Baltic States and Scandinavia

We arrive at the hotel, once again way out of town and about a mile from the nearest underground station, though there is a bus-type-thing that goes there (the K248 Mashutka is what it sounded like). We have a short time to "freshen up" before going for dinner, which is a very nice piece of beef with other stuff. After the meal the waiters are back trying to sell souvenirs to the customers, presumably to supplement their income.

It is the time of the "White nights" and the bridges in the city all open at about 3 or 4am - it's supposed to be really nice, but because of our location, general fatigue and only here briefly we pass on this adventure and go for a walk to the beach instead. It's a poor excuse for a beach but it is clearly a leisure spot because of all the available parking space and the 4 or 5 beer tents that have set themselves up there. The flats around the area are not the most exclusive in St Petersburg, though.

It is a very pleasant walk along the "promenade" and we cut through the flats to go back to the hotel along the road. It is my turn to (almost) step in something unpleasant - a dead rat, or if you are a Fawlty Towers fan, a Siberian Hamster.

Its very difficult to make yourselves go to bed at the end the day when there is so much light available, but needs must.

We have been to St Petersburg before - when it was Leningrad. It rained all the time then so the pictures from that visit are very flat and lifeless which, for most of them, it didn't matter. I can live with that, but from the moment we booked this trip I thought "There is only one photograph that I really want" - Shall I tell you what I want, what I really, really want (yea, tell us what you want, what you really, really want). ---- No, not yet.

At some point, very early we decided that we would leave the included city tour to do our own thing. This turned out to be almost immediately, at the first stop near Birzhevoy Most, at the twin columns with fronts of boats sticking out of them - the guide said they were actual boats, but we didn't believe her. We then set out to have a look at the Medvedev museum (the chemist who put together the periodic table), however it is Monday and all the museums are closed. Which means we couldn't go up the dome of the adjacent museum either - what a bummer.

Next stop is the St Peter and Paul Fortress, which we know is open. It is quite a walk there but we make it - it's also very sunny, which also makes it quite tiring to walk distances. We find the ticket booth and try to pay and there's a story in itself..

St Petersburg has a 300yr anniversary next year (2003) and everything is being tarted up for it. Inside the Cathedral is the tomb with the (recently found) remains of the Romanovs as well at the tomb of Peter the Great (Peter I) and some more guys called Pete.

The ceiling is very nice (and re-done, likely as not) - see left.

The place is heaving with tourists (like us) and particularly tour groups which huddle around their guide and block the way for individuals. This makes us very aware that this is what we probably do in our group - and in future we will show some of the consideration I was seeking now, whilst trying to get past.

Now we're here we have a look round the rest of the fortress and there are some really nice museums in the adjoining buildings and the best bit about them is that there are no tour groups blocking the way - the rooms are almost deserted so we can wander totally at our own pace, which unfortunately has to be fairly brisk as we don't have a lot of time available Having had our fill of the fortress we start walking back, but not before looking over to the Neva for a panorama of the Hermitage - Big Neva - Little Neva and more buildings - sadly it is into the sun and mostly silhouetted.

It's a long walk back to the Hermitage, but nice to absorb the atmosphere of the place. Time is getting on, and we have to be at our meeting place at 1.30 to depart to Pushkin. The time was brought forward (from 2.00) because its a long way out and we need as much time as possible available to us. We need some lunch. The lunch for a lot of the City Tour(ists) is by another optional (more money for COSMOS) excursion on the canals/rivers of St Petersburg. Our hope is that they finish on time (1.30) which is what the tour manager believes.

We grab a sandwich in a smashing little cafe off the main square, after which there might be JUST enough time before 1.30 to get that one picture I want. A brisk walk in the general direction (without map) and it hasn't manifested itself. Perhaps its round the next corner - no - oh dear nearly half past, must dash back. A mad sprint gets us to the bus just on half one. No-one else there yet. 1.45 still no-one. Time for an ice cream from a street vendor. Two o clock still the boat trippers haven't arrived. At two fifteen the bus is finally loading up - and not a single word of apology for being 45 minutes late - quite disgraceful. Especially as it would have given me ample time to have got my one, what looks like being elusive, picture.

It takes just over an hour to get to Pushkin and the Summer Palace we are visiting (not to be confused with the really famous Summer Palace at Petroverts). We are due back in St Petersburg to pick up the rest of the party at 5.30 (the hotel, you may remember is way out of town and not practical to expect people to get there independently - so all transportation is heavily dependent on the one bus). The people have been warned that we may be late. Why so soon and why so critical timing - its because we have yet another optional (more money for COSMOS) excursion to a folklore evening which requires departure from the hotel promptly at 6.45.

Back to Pushkin. The time is 3.30, so we have to have a lightning tour around the palace. The famous thing about Pushkin, which was hammered home when the excursion was being "sold", is the Amber Room. This is a room entirely decorated with amber, which was stripped bare and removed for safe keeping during the war. Unfortunately it never go to where it was being kept and has never been found. The room now is being gradually restored to its former glory with only a couple of panels remaining.

Off we go, room by room with hurried description by the guide. There is a tour group ahead of of us not moving at a speed that allows us to get through the palace as fast as we need to. Desperate measures are called for and the local guide announces before we enter the next (smallish) room, whose entry is blocked by the previous group, "I will tell you about the next room here, then, if you would, file quickly past this group ahead. The next room is called The Amber Room.....". Gasps of shock-horror all round, is she serious?
Needless to say some did not "file quickly past" and took a while to admire the room we had come here to see.

We eventually caught our group up several rooms further on. Now, I am not a great lover of being guided round palaces and stately homes, the guides always spend far too long on things I'm not interested in. I like to move round at a reasonable pace, but this pace was far too quick - even for me!

After the tour of the house we had a gentle, yet hurried, walk through the gardens to the bus. But before that, the guide was trying to count the group to make sure we were all there - unable to do this with us wandering around, she insisted we line up, shoulder to shoulder to be counted.

We leave Pushkin at about 5.00pm, all present and correct, and head for the centre of St Pete to pick up the others. The bus makes good progress on the return journey and if it could have gone straight to the hotel then we'd have been back for not long after 6.00, but we can't. Really, COSMOS should have arranged for a second bus, to take the others back from the centre to optimise timing - but that would be too much to ask.

The bus being used is a local bus, which boasts itself to be "air conditioned" - this is some strange Russian use of the phrase as the only air is through those blower things that doesn't come out conditioned at all.

So we're back at the hotel about after 6.30, with ten minutes to "freshen up" before going out again - no time for food, where do you think you are, an holiday?

The male singers sang folk songs about love, lost love etc..., or so I was told by my neighbour who understood Russian. There were a couple of "Greatest Hits" in the repertoire, too, such as "Midnight in Moscow". Some of the male singers, for some reason the ones sporting beards, got solo parts to sing. Most of them looked like they were enjoying themselves, anyway.

The dancers did what was probably local folk dances, though quite a few of them looked very choreographed. The girls did some dancing about and spinning around revealing long knickers. One of the male dancers played melodeon and danced at the same time - very impressive - though possibly lost on some of the audience because earlier an obvious melodeon prop was used and the dancer mimed while squeezing away and dancing.

At the interval, nibbles, champagne and vodka was served (advertised as Fourchet) - pity I didn't like any of what was on offer.

Everyone enjoyed the evening, including the Brits, which I always find strange - on holiday abroad your average Brit enthuses over the local traditional dancing, but back home put them within 100 metres of a Morris Dancer and they're off in the opposite direction.

Outside the theatre various souvenirs were on sale including Matryoshka dolls - those with the gradually smaller dolls inside - as well as the traditional ones they often have sets made up of Russian presidents, American Presidents and in the case here, remarkably, Harry Potter.

Got back to the hotel at about 10.00pm - some folks went for food in one of the many restaurants in the hotel. Some looked around the hotel shops. Ultimately, though, everyone went to bed very tired.

Not too early a start, but we're soon on our way to the Hermitage in time for it opening at 10.30, but tours often get in earlier, from 10.00. Again, we went round the Hermitage last time we came so our intention is to drop out soon and finish off the city, and perhaps even get my elusive picture.

The museum is mobbed, thousands of people trying to get in. It is noisy, you can't hear the local guide, and she wants to show us the staircase which is out of a single door that hundreds of people are trying to come in through. If ever there was an idea that was ill conceived, then this was it. Of course, once out and not being able to see the staircase for the hoards of people on it trying to get in, we then have to return through this single door - crazy.

What a good idea to leave now, which we do and we have our own speed trial round the museum, but give up because of the complexity of getting around without a floor plan - why do guides never give out free plans to either museums or town/cities. They know you'll need maps and we waste precious time, which could be spent waiting for a bus, trying to find one. I often think that these package tour operators really have no concept of what their client wants/needs to enjoy a holiday to the full and maximise the (limited) available time - they could be incredibly helpful, but aren't. I have other instances of this but won't bore you further here.

Having escaped the Hermitage, with instructions of where to meet at what time (having eaten, too) we finish off our visit to St Petersburg:

Back on the bus with no time to spare, then we're soon on our way to the border. The last stop in Russia is at Vyborg, where many of the street signs also include western translations. There is a local brass band waiting at the hotel we stop at for "comforting", so to speak, playing the national tunes of any accent they recognise.

The border follows soon after passing the furthest north we travel - 60 deg 45 mins give or take a few seconds. A short stop to buy cheap(er) than Finland booze if required before continuing out trip into Finland.

Russia - St Petersburg