Saint Petersburg: Maps , pictures and information.

[scubacruiserx2]

A Knight at the Crossroads conveys a double meaning

 

 

 

 

The first is: http://www.nationalmuseum.se/sv/English-startpage/About-us/Press-and-Media/Press-images/Peredvizjniki--banbrytare-i-ryskt-maleri/Viktor-Vasnetsov-Krigare-vid-korsvagen-1882/

 

 

The deeper meaning was that of the "old" Russia vs the new following Peter the Great's vision of a modern Russia with a window to Europe.

 

 

The last work shown is this statue of Ivan the Terrible who killed his own son - the future Tsar but also built St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

 

 

 

 

After leaving the museum , we went to the Alexander Nevsky Larva with it's graveyards of many famous people.

 

 

 

[delos456]

Hi Scubacruiserx2 - you two are doing an amazing job promoting travel to St. Petersburg! We've only had time to skim through the posts here but from what we've seen, your photos, maps and tips are very informative. We need to brush up on the history but we're getting pretty enthused about seeing the area!

 

We're booked on a 14-day Baltic cruise next August and we're just beginning to familiarize ourselves with what are almost all new ports for us. A big concern is to determine which sights to see if we have only two days in St. Petersburg and limited time in the other ports, too.

 

Also, we'd like to have a better understanding of the Russian visa requirements. We're pretty sure we don't want to pay $300 each for individual visas since we'll only be there a short time. It sounds like we can only sightsee in Russia if we're always with a licensed guide - no hop-on-hop-off-DIY-alone-tours there, right?

 

The cruise line, of course, is encouraging everyone to take their shore excursions to be covered under a blanket visa, and it's tempting to do that and not have to worry about any hassles. But we like to do smaller excursions with friends when possible.

 

If we book a non-ship tour on our own, how would we know for sure we're legitimately covered by a blanket visa?

 

You probably have already gone over some of these concerns in detail - please let us know where to find that info. And any other suggestions on any of the ports would be much appreciated, too! We'll share whatever we learn with our fellow cruisers.

 

Thanks in advance - N&M

 

FYI - here's our itinerary:

Saturday - Dover (London), England - sail 4:00 pm

Sunday - At Sea (North Sea)

Monday - Copenhagen, Denmark 10 am-8 pm

Tuesday - Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany 6am-10pm

Wednesday - At Sea (Baltic Sea)

Thursday - Tallinn, Estonia 10 am - 5 pm

Friday & Saturday - Saint Petersburg overnight 7 am Fri - 6 pm Sat

Sunday Helsinki, Finland - 6 am - 5 pm

Monday & Tuesday - Stockholm overnight 8 am Mon - 5 pm Tues

Wednesday - At Sea (Baltic Sea)

Thursday - Arhus, Denmark 8 am - 2 pm

Friday - At Sea (North Sea)

Saturday Dover (London), England 7 am

[RJ2002]

I am not Scubacruiserx2, but I just went through all this planning for my Baltic cruise this past May on NCL.

 

All of the major tour operators mentioned here on CC in St Petersburg employ the use of the "blanket visa". If your ship is in port for up to 72 hours, you can tour with one of these operators without having to obtain a Russian visa. The tour operator will issue you a confirmation which you will need to disembark, along with your passport. The tour operator accompanies you while you are off the ship. There is no "on your own" time.

 

There is so much to see in St Petersburg that you really do need to go with a known tour operator. They can get you in and out of all the venues. These will be 2 exhausting days, but they are definitely worth it. And I would recommend one of the local operators over the ship tours.

 

(agree with your comment... Scubacruiserx2 posts some great pictures and comments about Russia!)

[scubacruiserx2]

Hi delos 456 and RJ2002 , thanks for you kind comments. RJ2002 gave a good summary of private guides but I would like to elaborate if I may. Congratulations on your Baltic cruise choice delos 456. We did all of those ports except Arhus in 2006 on NCL. Based on that cruise we returned to our favorite ports for longer stays in London , Germany and St. Petersburg 3 times. We have spent about 30 days in Russia and with only about 10% of our time spent with guides. We have used 8 different guides from 4 different agencies. They all have been consistently good , each in their own way. We think that using guides in St. Petersburg is like dining on a cruise ship - good , better and best.

 

Buffet dining is like a ships tour and has some merit. It's easy and quick but not our favorite option. We enjoy sitting down to a meal with a slower pace and the chance to meet and get to know our servers and others (but not always , because we enjoy each others company). It's more like a private tour. We don't consider 16 people to be a "private" tour. Our Baltic cruise tour was a custom tour with only 1 other couple who we met on C.C. It was great to have all our questions answered , move at a rapid pace and have time to get to know our guide. We were able to make special stops on the fly. After our 2 day tour we knew that we had missed a lot and would like to see more of St. Petersburg and visit at a slower pace and really enjoy it in real time instead of on fast forward. The gold standard of ship's dining is the steak house or chef's table. Better food , service and experience wait there - at a cost. But it's a cost that we gladly pay for the added enjoyment . That would be a stay pre or post cruise with a Visa. The Visa will cover both stays. It also make a Moscow visit viable. This is what we would recommend if possible. The trip from London is 3 hours non stop. To us it seems cheaper , and more practical than making another transatlantic flight. If you can't do that - rest assured that you will be well taken care of with a private guide. It is a very competitive market and every guide stakes their reputation and future as a guide by delivering a tour that others will endorse and support publically.

[scubacruiserx2]

At the far end of Nevsky Prospect near the Neva River is the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (Lavra). It was founded in 1713 by Peter the Great and the remains of Alexander Nevsky were transferred here at the site where he defeated the Swedes in the thirteenth century. In 1797 it became one of only four Lavras in the Russian Empire. This year just before our visit, marked the 300th anniversary of the monastery. It was celebrated with a procession by the Russian Orthodox Church walking the entire length of Nevsky Prospect.

 

 

 

 

 

The monastery is known for the many famous people buried here. A good article is found here.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/cathedrals/Alexander-Nevsky-Monastery.asp

 

 

Dostoevsky was the author of The Idiot, Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. This is his grave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tchaikovsky was the composer of The 1812 Overture , Swan Lake , Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker Suite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was an interesting story that goes with this grave. It seems that this guard was on duty when he fell asleep. When he woke up he saw The Emperor standing over him. He promptly died of a heart attack !

 

http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Ffuneral-spb.ru%2Fnecropols%2Flazarevskoe%2Freissig%2F

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Between the glitz and glitter is a Russia left behind - a photo essay by The N.Y. Times.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/13/russia/

[scubacruiserx2]

Most people visiting St. Petersburg will not see graves on their busy day or two. But you will see churches. Beautiful churches ! I think that Russia has the most impressive churches that I have seen. We found some new and different ones that we had never seen before this trip. If you go to Catherine's Palace in Tsar's Village , just two blocks from the main street you will see Chesma Church . It commemorates the Russian victory over the Turks at Chesma.

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed as we walked around the back that there is a graveyard with soldiers from several different wars

 

 

 

 

When we stepped inside there was a service going on - it was very beautiful and moving music

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were leaving we noticed that a group of public school students were brought to the church as a field trip.

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Just 2 blocks from the church is The House of the Soviets . With it's Stalinist design and it's statue of Lenin , it makes a great photo stop.

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked through the park we were greeted by these girls giving away free coffee samples. I asked if I could take a photo and they smiled when I told them that they looked like Cosmonauts in their futuristic uniforms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of blocks down the main road is the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad monument. It's a good photo stop and an interesting history lesson. This is the Southern point where the German Army invading Leningrad was stopped. The city was surrounded by a blockade for 900 days as the German army and air force bombed the city. Starvation of the city and it's occupant's was the main goal. The blockade is symbolized by the giant ring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this picture you can see the starving people and that the ring was broken after 900 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some of the Partisans , poorly armed , at the beginning of the conflict.

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

If you would really like to get to know Russia better then Russiapedia is the way to know.

 

http://russiapedia.rt.com/russian-history/

[scubacruiserx2]

Like most cruisers to St. Petersburg , we passed through the flood gates in Kronstadt , the naval fortress guarding St. Petersburg. We saw pictures of a beautiful church there that we had wanted to see. We asked our friend and guide Genadiy if he would take us there. He said that he didn't know much about it but agreed to take us. We drove on the КАД Ring road marked A118 on the North leg to take us there.

 

 

 

 

 

The fort was started by Peter the Great in 1704 and we stopped by to see his statue in the park.

 

 

 

 

The Naval Cathedral was completed in 1913 and dedicated to all the seamen who died in battle. All of their name are engraved on the granite walls on the inside.

 

 

 

 

Because it is a "working" church we demonstrate respect for others by not taking pictures when asked not to. So my desire to photograph and show the interior is subjugated to the wishes of my fellow man. As travelers we feel that we represent our country in our behavior either good or bad and we have made many new friends along the way as a result of this policy. We found these pictures on the internet of the interior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cathedral was reconsecrated in April of 2012 and the Russian President , Dmitry Medvedev and his wife attended.

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you for such fantastic review!The photos and review itself are excellent:D

 

 

Спосибо ! cansas.piligrim

[scubacruiserx2]

Ok , I know it's a shortcut but here is some churches in Moscow

 

 

Kazan Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cathedral of Christ The Savior

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the iconic St. Basils in Red Square

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those cruisers lucky enough to have a 3 day cruise to St. Petersburg may consider a day trip to Moscow on day 2. Also any visitors , Posties

(post cruise stays), lay overs in the Moscow airport or river cruisers may think about going to Moscow.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927687

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

A new exhibit featuring Faberge eggs opened yesterday in The Shuvalov Palace in St. Petersburg. The first egg was presented to The Empress Maria Fedorovna in 1885 on Easter by the "House of Faberge". She was so thrilled by the egg that she requested that one or two a year be made for Easter. This carried on until the Revolution in 1917. 50 Imperial eggs were made for the Tsars and many others as well. Here is the story from yesterday.

 

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/russian-oligarch-opens-faberge-egg-museum-113111901092_1.html

 

 

This story appeared today in The St. Petersburg Times.

 

 

http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=38494

[scubacruiserx2]

Many people have commented on the lack of smiles as they disembark their ships for their visit to St. Petersburg. Do you know why this is not a common practice ? This article will help explain their culture better. I must admit that after our last visit to Russia in September we found the Russian customs and immigration to be more professional and more friendly than most of the American officials that we encountered when we returned home. Would you like to see Russians smile ? Be sincere , get to know them and give them a reason to smile - and they will !

 

 

http://blog.properrussian.com/2011/05/why-russians-are-not-smiling.html

 

 

I would rather have 1 genuine smile than 4 of these:

 

 

[dogs4fun]

Спосибо ! cansas.piligrim

Hi scuba,

If it is not too much of an imposition, I was wondering if you would mind emailing me (signature at bottom of my post).

I have been diligently following your posts and, as I intend to travel to Russia next September for an extended stay (one month), I believe you would be a great source of information regarding our upcoming trip. I have some specific questions regarding visa procurement, specific destinations in Russia, sights, etc. :confused:

Thanks in advance!

[scubacruiserx2]

We are back from our cruise on the HAL Zaandam in South America. Before we we begin our review of a Russian Dacha and the Banya culture , here is a couple pix and a link to the review of our cruise.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1958814

 

 

The confluence of the Canal Beagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

All hands on deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

Penguin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the world

 

 

 

 

 

In a final note , the inventor of the most popular gun in the world , the AK -47 died today. Mikhail Kalashnikov was 94.

 

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20131223/185867282/AK-47-Inventor-Mikhail-Kalashnikov-Dies-at-Age-94.html

[scubacruiserx2]

When we were planning our last trip to St. Petersburg we were looking for something unique and different. We found a tour company that we had never heard of called Sputnik that offered a day trip to a country house called a Dacha. In Russian the word means something given. It is a small piece of land which can be built on and used to raise a garden.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacha#See_also

 

The tour also included a meal and a private banya. One of the most popular holidays in Russia is New Years Day. A classic Soviet movie that is shown during this time called The irony of fate , or enjoy your banya. In the movie the main character goes to a communal bath with his friends to celebrate his upcoming wedding. The idea of bathing with a group of my friends and/ or other guys is not one I find appealing. But to experience this with my wife , in a private setting was different. Not sure of what to expect we contacted the guide and fired off a few questions. We decided that it would be fun - so we were in. We met at the Finland train station and we were off for the country. Alexandra has a charming personality and a sweet disposition and reminded us of our youngest daughter. While enroute she showed us a video in Russian to help us understand the banya process.

 

 

 

 

Soon she began to answer more of our questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arriving at the train stop , we started to walk through the woods to the dacha. There was a nice lake along the way and Fall was beginning to show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had made it to the dacha. And the banya , still wrapped in mystique , glowed in the distance.

 

 

[mellowrose]

This has been such a wonderful thread, we are booked for the Aug 13th cruise and really need to delve into the history books after New Year to appreciate this interesting culture.

[scubacruiserx2]

This has been such a wonderful thread, we are booked for the Aug 13th cruise and really need to delve into the history books after New Year to appreciate this interesting culture.

 

What a great plan ! Your time invested will enrich your life ,your visit and impress your host. Here is some free history and a good place to start.

 

 

 

 

http://russiapedia.rt.com/russian-history/

 

 

Thanks for the link and review on Hawaii. We visited in 2001 and it brought back some great memories ( on film !). We dove Kona and Molokini Crater in Maui , beautiful !

 

 

http://www.placerating.com/data/galerie/281/thumb/2932_1024x1024_2013-06-10-18-38-33.jpg

[scubacruiserx2]

Double post

Edited January 10, 2014 by scubacruiserx2
double post

[scubacruiserx2]

It's a kind of interesting idea to have your own experience of all these dacha and banya traditions! I've never thought that some tour companies provide such activities:rolleyes:

 

One of the reasons that we love to stay post cruise is to have the time to experience different things. Its also nice to live in "real time" - at our own pace. One of the main reasons for banya is to slow down and relax.

 

I noticed that one of the mainstream tour companies now offers banya.

 

http://spbtours.com/russian-bath-house.html

[scubacruiserx2]

It's a pity we are not staying in Saint Petersburg after cruise(our choice is Copenhagen or London). Anyway, the idea sounds really nice. One day, perhaps, we will come to StP for week or two, it's on my wish list now:)

 

Copenhagen and London are both great cities that we love to visit and stay. Our three favorite cities to visit are : San Miguel (Cozumel) , St. Petersburg and London.

[spbstan]

Copenhagen and London are both great cities that we love to visit and stay. Our three favorite cities to visit are : San Miguel (Cozumel) , St. Petersburg and London.

 

I wanted to thank you for such an interesting thread and the effort used to annotate all the photos. Unlike most travel reports, the information you supplied was very accurate, so it is apparent you really did get to know the city in those stays. I fully agree that staying longer changes everything and the best part is learning by interacting with locals who are not paid to entertain visitors.

The new 3 year visa for Americans will probably make the land visits more attractive for more casual stays. I got one the first week they were made available in September of 2012. The price for the consular service has been lowered so it is the same as a 30 day Tourist Visa

 

As you might have discovered, the 2 page application asks a lot of difficult-to-answer questions like all the countries visited or ex-spouses history or contact info for colleges and employers. The good thing is that none of that is taken seriously by the consulate since it is an open secret that the only reason that form has those questions and is 2.5 times longer than applications for other nationalities, is because after 9/11, the US started requiring a much more intrusive application for Russians. The key is to put something, or the most relevant answers, as long as SOMETHING is in each box, even if it is just N/A for not applicable.

There are 4 classes of Visas which have the same 3 year validity, and only one requires an invitation(the Tourist Visa) all the others only need a letter from an inviting business for Business Visa, a personal letter of invitation for a Private Visa, which is a citizen inviting a friend or relative to stay with them, and a new catch-all-visa that applies to most visits that are not strictly tourism or business, called the Humanitarian Visa.

 

It was a very pleasant hour spent reading the entire thread, but every other post I wanted to interject or clarify something since all those locations, activities and sights are within walking distance of my apartment in the city center. Next time you are here, send me a message and I'll go share a pint with you at one of the hundreds of English pubs in the center....

 

If you are serious about photography, let me know, I go out frequently shooting and have a serious collection of Nikon glass and bodies. My landscape camera is a D800, and know the best vantage points and times for many scenes. The early morning in the summer is spectacular with the golden hour being several hours around 5-7:30 a.m. for example, for traffic-less, stunning light from Basil Island looking across the Neva to the Palace Embankment, and Synod/Senat (now the Russian Supreme Court)

[Essexlass2]

Just found this thread and have enjoyed a whole afternoon reading it. Many thanks for all the info and beautiful photos Scubacruiserx2 :D

[scubacruiserx2]

I wanted to thank you for such an interesting thread and the effort used to annotate all the photos. Unlike most travel reports, the information you supplied was very accurate, so it is apparent you really did get to know the city in those stays. I fully agree that staying longer changes everything and the best part is learning by interacting with locals who are not paid to entertain visitors.

The new 3 year visa for Americans will probably make the land visits more attractive for more casual stays. I got one the first week they were made available in September of 2012. The price for the consular service has been lowered so it is the same as a 30 day Tourist Visa

 

As you might have discovered, the 2 page application asks a lot of difficult-to-answer questions like all the countries visited or ex-spouses history or contact info for colleges and employers. The good thing is that none of that is taken seriously by the consulate since it is an open secret that the only reason that form has those questions and is 2.5 times longer than applications for other nationalities, is because after 9/11, the US started requiring a much more intrusive application for Russians. The key is to put something, or the most relevant answers, as long as SOMETHING is in each box, even if it is just N/A for not applicable.

There are 4 classes of Visas which have the same 3 year validity, and only one requires an invitation(the Tourist Visa) all the others only need a letter from an inviting business for Business Visa, a personal letter of invitation for a Private Visa, which is a citizen inviting a friend or relative to stay with them, and a new catch-all-visa that applies to most visits that are not strictly tourism or business, called the Humanitarian Visa.

 

It was a very pleasant hour spent reading the entire thread, but every other post I wanted to interject or clarify something since all those locations, activities and sights are within walking distance of my apartment in the city center. Next time you are here, send me a message and I'll go share a pint with you at one of the hundreds of English pubs in the center....

 

If you are serious about photography, let me know, I go out frequently shooting and have a serious collection of Nikon glass and bodies. My landscape camera is a D800, and know the best vantage points and times for many scenes. The early morning in the summer is spectacular with the golden hour being several hours around 5-7:30 a.m. for example, for traffic-less, stunning light from Basil Island looking across the Neva to the Palace Embankment, and Synod/Senat (now the Russian Supreme Court)

 

Thank you for your kind words , observations and insights. We are honored to be your first post and glad that you enjoyed reading the thread. Thank you for clarifying the Visa details. It sounds like you have a great camera - so feel free to post pix. We have not been in winter time yet , so we would love to see some winter photos. Thanks for the invite. We are not sure when the next trip is - maybe Victory Day 2015 for the 60th anniversary. We would love to film the parade and the Spring was a nice time to visit there.