Mandrogi

Mandrogi was destroyed during World War ll. In 1996 it was rebuilt as an open air museum to traditional Russian villages.  It also is a vacation retreat for Russian families.

Lois and I participated in Matryoshka Painting.

At Mandrogi

Lois Painting Matryoshka Dolls

Cruising Down the River

When cruising the Baltic-Volga Waterway, we are actually on 4 rivers and 3 lakes with 17 locks.  This waterway was created to provide access to the Baltic Sea for Moscow.

In a lot of respects the scenery reminds us of Canada especially Northern Ontario.  The vegetation is very similar but the big difference is the lack of the Canadian Shield.  There is not all of the granite we see at home.  The result is, it is very flat so not as scenic as I might have expected.

We have stopped somewhere each day and it has given us a a taste of Russian life both past and present.  There are also 3 Russian tour guides on board who give daily lectures on various aspects of Russia.

I have hundreds of pictures that I can't tell you exactly where they are  - here are a few.

Along the River

Along the River

Along the River

Along the River

Wrapping Up St. Petersburg

If I don’t hurry up and get St. Petersburg entries done on this blog we will be in Moscow!  I will continue to blame it on the slow or non-existent (at times) internet connection.  We thoroughly enjoyed St. Petersburg and I have written and provided pictures of the major things we did.  Some of the other things we did or saw follow.

We went to the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.  It was a program of Russian music.  Lois didn’t particularly enjoy it as she found the music very heavy and loud, however, I did enjoy it.  I do think part of the loudness for Lois was the fact we were sitting very close to the front.

The symphony hall was very old and ornate - quite different from our halls at home.    Also they left the lights on throughout the concert.

St. Petersburg Symphony Concert Hall

St. Petersburg Symphony Concert Hall

We toured the Russian Museum.  It is dedicated to Russian art.  It was created because it was felt the Hermitage ignored Russian art.  It proved to be very interesting and showed the influence of western art on Russian art.  One of the best parts was that it was not crowded and you could enjoy the art.

The Russian Museum

A highlight for us was touring the Faberge Museum.  It has only been open since last Nov. and is in a beautiful old palace that has been carefully restored.  Tours of it are in very small groups so it wasn’t crowded.  The only way we could get in was to join a Russian Tour but we rented an audio devise in English.  We were able to see up closely many fabulous Faberge pieces as well as 8 Faberge Eggs.  I could not take pictures here.

We did attend another ballet (Swan Lake) as part of our cruise.  It was good but not of the same caliber as what we saw at the Marinsky.

I also attended a Cossack Dance performance but Lois decided to skip it.

Cossack Dancers and Singers

Catherine’s Summer Palace

Catherine’s Summer Palace is a magnificent estate in Pushkin, outside of St. Petersburg.  It is a huge palace and has wonderful gardens.  We did this on our first day with Viking River Cruises and it was after having done a city tour so the 2 made the day somewhat exhausting.

Pictures can be taken in all of the rooms except the Amber Room.  This room was entirely decorated in Amber but it all disappeared during the war – speculation is it ended up in Germany.   The room has been restored using Amber that customs officials confiscated over time for being taken out of the country illegally.

Near Entrance to Catherine's Summer Palace

Catherine's Summer Palace

A Room in Catherine's Summer Palace

More Gold Decoration in Catherine's Summer Palace

Papier Mache Dress at Catherine's Summer Palace

Churches in St. Petersburg

We toured 4 churches.  St. Issac’s and The Church of the Annunciation (The Church of Spilled Blood) were the principle ones.  They are basically now museums and not functioning churches although they do have 1 or 2 services a year.

St. Issac’s dominates the cityscape as it has the 4^th largest dome in Europe.  It has a lot of religious painting inside.

Dome of St. Issac's

Inside Dome of St. Issac's

I had commented to Lois that it was interesting the churches we had seen only had paintings and not mosaics.  When we went to The Church of Spilled Blood it was the opposite – the inside of the entire church is covered with mosaics.

Church of Spilled Blood

Mosaic Work Inside The Church of Spilled Blood


Altar Doors - The Church of Spilled Blood

The church at the Fortress of Peter and Paul is the resting place of all of the Russian Czars except one.  They are in relatively simple marble tombs compared to the tombs of some other royalty we have seen in Europe.  The remains of Nicholas and Alexandra and their children were interred here when their remains were found.

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Interior of Peter and Paul Cathedral

Tomb for Remains of Czar Nicholas 11 and Family

The 4th church we went to was St. Nicholas Cathedral dedicated to sailors who had lost their lives.

St. Nicholas Cathedral

The Hermitage

I had a terrible time putting this entry together so it isn't that pretty!!

We had a truly wonderful day at The Hermitage.  The tour we took included early entry to the museum, lunch in the staff cafeteria and a tour of the new warehouse. Starting the tour early, before the crowds arrived meant, we were able to see many things before it got crowded.  The Museum is overwhelming, there is so much to see and the buildings and rooms are masterpieces in themselves.  The tour included highlights of the collection including Rembandt, da Vinci, Renoir, Van Gogh, Reubens etc.

The Hermitage

Rembrandt - Abraham Sacrificing Esau??

Winter palace Great Throne Room

da Vinci Madonna - with Flower

da Vinci - Madonna with Bird





Renoir - In the Garden

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Van Gogh - Morning, Going Out for Work

We were then taken to the new warehouse and restoration center that has only been open for a year.  It was there that we had lunch in the staff cafeteria and then had a tour of the warehouse.  It is a beautifully designed building with the latest in technology and security.  We saw many pieces of art as well as a lot of furniture.  We also were able to see a collection of carriages and sleigh’s.  One ornate carriage we had seen a number of years ago at a Catherine the Great Exhibition in St. Petersburg, Florida.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures at this facility.

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is an amazing city.  It is hard to imagine so much of the creative arts and culture concentrated in one place.  It helps in understanding how the Russian Revolution came to happen.  The opulence of the building, both inside and out, almost distracts from the works of art inside.

Our hotel, for the first 2 days, was very centrally located (on St. Issac’s Square).  The city is very level and the weather was great so we were able to walk a lot and Lois did amazingly well.  We took a canal cruise the first day to help get oriented.

On the Canal Cruise

Over the time here we have visited many sites including St. Issac’s Curch, The Church of the Resurrection (Church of the Spilled Blood), The Russian Museum, The Hermitage, The Fortress of Peter and Paul, The Faberge Museum, and Catherine’s Summer Palace in Pushkin.

When we transferred to the river boat we were not as conveniently located (about 45 minutes from the center of the city) but most of our sightseeing was done on organized tours.  We opted out of organized tours the last day and went back into St. Petersburg on our own.

It was great to have 5 days in St. Petersburg as it enabled us to see a lot but we are ready to move on, we really don’t need to see another opulent mansion that is now a museum!! 

E-Mail Update

Some of you who are reading this blog have sent us e-mails and we appreciate receiving them.  For some reason I am unable to compose or send e-mails so that is why I haven't replied.  I don't know if it is an internet problem or a computer problem.  I do still seem to be able to post to the blog.  Vern

At the Mariinsky

Our first night in St. Petersburg, we went to the ballet at the Mariinsky.  Lois and I both agree it will undoubtedly be the highlight of our trip.  It was simply an amazing experience.  Neither of us are ballet aficionados, but we both found it to be a very moving experience.

We saw Mendelsohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by the Mariinsky, formerly the Kirov.  The Mariinsky originally formed in 1782 but the name changed to the Kirov in the 1930’s to be named after a strong communist supporter.  After the fall of communism it changed back to the Mariinsky but still gets referred to as the Kirov.

It was magical - wonderful music including a chorus, amazing dancing held in an unbelievably ornate venue.  Unfortunately I didn’t take the camera.  The ticket was clear that there was to be no photography but I guess that meant during the performance as all kinds of people were taking pictures prior to the performance.  We also had great seats in a box to the left of the stage so could look down on the orchestra and chorus.

By Train to Russia

The train trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg was supposed to take 3 hours and 36 minutes and that is exactly what it took. The average speed was close to 200 kpm.  Lois liked it much better than flying!!  It was a wonderful way to come into Russia.  All customs paper work gets dealt with on the train and you simply leave the train in St. Petersburg with no hassle.  Because of the various things that go on with the Russian customs authorities we seemed to get here in no time.  We were able to see some of the countryside which looked very much like Canada.  I only wished I had had a map so I could follow the trip better.

Waiting for the Train in Helsinki

Our Train Arriving

On Board the Train

Mid Summer Night

I have got behind with postings because we have been so busy in St. Petersburg and when I have had a chance to do something, I've had internet challenges.  We start the cruise in 2 1/2 hours so I'll try to get caught up now.

We are close to the land of the midnight sun.  On the longest day of the year, the sun set at 11:26 PM and rose at 4:25 AM.  This is a big deal where we have been visiting.  In Finland it is a national holiday and everything was closed on Fri. when we left.  It dates back to pre-Christian times.  We heard various stories of what people do; like a girl will gather 7 kinds of flowers, sleep with them under her pillow and she will dream of the man she will marry.  We wonder if the Finns in Thunder Bay celebrate at the summer solstice.

In Russia it isn’t holiday but people celebrate and some take the day off.  We were wakened in St. Petersburg, long after we had gone to bed, by the sound of fireworks.

Seuasaari

We were looking for some opportunity to get out in the country but Helsinki does not seem very well set up to accommodate non cruise and bus tour tourism.  As a result we couldn’t find anything that would give us what we were looking for.  We mentioned this to a clerk in a store and she said we should go to Seurasaari.

Seurasaari is a folk park created 120 years ago within Helsinki city limits.  It includes 87 historical wooden buildings on an island from different parts of Finland.  A similar idea to the historical villages we have in Canada but these were situated in a much more forested environment and it was not set up as commercially.  We were able to access it on public transit.

Grain Storage Sheds with Sleeping Upstairs

Tree Store-House

Stable Painted to Look Like Brick

We leave for St. Petersburg in the morning. Lois and I agree 3 days each in Copenhagen and Helsinki hasn’t been enough.  We’d welcome the chance to come back and get to know Denmark and Finland a little better, they are both such wonderful countries.

Sibelius

One of the things I had hoped to do while we were here was visit Ainola, about an hour outside of Helsinki.  It is the country home where Sibelius composed his music.  There are no organized tours to Ainola so our only option would have been to take a bus and then walk to it.  In the end I decided against trying to go. We did of course see the Sibelius monument here in Helsinki on the bus tour yesterday. 

Sibelius Monument

Today we went to a wonderful noon hour concert at Helsinki’s magnificent new (3 year’s old) concert hall.  It was two young piano graduates of the Sibelius School of Music playing his music accompanied by a wonderful photographic presentation of natural Finland.  Sibelius always tried to convey Finland’s natural beauty in his music.

Helsinki Music Center

Sibelius Concert

Finnish Design and Architecture

Lois and I have been quite taken by Finnish Design and Architecture.  Yesterday we immersed ourselves in Architecture by taking a city tour and seeing many wonderful buildings including Temppeliaukio Church (The Church in the Rock).  It would have been nice to have been able to attend a service at The Church of the Rock and not have to contend with the crowds.

 

The Church in the Rock

Altar at The Church in the Rock

 Helsinki is not old the way most European capitals are.  The oldest buildings here are about 200 years old so the result is Helsinki is a better planned city.

In the afternoon we walked the Design District seeing many artisans in their work environment.  Lois particularly enjoyed the textiles.  They weave in cotton and linen and the symmetrical designs were beautiful.

On To Helsinki

The flight to Helsinki was a little over 1 ½ hours but it was almost like going to another world – the weather was so much colder.  Only a high of 12 degrees.  It has been a little warmer since then.

Our hotel is a converted jail!  We walked to a restaurant for dinner and Lois thought she should have brought long johns.  The food was Finnish/Russian and was very good.

Hotel Katajanokka

We have Helsinki Card’s (bus passes) and after having something similar in Copenhagen, Lois and I think we are getting quite proficient at public transportation.  Both systems have been so efficient and easy to use, I can see you could get in the habit of using them.

Saying Goodbye to Copenhagen

We spent our second day in Copenhagen walking in the central part and generally site-seeing.   In the late afternoon we went to Tivoli, had dinner and stayed for the evening - all in all a very pleasant day.

Han Christian Andersion Monument

Alium at Tivoli

Lois and Bouganvilla at Tivoli

In the morning we left the hotel after breakfast and walked over to the train station to catch the train to the airport. Copenhagen proved to be just as enjoyable as I remembered it.  The Danes are a very happy, friendly people.  It is interesting that they are considered to be the happiest people in the world and yet they have the earliest      death rate of any country in Europe.  As they say they live until they die.

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

The title for this entry is a bit of a cliché but I felt this way 45 years ago and I feel it this time.

We arrived uneventfully yesterday although we were both tired as eating and sleeping had been so disrupted.   I expected to arrive at the airport and find it relatively quiet.  I have never been in such a crowded and busy airport. It was a change over day for the cruise ships and people were arriving and leaving.  It  isn’t a big airport and handling crowds was a problem.

We had bought Copenhagen Cards online and could use them to get the train into the center of the city. It was a bit of awkward with our luggage but we managed fine.  The hotel was right near the train station so we walked over.  Lois was a real trooper and we did the walk on her encouragement as I was prepared to get a taxi.  I asked at the desk where we could get traditional Danish food and they said the restaurant right across the street was the best in town.  I think Lois was a little apprehensive but we had a wonderful meal – plain food, cooked really well.  It really hit the spot after almost a day without a decent meal.  After supper we walked over to Tivoli and it still had the magic for me that it had 45 years ago – lovely gardens, trillions of little coloured lights, lots of entertainment and a multitude of restaurants.  They seem to have added a few rides or a least I didn’t remember them.

Today we did a Hop On-Hop Off tour although we didn’t hop off a lot as we wanted to get our bearings.   We also did a canal cruise. So we accomplished our objective of getting our bearings.

Just To Prove We Really are in Copenhagen

Houses Along a Canal

The weather has been absolutely perfect.  Today was 24, sunny and no humidity.

I am creating this Blog on June 8, 2014 prior to us leaving for Copenhagen, Helsinki and Russia on June 13, 2014.  I expect to start posting to it after we get to Copenhagen,