St. Petersburg, Russia

This stop was without a doubt the highlight of our trip. Russia almost seems untouchable. Getting a visa is not an easy task, so it always seemed unlikely. On a cruise, however, you are allowed into the country without a visa so long as you book a guide, and you are not allowed to roam about the city unattended by your guide at any time. At the end of your tour your guide will even walk you to the passport control to ensure you've re-entered non-Russian territory before leaving you. St. Petersburg is hardly a place you can do justice to in a short time, but we were so glad the cruise itinerary had us docked here for two full days allowing us to get a pretty good overview of this mammoth metropolis.


Catherine Palace in the town of Pushkin outside of St. Petersburg was the summer residence of the tsars. Although nearly completely destroyed by the Germans, the Russians had kept detailed records of the palace, which they have used to return the palace to its former glory mostly completed in 2003.








The entrance hall




Ballroom


Ballroom, all the gold in this palace is genuine


Ballroom


One of the palace's many grand dining rooms


The 12 gilded doorways


Dining room


Drawing room


Catherine Palace


Catherine Palace


How we rolled during our two-day tour, you can see our driver and guide.


Peterhof Palace, considered the "Russian Versailles." St. Petersburg is pretty much synonymous with Peter the Great. His influence is seen throughout the city. We spent the balance of our first day in St. Petersburg exploring Peterhof Park with all its palaces and fountains in another suburb of St. Petersburg.


Peterhof Palace


Peterholf Palace with the Grand Cascade, a magical fountain that is powered by natural forces alone


Grand Cascade




Looking off into the Gulf of Finland


Gulf of Finland


Peterhof park is full of these tricky little fountains in an amazing array of shapes and styles, and all powered without the use of pumps. Towards the end of our walk through Peterhof we finally caved and let the kids jump in!


Peter and Paul Fortress. This is the historical core of St. Petersburg.


St. Peter and Paul is the burial place for most of the Russian tsars


Inside St. Peter and Paul


Back on the ship after a long day in and around St. Petersburg


Beautiful sunsets over heavily industrialised Russia




Mickey Mouse was birthed right next to us during our two-day St. Petersburg stay. It was interesting to note how the ships used this time to attend to regular maintenance needs. Both ships were being fed by fuel tankers and "no smoking" signs were placed all over the open ship decks during this period. You could really smell the fuel, and it was unsettling to think what might happen if someone flicked a cigarette overboard!


Day two of our St. Petersburg visit began with a whirlwind visit to the grand Hermitage Museum! This was definitely one of those bucket list items for me. While our half-day visit was nowhere near even putting a minor dent in the place, it was a real thrill to just be there.


The queue was horrendous, but our guide worked some magic and we slid right in


The art collection is astounding, and the galleries themselves were something to behold. It was truly an overwhelming experience.








The Royal Throne






Along the embankment of the Neva River








One of the many smaller arms of the Neva River flowing throw St. Petersburg.






Another great port day meal having some authentic Russian cuisine and drink!


This was the creme de la creme for me. The Church of our Saviour on the Spilt Blood is the very embodiment sublime architecture. I have never laid eyes on a more beautiful structure inside or out.






Every square inch of the interior is covered in indescribably beautiful mosaic