Dec 28, 2017 - Saint Petersburg

Cold temperatures but no snow welcomed us into the gorgeous city of Saint Petersburg. Things did warm us up a little after realising our cab driver had ripped us off big time. Not only that, but Igor the devilish Russian, delivered us to the wrong hotel. Similar name but !!! Piss be upon you Igor. Reception kindly got us sorted with a new cab and we were soon at the right address....or were we ? It was a shocker. Maybe Igor was right afterall. After one night we were out of there and into another. With closeness to Nevsky Prospect, Saint...

Oct 7, 2017 - Metro to Red Square

Well we got off to a slow start this morning. Denise slept until 10:00 a.m. trying to get better but to no avail. We missed breakfast and spun our wheels for awhile trying to figure out what to do. Wanted to go to the Kremlin Armory but no tickets were available. We decided to take the metro to Red Square as the weather was better today. The problem with the metro is that most of the signage is in Russian with its different alphabet. But to the adventurous there is enough English hidden here and there and some of the train announcements...

Oct 6, 2017 - Moscow

Finally risen from the dead. Have been unable to get out of bed for more than 1-3 hours the last three days. Mike has been sick too, but has been functioning better. The entire ship has been sick and it sounds more like a Typhoid cruise than a pleasure cruise. The doctor on board is a big fan of homeopathics which did nothing for my fever which finally broke today, enabling me to go on a 5 hour tour of Moscow (in the pouring rain). Tried to join the tours the last three days, but ending up sleeping on the back of the bus or returning to the...

Oct 5, 2017 - Uglich

Attempted another death bed rise to see the quaint town of Uglich. Was able to walk a bit, but then crapped out and had to return to the ship. That said, it was awfully cold - low of 39 and high of 45 and wet. Others were able to visit the home of a local family and really enjoyed the visit.We did walk around and see a local church but then that was it and we soloed back to the ship. As we walked back to the ship through a series of local vendor stalls, Denise saw a sweater/pancho she liked. After we got back to the ship and about 50...

Oct 4, 2017 - Yaroslavl

Stayed in bed all day and then attempted the City Tour and Governor's House tour. Made it through the Governor's house - wanna be period costume and music - eh. Went back to the bus and fell asleep while others went to the farmers' market which Mike said was really nice. Another basically lost day for me - viewing the waterways from the "comfort" of my sick bed - yuck!

Oct 3, 2017 - Coughing and sneezing

We are cruising again today. Denise is feeling worse than Mike. Mike went to breakfast and brought Denise some fruit and bagel (she is obviously under the weather). We finally felt good enough to go up and look at a very old church as we cruised past. Then we went to a Russian history presentation given by Misha, one of the guides. It covered the late 1930s to 1985. Denise is napping and Mike is on the shipboard computer. Today we cruised the scenic Volga-Baltic waterway. The waterway connects the Volga to the Baltic Sea. It is over 229...

Oct 2, 2017 - Kizhi and cruising Lake Onega

We docked this morning at Kizhi. It is an island inLake Onega and houses some of the oldest wooden buildings and churches in Russia. We walked around and explored the buildings with our local guide. It was cold and a little windy and drizzly. The temp was 45 degrees.The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The church of the Transfiguration was built without a single nail. It has five concentric circles of onion domes. We went back to the ship around 10:00 a.m. and set sail. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe. As we cruised. we...

Oct 1, 2017 - Ship and cruise impressions

We are on the lowest deck that houses passengers. We have a fairly large window looking to the outside. As we cruise the rivers we have a nice view of the passing scenery. The next deck up is the restaurant. Breakfast consists of three or four menu items and a very elaborate buffet of fruit, eggs, omelets, breads, breakfast meats, etc. You can mix and match and have as much as you want. Lunch and dinner both have the menu and buffet arrangement but beer and wine are included and you are not limited as to amount. The next deck up is the...

Oct 1, 2017 - Mandrogi

Sailed out of St. Petersburg last night. Sailed through the largest lake in Europe - Lake Ladoga - 6,900 sq. miles - last night and landed in Mandrogi around 12:30 today. Beautiful little community on the river. An old village with many craftsman and log cabin buildings. There were artists painting enamel, carving various items from birch bark, a blacksmith, laquer painting, Many Matroyshka stacking dolls, candy, felted items and other types of art. Leaving soon and I believe we will be at sea all day tomorrow, and ending up at Kizhi on...

Sep 30, 2017 - Peterhof Palace

Went to Peterhof Palace. Palace built by Peter the Great at the beginning of the 1700s. It too was completely destroyed by the Nazis during WWII and completely rebuilt. It is described as the Russian Versailles. Set on the Finnish Gulf it is a huge estate with French style formal gardens and 168 fountains that operate without a pump. Spectacular and over the top!We walked the grounds and at 11:00 a.m. exactly all the fountains turned on. It was a great show.

Sep 29, 2017 - Pushkin Village

Took off after breakfast for a tour of Pushkin village. Had a great guide who gave us a history of Russian nobility beginning with Peter the Great in the early 1700s. He apparently fell in love with a laundress and "entertainer" (who was called Catherine)who he made his mistress. As a surprise for Peter she had a very large and very expensive and ornate "summer home/palace" built. One of the rooms in the palace is 9,000 square feet with 25 kilos of gold adorning the walls and a canvas mural on the ceiling the entire width and length of the...

Sep 28, 2017 - The Hermitage

After breakfast we boarded the bus with about 25 other passengers and went with our guide to the Hermitage. The Hermitage was built in the late 1700s by Catherine the Great as her palace. Hermitage means solitude in French. She designed one of the rooms for a place for solitude and the name stuck for the entire palace. The Hermitage boasts some 3 million works of art and historical artifacts, although only a fraction are on public display. The place is huge and sits right on the Neva River. Inside it is very ornate - Russian baroque - and...