Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[cocker2]

Thank you very much, all looks good - what will we choose when the time comes I wonder?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[upwarduk]

Also , many people will get meat or fruit pies , to stay or to go , from Stolle .

 

 

Menu :http://www.stolle.ru/en/menu/saint-p...icktabs-pirogi

 

We were taken to Stolle with SPB Tours.

They also cater for special menus, I am Lactose Intolerant, so was supplied with a Tuna salad and a fruit salad. Vegetarians had a cabbage pie!

[cocker2]

'Cabbage pie'? Appetising - not!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

We prefer the salmon for myself , rabbit for Pat and we both enjoy the mushroom and the fruit pies . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

The iconostasis separates the worshipers from the altar .

 

 

 

When we were there in 2015 , a worship service was going being conducted on the other side of the iconostasis . Members only and no cameras !

 

 

 

Stained glass Jesus

 

 

 

The painting of the Final Judgement is by Fedor Bruni

 

 

 

 

Another of his huge paintings , The Brazen Serpent , hangs in the Russian Museum

 

 

 

These doors weight 10 tons each

 

 

 

 

Here's our video clip ( complete with Mandarin narration ) :

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

If you are interested , there is a good article about St. Isaac's from a great web site here :http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/isaacs.html

 

In 2015 we made the climb up the 262 step to the colonnade .

 

 

 

 

From left to right you can see the Peter and Paul Cathedral spire ,the Admiralty spire , the green Winter Palace and Palace square with the Alexander Column and on the far right The Church on the Spilled Blood .

 

 

 

And where all of the buses are parked is the Saint Isaac's Square .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

After Saint Isaac's we stopped at Stolle before going to The Church on the Spilled Blood . This post has been taken from our Total Eclipse thread .

 

 

Most cruisers will not see the Russian Museum but it can be seen in about 1 hour . It has a really great location being the yellow building on the right .

 

 

 

 

And it has a park , next to the church and behind the museum

 

 

 

 

And one of the favorite eating places for the visitor to St. Petersburg is about 1 block away - Stolle . Everybody eats at Stolle .

 

 

 

 

They are famous for their pies both savory meat filled and sweet fruit filled . It can be a nice break or taken away to eat while on the road to your next stop . True Russian fast food .

 

 

 

 

But we go when nobody is there .

 

 

 

 

To relax and enjoy our salmon and rabbit pie .

 

 

 

 

 

Please see their photo filled menu here :

 

http://stolle.ru/en/menu/saint-petersburg

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The changes are if you see a photo of a building in St. Petersburg , this will be it .

 

 

The Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood . It retains many variations of the name and a dual purpose . The Spilled Blood of Christ and the place where Czar Alexander II's blood was spilled by an assassin .

 

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/cathedrals/church-resurrection-jesus-christ/

 

So let's look at it from several viewpoints .

 

 

Near the locks of love bridge .

 

 

 

 

Near the stalls selling souvenirs

 

 

 

 

From the Field of Mars .

 

 

 

 

Down the canal

 

 

 

In the evening .

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

One last photo before going inside .

 

 

 

The interior is covered with mosaics

 

 

 

It was crowded on the day that we were there

 

 

 

 

The iconostasis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the shrine over the spot where Alexander II was assassinated .

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a video clip :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dgUhFD7t38

 

Edited August 1, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[cocker2]

Wow!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

Wow!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

There is so much to see and do in SPB ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Our last stop for the our second day was the Yusupov Palace .

 

 

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/palaces/yusupov-palace/

 

 

The view from our river cruise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Felix Yusupov was famous fro a number of things in addition to the palace which he was born in , including :

 

. The richest man in Russia

 

. Killed Rasputin and wrote a book about it

 

. In 1932 Yusupov and his wife successfully sued MGM through the English courts for invasion of privacy and libel in connection with the film Rasputin and the Empress. The alleged libel was not that the character based on Felix had committed murder, but that the character based on Irina, called "Princess Natasha" in the film, was portrayed as having been seduced by the lecherous Rasputin.[31] In 1934, the Yusupovs were awarded £25,000 damages, an enormous sum at the time, which was attributed to the successful arguments of their counsel Sir Patrick Hastings. The disclaimer which now screens at the end of every American film, "The preceding was a work of fiction, any similarity to a living person etc.," first appeared as a result of the legal precedent set by the Yusupov case.[32]

 

Wikipedia used for the quote and the photo

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Yusupov

 

 

 

 

We began our tour after climbing the marble staircase

 

 

And moved through room by room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A stitched photo to show the domed ceiling .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Blue room

 

 

 

Red room

 

 

 

 

Check out the floor

 

 

 

 

This looked like an area for dance

 

 

 

 

On the ceiling it looked like the Muses from Greek Mythology

 

 

 

 

This is Felix's mother Zenadia Yusupova . I saw a similar painting in the Russian Museum .

 

 

 

According to his biography , Felix began wearing his mother's gowns at age 12 .

[scubacruiserx2]

This used to be one of their art galleries

 

 

 

Here's a quote from Wikipedia

 

 

From 1830 to 1917, the palace belonged to the House of Yusupov, an immensely wealthy family of Russian nobles, known for their philanthropy and art collections. Thus in the time of Imperial Russia, the palace became known as the Yusupov Palace.

 

The luxurious interiors of the palace were not inferior to those of contemporary royal palaces. More than 40,000 works of art, including works by Rembrandt, jewelry, and sculptures decorated the palace. Following the Russian Revolution, the Yusupov art collections were nationalized and relocated in the Hermitage and other museums. Ernst Friedrich von Liphart, who was the curator of paintings at the Hermitage, had earlier painted the curtain and ceiling of the palace theatre.[2]

 

 

By nationalized they meant confiscated by new government in 1917 . But like many rich or smart people - they had fled the country .

 

 

The Yusupov's home theatre

 

 

 

 

There was a large group seated when we were there

 

 

 

Stained glass window

 

 

 

 

The Moorish Dining Room

 

 

 

 

As we returned past the area for dance , we noted that it had be change into a dining area .

 

 

 

Could this be one of their Gala Dinners which we had read about ?

 

 

GALA DINNER AT THE YUSUPOV PALACE

Guests depart the hotel for a gala dinner at the Yusupov Palace. The richest of the non-imperial palaces of St. Petersburg, this palace was the home of the noble and powerful Yusupov family, relatives to the Russian Czars.

The Yusupovs were great collectors of art, and their collection was known well beyond Russia. After the revolution most of the collection was moved to the Hermitage, though traces of the incredible wealth that once kept this palace pulsating with life still remain: the various sitting rooms, the intricate chandeliers and candelabras that adorn every room and corridor.

The tour of the palace begins from the private chambers of the Yusupov family on the ground floor. It was in this palace where the assassination of Rasputin, one of the most scandalous figures in Russian history, took place.  Guests split  into small  group s can see wax figures of the conspirators.

Downstairs in the cellar there are two more wax figures: Rasputin and young Felix Yusupov talking over the set table minutes before the assassination. Costumed "hosts" of the palace greet the guests on the main staircase leading the suite of gala rooms of the palace.

The tour of the second floor ends in the Precioza and Antique halls located next to the Home Theatre. Here an elegant cocktail "Emperor" with champagne, black label Russian vodka and state-of-the-art canapés are served for the guests by the best caterer of the city.

After the cocktail guests proceed to the unique Home Theatre of the Yusupov family for a private ballet performance given by the soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre (30 min). This beautiful theatre in Rococo style looks like a cozy version of the famous Mariinsky theatre. Then guests are invited to the most outstanding Imperial dinner reminiscent of those of Yusupov's time. A group of 18th century dancers opens the evening with a polonaise or minuet and the exquisite four-course dinner under heavy chandeliers starts...

 

 

We will never know , as we had a date with Felix and Rasputin ....and not for dinner , hopefully !

 

 

Edited August 2, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

wow! so beautiful!

 

Thank you and welcome aboard , and we hope that you enjoy our cruise ! :) :D

[cocker2]

Another day, more wonderful pictures and a fascinating read!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

We finished our main tour in a dining area which overlooked the main staircase .

 

 

 

After this , we separated from the main group of people to do a limited access tour of where Rasputin was murdered . We first entered an area with attendant sitting by a sign which said " Only for staff ".

 

 

 

We were stopped here and told to wait , until they were ready for us .

 

 

 

 

In life Rasputin was a strange and controversial person , and the account of his death was no less controversial . And I will borrow some of the Wikipedia account of his death from the article found here :

 

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin

 

When our time came , we were led to a door with a narrow , dark , claustrophobic stair way leading down into a cellar . Part way down , we had to squeeze past another small group leaving . Only one way in and one way out !

 

 

The following events from the Wikipedia account we similar to the story told to us :

 

Around midnight, on Friday 16/Saturday 17 December, Prince Felix went with Dr. Stanislaus de Lazovert to Rasputin's apartment. Yusupov didn't use the regular stairs at this unseemly hour, but a stairwell for servants in the courtyard. Around one o'clock in the morning they drove to the recently refurbished palace, where a sound-proof room, part of the wine cellar, had been specially prepared for the crime with carpets and stain-glass lamps. They had placed four bottles, containing different kinds of sweet wines, either in a window or on a table. Waiting in his drawing room on another floor were the fellow conspirators: Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Purishkevich, his assistant Lazovert and Sukhotin, a friend of Felix's mother.

 

 

 

 

According to Yusupov in his memoirs , he offered Rasputin tea and petit fours laced with a large amount of cyanide .

 

 

After Rasputin was drunk Yusupov went upstairs and came back with Dmitri's revolver. Rasputin was shot at close quarters by Felix sitting left of him. The bullet entered the chest, penetrating the stomach and the liver; it left the body on the right side . However, Yusupov did not succeed in killing Rasputin. According to Maria Rasputin the bullet wounds were slight. After a while "Rasputin opened his eyes and became aware of his predicament."[288] He struggled up the stairs to reach the first landing, opening an unlocked door to the courtyard, which had been—not long before—used by Yusupov's conspirators. Alarmed by the noise, Purishkevich went down and fired at Rasputin four times, missing three times (from an unknown distance according to Nelipa). The bullet penetrated the right kidney and lodged into the spine.[289] Rasputin never reached the gate,[290] but fell into the snow, just outside the door. Both shots were fatal; he would have died within 10–20 minutes, but when the body made a sudden movement, one of them placed his revolver on the forehead and pulled the trigger.[note 17] Then the body was carried back inside. A nervous Yusupov severely hit his victim in his right eye with his shoe.[294]

 

This was a hall in which Rasputin tried to escape from his captors .

 

 

When his the body was wrapped in a broadcloth, Dimitri and his fellow conspirators drove in the direction of Krestovsky island.[310] The sentry on the bridge was asleep, which allowed the murderes to draw up quite close to railing and threw the corpse into an hole in the ice of the Malaya Nevka River, relying on the current to carry it out to sea. They drove back, without noticing that one of Rasputin's galoshes was stuck between the pylons of the bridge. They forgot to attach weights to his feet to make the body sink, but his fur coat formed an air bell, and the corpse drifted into an ice mass; it prevented the body's disposal into the sea.[311]

 

Edited August 2, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Another day, more wonderful pictures and a fascinating read!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thank you again . Kinda of a creepy way to finish the evening , but we were nearing the end of the second day in SPB . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

After Yusupov's our tour for the day was completed . Tyler was tired and wanted to go back to the ship but Pat and I were thinking a DIY dinner , the Faberge Museum , and the fireworks that evening to celebrate Russia Day .

 

 

 

One of our favorites restaurants in SPB is Kilikia , and it features great Armenian food at a cheap price .

 

 

Kamatz Matzoun (yogurt meatballs) - delish

 

 

 

Kharcho - Georgian lamb soup

 

 

 

 

Greek Salad

 

 

 

Chicken Kabobs with wild rice

 

 

 

 

Three Bears beer

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a link to their menu , in English , with pictures . :)

 

http://kilikia.spb.ru/menyu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gracie115]

Yum!! That dinner and menu looks wonderful!!:)

[scubacruiserx2]

Yum!! That dinner and menu looks wonderful!!:)

 

It's an interesting , and delicious dining experience ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

The Faberge Museum is the world's largest museum of Faberge and features the Imperial Eggs in the blue room .

 

 

http://fabergemuseum.ru/

 

 

 

 

 

The first photo is from their website and the 2nd and 3rd are photos from a book , as they allowed no photography when we last visited .

 

 

These fireworks are from Victory day in May of 2015 , when we went with some friends .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a video clip of a very excited Russian crowd :

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Even as visions of dinner , fireworks and the museum danced in our adult heads , we could see that Tyler had grown tired of museums and so w headed back to the ship . We thought that after dinner in the MDR the folk show would be nice . But by the time we finished dinner , we were all finished and the shower and the bed sure looked nice , AND IT FELT GREAT !

 

 

 

And we still had one more day in SPB . ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[QE2_Fan]

Have been quietly following (cruising!) along and must say thanks again for a wonderful blog on your journey.

 

The photos have been wonderful as well as the snippets of history thrown in. All ports look wonderul but SPB especially magical - so much history, art and architecture! Truly mesmerising!

 

Only the overcrowding at some of the attractions is off putting, but if your advise to travel outside of peak times can be achieved it sounds like it will add immeasurable value to the experience!

 

Some cruises will dock in SPB For 3D/2N which also allows a rather quick but rare opportunity to visit Moscow. Have you done this previously and would recommend if you did not have a chance to visit pre/post cruise?

 

Cheers!

Matt

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk