Back to Russia!!!!
We were the first off the ship to
ensure we were processed through Immigration in time to meet our Tour Guide...let’s
say clearance procedures into Russia are not quite as consistent as many other
countries. Anna from Best Guide Tours meet us and we were off to tour St.
Petersburg...since we had been in St. Petersburg previously, we decided to
change things up and do an off the beaten path tour seeing different sites. We
left the port and drove along the Neva River stopping at The Church of the
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and then to Peter and Paul Cathedral and
Fortress where I climbed the fortress wall observation platform. Leaving the
fortress, we drove past the Exchange Square, Palace Square, Winter Palace,
Romanov Palaces, Kazan Cathedral, Singer Building, The Church of the Pantelmon.
We left the van and visited St. Isaacs Cathedral and Colonnade and climbed the Colonnade
for panoramic views...we then walked through the Alexandrea Park to see the
statue of the Bronze Horseman and onto the to the Admiralty. On our return to
the ship we had a brief stop at the Trinity Cathedral and a drive by the Cathedral
of Christ the Savior and the Church of St. Isidore, Marinsky Theatre,
Alexandrinsky Theatre, Mikhailovsky Palace, Mikhailovsky Theatre and Vitebsk
Rail Station. Going through Russian Immigration was not a pleasant experience
for me...taken to an interview room, required to fill in two pages of forms
about my history and past and questioned by the authorities...with no
explanation...other than its Russia! The
next morning we were back at it…..
Hoping it would be an uneventful day….
We were met again by our Tour Guide Anna and driver and taken to
fabulous Summer Palace at Peterhof. Peterhof is a complex of palaces, fountains
and parks built to rival Versailles. Returning to St. Petersburg we made a
brief stop at the former St. Petersburg City Hall built under Stalin and the
adjacent Park with a huge statue of Lennon...this area of St. Petersburg is
designed in the Stalin Empire style architecture...next we stopped at the The
Chesme Church, a red building with very different design and then to Smolny Cathedral
for a climb up the Observation deck. We returned to the ship early, did some
shopping and cashed in our remaining Rubles...farewell Russia.
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