| 2008 St. Petersburg, Sweden, Denmark and Norway |
July 25, Friday San Francisco - Frankfurt am Main
David and I began our journey with a new twist this time: he was minus his right lung. Thus, we arranged for
wheelchairs and oxygen on United, Lufthansa and SAS airlines. It was a very different experience, but, all in all, a
good one. We were two hours late taking off because one of the skid brakes on one of the 18 wheels of our United
747 planes was broken, so the pilot got it fixed. But, in "economy plus" we had six extra inches and were fairly
content. We duly landed in Frankfurt and took the taxi to the wonderful five-star Le Meridien ParkHotel in downtown
Frankfurt am Main, at Wiesenhuettenplatz 28-38. What a pleasant experience, again. We arrived on July 26th,
stayed a day and left for St. Petersburg on July 27th.
David and I began our journey with a new twist this time: he was minus his right lung. Thus, we arranged for
wheelchairs and oxygen on United, Lufthansa and SAS airlines. It was a very different experience, but, all in all, a
good one. We were two hours late taking off because one of the skid brakes on one of the 18 wheels of our United
747 planes was broken, so the pilot got it fixed. But, in "economy plus" we had six extra inches and were fairly
content. We duly landed in Frankfurt and took the taxi to the wonderful five-star Le Meridien ParkHotel in downtown
Frankfurt am Main, at Wiesenhuettenplatz 28-38. What a pleasant experience, again. We arrived on July 26th,
stayed a day and left for St. Petersburg on July 27th.
BELOW: the Palace Square with Alexander Column, the Neva River, Kazan Cathedral and the famous Cruiser Aurora.
St. Isaac's Cathedral with the monument to Nicolas I, the
Admiralty and the map of downtown (old town) St. Petersburg.
Admiralty and the map of downtown (old town) St. Petersburg.
July 29, Tuesday, St. Petersburg
Today Irina took us to the Hermitage: old Hermitage, new Hermitage, small Hermitage and theater. It was close enough to our hotel to walk home. The
Hermitage building itself is a work of art, with fabulous rooms of the czars. The ceilings and floors "matched" in gilded Baroque work and parquet floors.
Amazing. The art was Something Else. The czars had excellent taste, with 25 Rembrandt's (more than the Dutch have). I spent some time looking at them, van
Dyck, two da Vincis, Reubens, etc. There was the "Crouching Boy" by Michaelangelo, one Goya (no Vermeers) and then roomfuls of Impressionists.
David enjoyed it also, especially since he got to see it all from a wheelchair. One interesting thing: the Hermitage had only TWO wheelchairs for the millions of
yearly visitors. David was in one of them but our tour guide Irina had to surrender her passport as a guarantee of returning it. It seemed so odd but we realized,
after a day or so, that much of the design of hotels, tourist places, stores, restaurants and life in general, was designed to keep people from stealing, destroying
or vandalizing things.
After the Hermitage David and I walked back to the hotel, tried to have lunch at a nice restaurant, waited in vain for service and finally ate at a local cafe. The
latter was fast, cheaper and with good service. [One of our two good meals had been on Sunday night at a restaurant with an English theme. Cost us $120. I
had Norweigan salmon and it took us over two hours to get the meal ordered, consumed and paid for. ]
Afterwards, still on Tuesday, we walked over to the famous Church of the Resurrection of Christ, also called the Savior of the Spilled Blood. It was built to
commemorate Alexander II and is properly called the Church in the Name of the Resurrection of Christ on the Site of the Mortal Wounding of His Honoured
Majesty Alexander II (1880). The Soviets used it as a storage place and had planned to destroy it by blowing it up. Much of the fabulous tile mosaics had to be
restored. This church isn't huge but, in its own way, is one of the most magnificent churches I've even seen.
Today Irina took us to the Hermitage: old Hermitage, new Hermitage, small Hermitage and theater. It was close enough to our hotel to walk home. The
Hermitage building itself is a work of art, with fabulous rooms of the czars. The ceilings and floors "matched" in gilded Baroque work and parquet floors.
Amazing. The art was Something Else. The czars had excellent taste, with 25 Rembrandt's (more than the Dutch have). I spent some time looking at them, van
Dyck, two da Vincis, Reubens, etc. There was the "Crouching Boy" by Michaelangelo, one Goya (no Vermeers) and then roomfuls of Impressionists.
David enjoyed it also, especially since he got to see it all from a wheelchair. One interesting thing: the Hermitage had only TWO wheelchairs for the millions of
yearly visitors. David was in one of them but our tour guide Irina had to surrender her passport as a guarantee of returning it. It seemed so odd but we realized,
after a day or so, that much of the design of hotels, tourist places, stores, restaurants and life in general, was designed to keep people from stealing, destroying
or vandalizing things.
After the Hermitage David and I walked back to the hotel, tried to have lunch at a nice restaurant, waited in vain for service and finally ate at a local cafe. The
latter was fast, cheaper and with good service. [One of our two good meals had been on Sunday night at a restaurant with an English theme. Cost us $120. I
had Norweigan salmon and it took us over two hours to get the meal ordered, consumed and paid for. ]
Afterwards, still on Tuesday, we walked over to the famous Church of the Resurrection of Christ, also called the Savior of the Spilled Blood. It was built to
commemorate Alexander II and is properly called the Church in the Name of the Resurrection of Christ on the Site of the Mortal Wounding of His Honoured
Majesty Alexander II (1880). The Soviets used it as a storage place and had planned to destroy it by blowing it up. Much of the fabulous tile mosaics had to be
restored. This church isn't huge but, in its own way, is one of the most magnificent churches I've even seen.
July 30, Wednesday, St. Petersburg
Today was departure day for Stockholm but we didn't leave until 5:00 in the afternoon, so we had the whole day at our fingertips. We saw Catherine's Palace. It
was huge, European and marvelous. The rooms were Versailles-like and Italian. There was even a "Rafaels' Gallery," copied exactly from the gallery of the
same name in the Vatican Museum. The piece de resistance was the Amber Room. The walls were of solid amber, of many designs, shapes and amber colors.
The wall was replaced after its disappearance an destruction after World War II. Catherine the Great and her children had wonderful taste. Everything new and
beautiful in Europe was copied and enlarged by the czars.
Today was departure day for Stockholm but we didn't leave until 5:00 in the afternoon, so we had the whole day at our fingertips. We saw Catherine's Palace. It
was huge, European and marvelous. The rooms were Versailles-like and Italian. There was even a "Rafaels' Gallery," copied exactly from the gallery of the
same name in the Vatican Museum. The piece de resistance was the Amber Room. The walls were of solid amber, of many designs, shapes and amber colors.
The wall was replaced after its disappearance an destruction after World War II. Catherine the Great and her children had wonderful taste. Everything new and
beautiful in Europe was copied and enlarged by the czars.
So, that was our trip to Russia. We left on SAS in due
time, without TOO much stress and winged our way to
Stockholm.
We didn't see Peter the Great's Palace (below, right).
We'll save that for next time.
Dasvidanya.
time, without TOO much stress and winged our way to
Stockholm.
We didn't see Peter the Great's Palace (below, right).
We'll save that for next time.
Dasvidanya.
July 27, Sunday, St. Petersburg
We arrived in Russia. I had the forethought to book someone to meet us and take us to our hotel. Artyom Andreiov was our driver. He spoke no
English but was very nice and drove us to our "four-star" hotel, the Belveder-Nevsky, a "business hotel." It was actually a two-star hotel, with an
lobby like a two-star, seedy apartment building, with a walk up a flight of stairs to the oldest, smallest, noisiest, clunker of an elevator this planet
has ever seen. Half of the second and third floors comprised the hotel, with a "reception" area consisting of a desk and two chairs at the end of a
hallway. The woman who met us was extremely nice and totally useless. But, the rooms were decent, though noisy, and clean. The water in the
bathroom shower was timed for 30 second intervals and the sink had only hot water. Oh well. It did have a safe, although its use was
cumbersome, intricate and very odd. The breakfasts and lunches were abominable, but, hey, Russia has never been known for haute cuisine,
service or maintenance. I knew that.
It was "Fleet Week" in St. Petersburg and the Neva River was covered with many Russian navy ships, cruisers and such; no aircraft carriers, of
course, as it was a river. Out on the North Sea there were, no doubt, plenty of those. The citizens of St. Petersburg were out in force on this
lovely Sunday afternoon. In fact, the place was packed!
We arrived in Russia. I had the forethought to book someone to meet us and take us to our hotel. Artyom Andreiov was our driver. He spoke no
English but was very nice and drove us to our "four-star" hotel, the Belveder-Nevsky, a "business hotel." It was actually a two-star hotel, with an
lobby like a two-star, seedy apartment building, with a walk up a flight of stairs to the oldest, smallest, noisiest, clunker of an elevator this planet
has ever seen. Half of the second and third floors comprised the hotel, with a "reception" area consisting of a desk and two chairs at the end of a
hallway. The woman who met us was extremely nice and totally useless. But, the rooms were decent, though noisy, and clean. The water in the
bathroom shower was timed for 30 second intervals and the sink had only hot water. Oh well. It did have a safe, although its use was
cumbersome, intricate and very odd. The breakfasts and lunches were abominable, but, hey, Russia has never been known for haute cuisine,
service or maintenance. I knew that.
It was "Fleet Week" in St. Petersburg and the Neva River was covered with many Russian navy ships, cruisers and such; no aircraft carriers, of
course, as it was a river. Out on the North Sea there were, no doubt, plenty of those. The citizens of St. Petersburg were out in force on this
lovely Sunday afternoon. In fact, the place was packed!
ABOVE: Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood), the Hermitage,
Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul and more of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ
Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul and more of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ
July 28, Monday, St. Petersburg
The following morning I had a tour guide take us around for a city tour.
Irina was our guide, spoke almost perfect English and was also very
nice. We had the same driver. St. Petersburg is a third-world city and
its Soviet legacy is massive, ugly plazas and monuments. I DID see a
statue of Lenin, but only one. All that was and is beautiful in St.
Petersburg was built by the czars. Their taste in buildings, palaces
and such, was 100% European, exclusively Italian and French. Their
taste in churches was definitely not European. The churches and
cathedrals were 100% Russian and, to my eyes, unique and
marvelous. These postcards say it all.
After the tour, Irina asked us if we wanted to do anything else. Well, I
wanted to see something "cultural" that evening and so we saw SWAN
LAKE at a local theater. The theater was small, formerly private,
beautiful place, chock full of fellow tourists. It was a show in itself to
see the tourists. The orchestra had only about 50 musicians but they
were PERFECT. The dance company was from Moscow, but they
weren't all the "A" dancers. However, they were as good as anyone I
had ever seen. The four principals of the ballet were absolutely
fabulous, one woman, three men. It was on the Fontanka River and
was called, the Bolshoi Theatre on the Fontanka.
During intermission there was a string quartet playing for us tourists
and patrons. Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was one piece I
recognized.
Artyom picked us up, drove us to the theater and drove us home after
the ballet. What a treat!
The following morning I had a tour guide take us around for a city tour.
Irina was our guide, spoke almost perfect English and was also very
nice. We had the same driver. St. Petersburg is a third-world city and
its Soviet legacy is massive, ugly plazas and monuments. I DID see a
statue of Lenin, but only one. All that was and is beautiful in St.
Petersburg was built by the czars. Their taste in buildings, palaces
and such, was 100% European, exclusively Italian and French. Their
taste in churches was definitely not European. The churches and
cathedrals were 100% Russian and, to my eyes, unique and
marvelous. These postcards say it all.
After the tour, Irina asked us if we wanted to do anything else. Well, I
wanted to see something "cultural" that evening and so we saw SWAN
LAKE at a local theater. The theater was small, formerly private,
beautiful place, chock full of fellow tourists. It was a show in itself to
see the tourists. The orchestra had only about 50 musicians but they
were PERFECT. The dance company was from Moscow, but they
weren't all the "A" dancers. However, they were as good as anyone I
had ever seen. The four principals of the ballet were absolutely
fabulous, one woman, three men. It was on the Fontanka River and
was called, the Bolshoi Theatre on the Fontanka.
During intermission there was a string quartet playing for us tourists
and patrons. Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was one piece I
recognized.
Artyom picked us up, drove us to the theater and drove us home after
the ballet. What a treat!
The inside of this church is covered with mosaics of the life of Christ. Literally, there isn't an open
space. Even the supporting pillars are covered with mosaics. The northern wall has mosaics from the
Nativity; the southern walls have mosaics of Christ's miracles; the western wall is covered with mosaics
of His Passion and Death. The eastern wall is the altar. The pillars and ceiling have mosaics from
both the old and new Testament.
space. Even the supporting pillars are covered with mosaics. The northern wall has mosaics from the
Nativity; the southern walls have mosaics of Christ's miracles; the western wall is covered with mosaics
of His Passion and Death. The eastern wall is the altar. The pillars and ceiling have mosaics from
both the old and new Testament.
The photographs of the restoration process were at the front of the
church. It's a museum now.
We saw three other churches, small ones, in use. One was gorgeous,
one was nice and one was rather ordinary. The gorgeous one, which we
saw on Monday, was the St. Nicolas Church and there was a Mass going
on, a high Mass, sung, with a small but wonderful choir. It was hardly
recognizable to me, especially with the antiquated Russian and the entire
service being held far back from the standing people in a separate room,
with only a narrow doorway to see the Mass. No pews, no place to kneel
or sit. The high Mass was to last an hour, a short service, compared to
the standard Sunday Mass of 1 1/2 - 2 hours long.
church. It's a museum now.
We saw three other churches, small ones, in use. One was gorgeous,
one was nice and one was rather ordinary. The gorgeous one, which we
saw on Monday, was the St. Nicolas Church and there was a Mass going
on, a high Mass, sung, with a small but wonderful choir. It was hardly
recognizable to me, especially with the antiquated Russian and the entire
service being held far back from the standing people in a separate room,
with only a narrow doorway to see the Mass. No pews, no place to kneel
or sit. The high Mass was to last an hour, a short service, compared to
the standard Sunday Mass of 1 1/2 - 2 hours long.
