St. Petersburg - nice but it's not Leningrad

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St. Petersburg. This vibrant city is said to be (arguably) one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is often referred to as the Venice of the North or the Paris of the East. This city has crammed a massive amount of history in to its paltry 300 years existence. From Peter I through to the Siege of Leningrad, the city has seen much drama, intrigue, treachery as well as glamour, over indulgence and the odd rich oligarch!!

St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad then back to St. Petersburg, this city has had more name changes than P Diddy or Prince!!

St. Petersburg is located on the Neva River and being a major city of the Russian Federation, this didn't come without restrictions. Not because it is located on the Neva or because it was a city but because we were entering the Russian Federation.

The Russian authorities would only allow passengers to disembark if they were attached to a specific shore excursion. If one wanted to DIY, one needed a Russian visa.

The MSC Opera would be tied up at berth 33 from 0700hrs today until 1900hrs tomorrow. For all the palaver and messing about with visa and immigration cards Roisin and I had agreed that this is the only port of call that we would take an official excursion (or three!). Roisin had always wanted to see a ballet in the home of some of the greats at the world famous Mariinsky Theatre. We also planned to take the Panoramic City Tour. This would probably be the best way to see as much of the city in the short time we have here. A trip to St. Petersburg wouldn't be complete without a visit to one of the many palaces outside the city walls. We decided to plump for Catherine's palace in Pushkin. Not because it appeared the most lavish of the palaces but because she was the only person either of us had vaguely heard of!!

I wonder how it all looked now. The last time I was in St. Petersburg it was known as Leningrad. The end of Soviet dominance was just a few years away. Perestroika and Glasnost had just crept in to the English language. 'Gorby' was at the height of satire thanks to Spitting Image! It was 1985!

Statues of Lenin still dominated the local parks; street corner and even adorned the Metro. A huge 50 feet drape of Lenin, Stalin, Marx (Karl not Groucho!!) and the one everyone seems to forget (Enkels??) smothered the fine buildings of the admiralty and in Palace Square. These are probably long gone. Isn't it funny how there is always one person in a band or group who everyone struggles to remember; the drummer from Queen, the guitarist from the Police!! See what I mean!! . It would be interesting to compare notes and just to see if I remember anything of the old place (Alzheimers aside!!)

We didn't get off to a good start this morning. The daily programme stated that the excursion we were booked on was meeting in the Teatro dell'Opera at 07:30am. Roisin hadn't felt 100% since we'd gotten up. This was put down to an early start so we scuttled off for breakfast. During this time, Roisin felt more and more nauseous and dizzy. We arrived at the meeting place at 07:30 after several stops to the toilet en route!! Roisin was definitely feeling uncomfortable to say the least and was worried that she constantly felt like she was going to throw up without actually doing so. We couldn't chance it. I approached one of the crew and explained the situation. I was told that in order to get a refund (€118. Approx. £100) she would have to register at the ships infirmary and get a letter as evidence.

Roisin was in the surgery for about 10 minutes. It transpired that the nurse offered her something to induce her to be physically sick. She didn't take up this kind offer so instead they gave her a couple of Rennie and put it down as indigestion. ‘That'll be 25 Euro thank you very much! Oh! Don't forget your letter!' They've got you all ways. You can't get a refund unless you have a doctor's note and that costs. In other words, there is a non-refundable bit of your excursion should you turn purple and come out in yellow spots. Oh my God! I've just realised I've described Mr Blobby!!!

Roisin decided that the best thing for her was to go back to bed. We were due to visit the ballet this evening but this remained in the balance. I thought (although not for very long) that I ought to follow Roisin's example and go back to bed just in case I started to feel nauseous and dizzy as well! As they say…prevention is the best cure!

We woke early in the afternoon. Roisin, although still not 100%, felt much better than this morning. Time for a spot of lunch me thinks.

We scrubbed up and were in the Caruso Lounge at just before 6:45pm. It was already dark so we wouldn't see much on the way in to the centre of town tonight.

Unlike other ports of call, disembarkation was a bit of a chore. We had to complete a landing card and queue up for an individual passport check. As I approach the immigration booths, I heard the welcome thwump-click of the entry visa stamp. Oh joy to the world!! The last time I visited what was then The Soviet Union was toward the end of the cold war, so passports were highly scrutinised but was never stamped. The fact that I had a US visa in my passport gave cause to the huge ogre of a border guard to ask me a few further questions as to my time in the States. I must have passed as he let me in the country although we very nearly never got let out!!

It was illegal to trade in Soviet Military memorabilia or export roubles from the country. Two other lads on our trip told me how they had traded some belt buckles and militia cap badges for a pair of Levis. The border guards must have had a tip off as my travelling companion and I were stopped at the border on our way home, our luggage was completely emptied and every piece of clothing closely examined. We were frisked (but not body searched, thank God!!). My wallet was taken from me and every, receipt, every item and…SHIT the 20 rouble note I forgot I had. Oh well, I hear Siberia isn't that bad although the après ski isn't up to much!!

*Souvenir? Souvenir?", the border guard bawled waving the 20 rouble note in my face. I just nodded frantically concentrating more on trying not to pee myself!!

With that the guard smiled and politely returned the note to whence he found it and waved me on. We learned later that the 2 lads had gotten cold feet and dumped their ‘haul' before they proceeded through customs. The strange thing is that these 2 lads walked through emigration without the officials giving them a second glance. To this day I am convinced that they were expecting stuff to be smuggled out of the country and it was just a case of mistaken identity…or was it???!!!

With all this still fresh in my mind, our entry in to Russia couldn't have been smoother. We were climbing on to the bus only 35 minutes after disembarking from the Opera. The coach was only half full (or should that be half empty??) but that was OK., more room to stretch out. The coach drove for at least 5 minutes before it left the dock area. The port of St Petersburg is huge. I'm glad we didn't decide to walk it!

20 minutes later we turned in to Ulitsa Pisareva and there it was. The world famous Mariiansky Theatre, home of the Kirov Ballet. As we alighted from the coach, Roisin and I started to head toward the entrance.

‘This way please', the guide said as she started to cross the road. At the very second Roisin and I turned, a wagon that was parked on the opposite side of the road moved to reveal a grey and square looking building.

‘Welcome to the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. Many famous composers graduated from this faculty including Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergey Prokofiev and Dmitri Shoshtakovich. It was built in 1890 and stands on the old site of the Bolshoi Theatre of St. Petersburg. Please watch your step and follow me'.

The inside wasn't like a traditional theatre. As the lady said it was a faculty; a place to learn and study. I was studying the décor until I realised there wasn't any!! It was if the commies had even pinched the wallpaper. The corridors were very plain as was the main staircase that led to some sort of concourse. We were greeted by characters from 19th century Russia who were also handing around the trays of drinks. Seats in the concourse were at a premium so I did the ‘limp' thing whilst holding my back. It didn't work. Mainly because for most people on the cruise, that was already their way of life!!!

We had taken our seats in the auditorium when a lady and gentlemen, stopped adjacent to our row. The man said, ‘This is us, Beryl. On yer go. Excuse us, won't yer? Ee, we're always disturbin' folk. We don't get out much!! ‘ow do. I'm Brian by the way. This is my wife, Beryl'

After our introductions, Roisin was itching to ask the all-important question. ‘ Is that a Wigan accent, I detect?'

‘Bloody ‘ell! Scousers. It's amazing what folk yer meet in the middle of Russia!! I was just tellin' Beryl. I said, Beryl, we're in Russia now. Yer never know who we might meet!! Oh, yes, we're from Wigan. Why d'yer know it?

‘Yes'-said Roisin. ‘I used to live in Hindley. ‘

‘Oooh, well' started Brian. ‘We only live down the road in Worsley Mesnes'

We had only been speaking to this couple for a very short while and I had already come to the conclusion that they were as mad as brushes!! A very likeable couple. I'm sure we'd get on famously.

The performance of Swan Lake was excellent. The cast were so athletic and the emotion and passion was certainly evident of all the performers. By the end of the evening we had almost forgotten our disappointment of not sitting in the Mariiansky. I'm sure we'll return.

Back on board at 11;15pm we realised that we hadn't eaten since 4:30 so it was straight up to ‘Il Patio' for a slice of Pizza and a cup of tea. It wasn't long before Beryl and Brian asked to join us.

‘Ee, by eck! I don't normally eat peeza but this is grand, is this!' Beryl said.

It wasn't long before Brian and Beryl had us in stitches. It wasn't as if they had actually said anything funny or made any jokes. It was just their outlook and manner. It was refreshing and genuine.

This had been a strange sort of day. Didn't get off to a particularly good start but it soon picked up momentum. Both of us retired on a high looking forward to our Panoramic Tour of St. Petersburg, tomorrow.

Now, this would normally be the start of a new chapter. A new day and all that. However, not having taken many photos during our first day in St. Petersburg, this chapter would be mainly words and I know how boring that can be if there are no piccies to break up the writing so I decided to extend this chapter and most of the interesting stuff was taken today, 17th May 2009.

We booked the Panoramic City tour (with shopping) for €30. This seemed to represent the best value for money ensuring you get to see all the major sights in one 3 ½ hour fell swoop.

Our fist stop was St. Isaac's Square (Isaaciyevskaya Ploshchad) slap bang in front of a few market stalls selling trinkets, tacky icons (those replica religious paintings) and Russian dolls by the bucket load. Of course, being tourists it was like a swarm of flies around the ‘proverbial'!! The Russian dolls have evolved since 1985. Then it was mainly traditional with the odd Russian presidential Gorby, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Andropov et al doll thrown in for satirical effect. Now it was Drogba, Lampard and Cole or Rooney, Giggs and Scholes. There was even a Posh, Baby, Scary, Sporty and Ginger Russian doll!!! How times have changed!

St Isaac's Square is dominated at one end by the magnificent St. Isaac's cathedral. It is one of the largest single domed churches in the world measuring a whopping 21.8m (70.8 ft) in diameter with 112 granite columns holding up this huge dome.

At the opposite end of St. Isaac's cathedral, just across the blue bridge lies the Mariinsky Palace built between 1839-44 by Nicholas I as a present to his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. Now call me old fashioned but if you gave this sort of ‘present' to your daughter, or anyone else for that matter, wouldn't they expect something bigger and better next time??!! Mind you, he was the King of Poland and a Grand Duke of Finalnd so it wasn't as if he was short of a bob or two!!

The Mariinsky Palace is now home of the Legislative Council of St. Petersburg. That means it's used as the town hall!! How the mighty have fallen!

Whilst driving through the palace laden streets of St Petersburg. (Indeed you get the feeling that there is a grand palace on every corner), I noticed these reddy-brown coloured columns with what looked like boats penetrating the columns at differenty heights. These are known as Rostral Columns and carry a symbolic meaning. They signify Russia's four great rivers: the Volga, Neva, Dnieper, and Volkhov rivers. They were once used as beacons like lighthouses to help guide ships in to port. The lamps are now sometimes lit on special occasions. These are located on the eastern tip of Vasilievsky Island in the area of Strelka and stand in front of the neoclassical façade of the stock exchange building – now a naval museum. This was our 2nd stop.

Across from Vasilievskiy Island you can see the enormity of the Hermitage museum. It's one of the largest and oldest museums in the world dating back to 1764. The size doesn't dawn on one you until you calculate that if you stood only 5 seconds in front of the museums 3 million exhibits, it would take about 173 days to complete. Now for an entrance fee of only 400 roubles (about £8.50) that's what I call value for money!!

The tour now took us down a few back streets until we ended up at a rather large souvenir shop called Dinastie. The souvenirs in this shop were very similar to those that could be purchased in the market but for about 3 times the price. On the plus side, the management were handing out free drinks of some punch like beverage so it wasn't a complete waste of time. We stayed about ½ an hour at this shop. This is what must be meant by the ‘with shopping' element of the tour. The cynical side of me couldn't help wondering what sort of commission the coach driver was on bringing us all here!!

We drove down Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya along side the river Neva and crossed over the Troisky Bridge from where we had a pretty good view of Peter and Paul fortress. This is on the Petrograd side of St. Petersburg and as we were on ‘el cheapo' tour, this was a close as we got!! Apparently, this is where it all began in 1706. The original city walls. Originally built from wood to withstand an attack from the Swedes, the battlements were never tested. Over the years the fortress has been home to a prison, the royal mint and even more recently a rocket-testing laboratory in 1930s.

At this point we were told that we were running behind schedule (in six different languages) so we'd only have a very short photo stop at the cruiser Aurora. Not sure of the significance of stopping here above other fine photo opportunities in this wonderful city.

The cruiser Aurora became a symbol for the Russian Revolution when her crew joined the Bolsheviks and refused an order to take to sea - or so the story goes. The Aurora is now permanently docked on the Neva River and acts as a museum.

This short stop was worth it in another way. Since we had been driving around St. Petersburg, I often wondered what had become of the hotel I stayed in, in 1985. It was a typical communist ‘block' hotel. Grey in appearance, called the Hotel Leningrad. Each level was dimly lit and had a desk at one end of every floor. This was where the ‘floor manageress' sat doing her knitting and keeping a beady eye out for anything that seemed remotely anti-party. By party, I'm not talking about the odd drink in your room. This is more about spying on the clientele and listening for anything that could indicate enemies of ‘the State'. The ladies filling these vacancies were usually of a portly appearance dressed in a grey peasant type dress. They certainly blended in with the décor. Big Brother it wasn't. More like ‘Big Sister'!! And we know how hard-hitting big sisters can be!!!

Imagine my surprise when I looked through my camera lens to take yet another photo of the Aurora to see staring at me from across the Neva my ‘ol hotel. It was just how I left it 24 years ago!! The only thing that had changed was the name. After deciphering the squiggles and backward letters, the name of the hotel had been renamed the Baltica! Very respectable!! I wonder if the staff knew what really went on behind those walls all those years ago.

Back on the bus and across the bridge, we drove through a green belt of the city with parkland on either side and pulled up outside the Church of the spilled blood or to give it it's full name; the Church of the Resurrection of Christ ‘on spilled blood'. It's a bit of a mouth full, especially if you say it in Russian!! The people at the shore excursion HQ obviously saved the best for last. The church instantly reminded me of St. Basil's cathedral in Red Square, Moscow for it's colourful multi onion domed appearance. The spilled blood has nothing to do with the crucifixion but the site of the church is where Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded falling foul to an assassination in 1881.

The church was built in memory of the Tsar and only memorial services to the deceased Tsar were ever held here. During the Soviet period this church was used as a warehouse. It must have been the most ornate and fancy warehouse in the Northern hemisphere.

On most days there are actors walking around in period costume outside the church. Roisin and I kept our distance from these. Not because me might get could up in a re-enactment of the assassination but from an experience outside the coliseum in Rome where similar actors were dressed up as Roman Centurions. They encouraged you to take photos with them and chatted gaining your trust. They then crowded around you asking for extortionate amounts of money for the privilege. It would be easy to tell them to piss off and walk away if it wasn't for the real looking swords they were brandishing and the fact that they were withholding my camera having just taken a few photos of us. A clever ploy indeed. Bastardo!!! These actors outside the Church of the spilled blood didn't seem to be carrying any weapons but as the Tsar was assassinated by a bomb, we weren't taking any chances!!!

Our time was just about up. We followed the Fontanki canal for a few miles passing, notably the Egyptian bridge. I'm assuming it was the Egyptian Bridge due to the rather large looking sphinx lying at one end of it!

We were a bit disappointed that the tour didn't stop at the admiralty and Palace Square. There is so much to see and do in St. Petersburg that a 3 ½ hour tour can only scratch the surface. Whilst not being able to see everything that this fantastic city has to offer, the excursion certainly wetted our appetite to return one day.

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