful looking hunting lodge buildings across the channel from the ship. It was a beautiful morning with a dew dark clouds.

Rainy Day

          We left the ship to tour the town, we got about a third of a mile from the ship when rain began to pepper the sidewalk. We ducked under some trees, but still got wet. We decided to cross the main street and get under a huge oak tree. I began to pour as we crossed the street. We go under the trees but got soaked. We ran to an awning and waited until the rain let up. Finally, we headed back to the ship for dry clothes and it dumped on us again.

          We changed and grabbed our rain gear and left again. It didn't rain again that day!

Old Town Klaipeda

          The cobblestones of Old Town were much larger than the ones in Copenhagen or Warnemunde. They were like slick boulders. You had to be careful where you stepped and how. As we entered Theatre Square we saw the most amazing use of flowers displayed. The pile of flowers was at least 5 feet tall with a well-shaped dome that went to the ground. It was magnificent. These flower domes surrounded the cobblestone square.

          We walked through old town, we were passed by horse drawn carriages while the town church bells rang out at noon. I actually felt I was in a Rembrandt painting surrounded by 15th-century building and flowers hanging from the light posts, as the horse clip-clapped along the stones. On our way back to the ship a group of people was gathered on the bridge. The swing bridge had opened to let a boat pass. It was interesting how the bridge was operated by two men turning the mechanism, the way they did it centuries ago.

Evening on board the ship

          We had reservations at the Polo Grill, a formal dining room with rave reviews. We dressed and waited for our time for dinner in a quiet spot at the Barista, sipping hot chocolate and watching the ship leave the harbor.

          The Polo Grill was beautifully decorated in old English steakhouse style. The food was excellent!

Scandinavia #4

Warnemunde, Germany

               Our first Port o' Call was Warnemunde, Germany. When we woke up we immediately went out on our veranda. The ship had arrived at a quaint little German seaside village. Warnemunde was in East Germany and had little contact with the west. The town was also a vacation spot in the summer for East Germans. Apparently, this town was heavily bombed during WWII ruining many of its historical buildings. Under communist rule, few ruins were fixed. There are stories of people hiding many artifacts from the communists that were thought lost during the war. They are now displayed with great pride.

          We ate breakfast and headed to town. The weather was cold, breezy and drizzling. I had to keep reminding myself it's early fall in the Northern Kingdom.

          Our stroll through the town square was on cobblestones lined with buildings since the early 1800s. The shops and restaurants were in German but we found many locals spoke excellent English.

          We found ourselves in a residential area with 2-3 story homes, flowers were cuddled in every corner possible. We also noted the blooms on the flowers were rather large and vibrant in colors.

          It was getting colder with light rain so we ducked into a Lutheran Church, St. Christopher. It’s alter was built in 1475! It also had a statue of St. Christopher (7 feet tall) carved in 1507!

          After warming and drying out we continued our stroll on the seaside. Fortunately, the sun was out and no clouds. The beach had beautiful,  white sand that glistened in the sun for miles. Large covered Cabanas lined the sand. We wanted to stick our feet in the blue ocean but the weather was cold (50F) and decided not to.

          As we walked along the coast, families walked with their children, baby carriages and strollers. Many were from other parts of Germany vacationing on the coast-again many spoke very good English.

          Clouds blew in and the rain started up. On our way back to the ship there were sand sculptures, beautifully done and very intricate.

          We spent the rest of the rainy day on the ship at the well-stocked library on the 14th deck, looking out at the ocean. We were even served hot chocolate.

          We kept talking about how beautiful Warnemunde was. For so long many of the countries and cities were hidden behind the Iron Curtain that we forgot how beautiful this part of eastern Europe was...until now.

Scandinavia #3

Leaving Copenhagen

          It was time to leave for our long awaited cruise of the Baltic Sea. But we were sad to leave Copenhagen. It was all we expected and even more.

          We had reserved a driver and car to pick us up and deliver us to our ship, the Oceania Marina. We were surprised how smooth the check in procedure was. This was our fifth cruise, our first with Oceania. We have cruised with 4 different lines, Celebrity Cruise Line was our favorite. So we will see how much we like this line.

The Cruise Line

          We went through the initial check in, security and had our luggage taken for security check on the dock. We were an hour early for embarkation and thought we would have to wait, but they let us board. As we entered the lobby, a string quartet played classical music, the lobby was majestic with wrought iron, tiled floors, etched Lalique glass and crystal chandeliers.

          Our stateroom was not ready but the lunch buffet had just opened for serving. We had an amazing lunch. The view of Copenhagen and the open sea from the 12^th deck was breathtaking. We still had some time before our room was ready so we investigated the different common areas. Every decoration, from carpet to ceiling was amazingly thought out.

          They called our room and we headed for the Deck 8. Our stateroom was very nice, plenty of drawers, a  large closet and a lovely veranda that looked right out to the sea. Our luggage was waiting for us by the door. Ever thing arrived including a small duffel bag that was not ours. I gave it to the porter and said, "This is not ours." He apologized and left with the duffel bag.

          We changed and went for a soak in the outdoor Jacuzzi. The air was 56 F but the thick robes they left us kept us warm. We soaked for 20 minutes, drinks were served to us in the tub. It felt good to be totally warm inside. We returned and found the same small duffel bag by our door again.  I found an attendant and said, "This is not ours." He apologized and left with the duffel bag.

          We showered and dressed for dinner. Now, we usually take cruises along the west coast of the US and one Caribbean cruise. Seldom do we need to dress for dinner other than something clean, tidy and nice. We didn't realize that Oceania was a luxury liner and we were expected to dress for dinner every evening. So we dressed and headed to the dining room. We shared a table with a sweet older couple from Kentucky who were celebrating their 60 anniversary. It was nice to celebrate a monumental year with them. And surprisingly, they had a glutten-free dinner waiting for me, it was delicious!

          It was around 10:00pm, we had already left the docks and we sailing the Baltic Sea. We stopped and looked out the deck on the way back, the moon was almost full and left a lovely trail of light on the water.

          We returned to our stateroom only to find the same duffel bag waiting for us by the door, third time. It was like indigestion, it kept coming back! I gave it to the night steward.  I really felt sorry for the proper person.