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

scubacruiserx2 · September 30, 2019

The Medieval Tallin , Estonia .

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

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

We went up in this balloon to get a better shot of the city and the Eclipse

scubacruiserx2 · October 1, 2019

Our next stop was Saint Petersburg . Because we had Visas we just walked off of the ship . We met our guide at the gate and went to the Smolny Institute .

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

It is currently the home of the Governor of Saint Petersburg . During the Revolution in 1917 it was the headquarters of the Soviets and this is the Assembly Hall where V.I. Lenin proclaimed the victory of the Soviets over the Czar .

Our next stop was the Peter and Paul Fortress . It was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 .

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

The Peter and Paul Cathedral

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Cathedral,_Saint_Petersburg

It is the oldest church and landmark in Saint Petersburg and Peter the Great and Catherine the Great are buried here .

Gracie115 · October 2, 2019

You are making me so excited for our TA/Baltic trip next April!! Wonderful pictures!

scubacruiserx2 · October 2, 2019

3 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

You are making me so excited for our TA/Baltic trip next April!! Wonderful pictures!

It's a great trip that you have planned . So much to do and see in Saint Petersburg ! We do have a lot photos and information about St. Pete here :

We have also added Moscow for those who are interested . The recent photos are from Pat and we found and added some other photos from our TA with you . She also has some photos from a beautiful place on the Ocean near you . It's called the Driftwood Inn , have you heard of it ?

Gracie115 · October 2, 2019

27 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We have also added Moscow for those who are interested . The recent photos are from Pat and we found and added some other photos from our TA with you . She also has some photos from a beautiful place on the Ocean near you . It's called the Driftwood Inn , have you heard of it ?

Yes I have heard of it!!! 😁 Still standing after all these years AND hurricanes!!!

scubacruiserx2 · October 2, 2019

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

Yes I have heard of it!!! 😁 Still standing after all these years AND hurricanes!!!

Amazing ! 😎

scubacruiserx2 · October 2, 2019

At the Peter and Paul Fortress we boarded a Mil 8 for a flight over the city

We first see the Artillery Museum where we will go next

The Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Artillery Museum is a very hands on place

Target practice

We had dinner with and spent the better part of the evening at some friend's apartment and returned to late to the ship in an Uber .

scubacruiserx2 · October 2, 2019

We were up early at the Hermitage . Our grandson is now as tall as I am .

The rooster clock with no other people in the room !

I think the bowl was made from one piece of stone

The Metro

Detail of the columns

scubacruiserx2 · October 3, 2019

The next stop was Peterhoff

Kronstat

These are flood gates that will swing shut if a storm cones up the Gulf of Finland

scubacruiserx2 · October 4, 2019

The Eclipse in Rostock , Germany

We had booked a tour for 3 with a famous Russian tour group that has branched out into several countries . They promise small groups of 20 or less and that they will go no matter how small the group is . We hoped for just us 3 . Exiting immigration ( we had our passport stamped ) we were paddled outside before entering the bus .