Thursday, May 19 we had an early breakfast again and were met by Slava who drove us to Peterhof, as Marina told us stories of Soviet era daily life.
Peterhof is another one of those tourist destinations that can get unbearably packed, so I truly appreciated that my wife and Marina arranged for a special visit before they officially opened their doors.
It is amazing the excruciatingly detailed job the Soviets did to document, preserve, and restore the palace, including using original equipment to weave the tapestries and silk.
Wednesday, May 18 we asked Marina to start the day visiting the subway (Metro), which gave us an opportunity to have an interesting political and historical discussion. I still remember the monumental Moscow’s Metro. While Saint Petersburg’s Metro is not as spectacular, there are many examples of Soviet era art and decoration. The Metro itself is old but impeccably clean and maintained.
Marina insisted in inviting us to a cup of tea at the famous Yeliseevskiy Gastronom at 56 Nevskiy Prospekt.
Tuesday May 17 we docked at 4:00am so downtown Saint Petersburg that people walking on the sidewalk could see into our suite. We were a few minutes walk from the Hermitage Museum.
After clearing immigration (you need a visa to enter Russia, unless you have arranged private escorted tours like we had), we were met by Slava, our driver, who for the next three days would take us everywhere in a large white Mercedes Benz.
We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, at 08:00h. Before disembarking, we ordered a hearty breakfast in the suite, so we would have energy to walk all day. It was a delight having breakfast in the room while enjoying the view of St. Olav’s church from our balcony.
Right after breakfast we took the shuttle to go downtown (although it is so close that it was quite unnecessary). Tallinn is a small city, being Estonia the smallest of all Baltic states.
On days at sea during cruises, we tend to oversleep. And that’s exactly what happened. Sunday May 15 was a day at sea, and we did not get up until noon (in our defense we will say that during this cruise we crossed the time zone lines several times, so it was difficult to keep the right time in mind).
We headed directly for lunch at the restaurant. It was so empty, that we had to double check.
The next day, Saturday May 14, we had breakfast at the visitor center (with yet again some more deliciously rich Danish pastry) and took a taxi to the Cruise Terminal where we boarded the Seabourn Quest for a 7 night Baltic cruise.
The ship is absolutely fantastic. It’s fairly new, exquisitely decorated, and we were assigned an amazing suite with a walk-in closet. Of particular excellence was the suite’s bathroom. I have only seen such a great bathroom in places like The Ritz Carlton Hotel (any, since they are all the same) or the UAE Emir’s Palace.
Thursday, May 12 we travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark. We had many things on our list, and being there for two days only, we had to make many sacrifices. But overall, we covered a lot of ground.
We had many things on our list, and being there for two days only, we had to make many sacrifices. But overall, we covered a lot of ground.Upon arrival in the airport we took the very convenient and modern train that took us to the Central Station, and our hotel was next door.
