Hermitage Museum

[UUNetBill]

2 minutes ago, RachelG said:

I definitely would not go wandering around St Petersburg by myself.  For one thing, unless you are docked in town, which seems rare these days, it would be very hard to get from the port to anywhere worth seeing.  There were no taxis at all at the port, and it is in a not so nice part of town. 

Rachel - just to clarify - you still need a Russian visa to 'go wandering around St Petersburg' on your own.  You can't just freelance it on the 72-hour 'cruise ship visa'.  But several of the tours we were on did allow a certain amount of 'free time' to wander around, but this was while you were out touring with the approved group.  So you could go out for a few hours on your own and shop, eat, drink etc. just as long as you made it back to the bus on time.

[RachelG]

Just now, UUNetBill said:

Rachel - just to clarify - you still need a Russian visa to 'go wandering around St Petersburg' on your own.  You can't just freelance it on the 72-hour 'cruise ship visa'.  But several of the tours we were on did allow a certain amount of 'free time' to wander around, but this was while you were out touring with the approved group.  So you could go out for a few hours on your own and shop, eat, drink etc. just as long as you made it back to the bus on time.

Yes, I realize that you need a Russian visa to go out on your own. 

[GOARMY]

mrlevin: 

 

Ah, yes.  SF-86.  Still deal with this every five to seven years over the past 53 years by providing updates.   Until COVID-19 caused 2020 cancelation of our two Regent sea cruises and one Uniworld River cruise in France--would have had to go the submission exercises for each by providing detailed foreign travel Itinerary at-least 45 days' prior to departure; then submit a post-cruise "Report".  Never denied "permission" as to completing all requested stop.  Looking-back: a small inconvenience; looking forward:  How nice it will be to have to go through those "Drills" again! 

 

All:  I don't want to come across as overly paranoid about travel in Russia (or China).  Comments are based  on experience (and training).  One-on-one interactions we have had (as recently as September, 2019) with Russian Guides, drivers, restaurant servers, whatever, and going back many years with hotel Staff were positive.   It  is the bureaucracy that gets in the way.   It was the occasional "Minder" at the Hermitage shouting "Nyet" to someone in our, or a neighboring group that leaned against a wall--any wall.  But, it is their Country; their history.  And, it is sad and tragic in so-many respects. 

 

Glad to hear from others about experiences at Faberge Museum.   There was more to see there than just the eggs. 

 

Dasvidaniya (Good-by) for now

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[Gilly]

1 hour ago, RachelG said:

The guide seemed to want us to see only Russian stuff which is not what we were interested in.  It was a total waste.

 

The second time was better, on a Regent tour which included the Gold Room.  Not nearly as crowded as we got early entrance. We still were forced to stick right with the guide, and if you even sort of ventured too far away, she was all over you. 

 

It was experiences such as these which prompted us to add St Petersburg to our list of places to return - admittedly rather easier for those of us who live in Europe, of course.  Having plenty of time in the Hermitage (just one example) makes all the difference, as does visiting out of cruise-ship season.  

 

We also enjoyed the Faberge museum, though only visited on one occasion, as part of a Regent tour.  That experience revealed the effect of a three-day, full-on excursion itinerary on both ourselves and our fellow shipmates.  As the late afternoon tour of the third day, it was the one which proved to be the test of patience and good humour for many - stamina was at a low ebb and a sub-optimal guide was the final straw for some.  My reason for noting that observation is that it's easy to cram in as many tours and sightseeing opportunities as possible - why not?!  Very understandable, because after all, we might not pass this way again.  But it comes at a cost - early starts and late returns, port-intensive schedules (those Baltic cruises pack in so much with very few sea days to recover) took their toll on everyone, ourselves included (and we're a good deal younger than many).  Perhaps a side-benefit of private tour with a guide is the ability to pace things at a comfortable level, to avoid the need to "keep up at the back" and to be able to say "enough" when the time is right?   

 

We love our Regent cruises, we take as many Regent tours as we can to make the most of the time in the ports we've looked forward to visiting.  Best of all, we promise ourselves to return to our favourites - like St Petersburg - sometime.  Covid permitting!! 🤞

[napoxoguk]

2 hours ago, GOARMY said:

It  is the bureaucracy that gets in the way.   It was the occasional "Minder" at the Hermitage shouting "Nyet" to someone in our, or a neighboring group that leaned against a wall--any wall. 

Ooh, this brings back some memories 🙂

I was there in 2018, at the height of the World Soccer Cup, with a group of younger Americans, for a guided Hermitage tour. Given an average of 2 hours of sleep a night  some of us had gotten over the course of the previous three days, - White Nights, nightclubs and all, - it didn't come as much of a surprise that all the more "outgoing" members of the group wanted to see in the Hermitage was a usable bench to sit down and snooze away for some five minutes. As you remember, these are nowhere to be found, so a member of our group decided to lean against a wall to catch some zzzs, - not any wall, mind you, but the frescoed wall of the Italian Enfilade (Rafael's Loggia, opened for the public circa 1790). Unfortunately, the "Minder" was nowhere to be seen, so I had to sneakily find my way through the crowd, making sure I don't attract our guide's attention, to bring the guy, as politely and inconspicuously as I could, back to his senses.

Needless to say, the reaction I got was less than lukewarm, so I felt at least somewhat redeemed a little later when that same guy decided, for the reasons still beyond my comprehension, to give Michelangelo's Crouching Boy a pat on the back -  and the "Nyeeeet" from the "Minder" was so emphatic and thunderous that everyone in the room had to duck and cover.

[GOARMY]

napoxoguk:

 

Da, Da, Da!  The most-strident voices came, in a low-roar which carried to the next room, from a "Babushka" Minder.  Free-translation:  Grandma.  That individual would take a position at the corner of a room--seated in the only chair, mind you--watching, waiting, waiting to pounce.  Initially, no-one noticed this Minder. Until, she growled out "Nyet"!  After one or two such utterances, we got the message, loud-and-clear.  Stay free-standing!  On to the next room--and the next Babushka.  They never smiled, although I attempted a breakthrough in East-West relations on occasion by uttering:  "Ochen kraseevaya"  (very-beautiful), as to the refulgent art, or furniture, or wallpaper, or floor, or whatever, adorning that particular room.   Not a twitch of recognition.

 

Well, back to gazing through the latest  Regent brochure just-received via USPS  as to potential mid-late 2021 European cruises.   One can only hope.  Best to all,  and Mask Up!

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

[napoxoguk]

Speaking of breakthroughs in East-West relations, I think over the past couple of years Bald and Bankrupt has, single-handedly, done more to humanize "the other side" and at least partially undo the damage done by mass media on either side of the infobubble than all cruise line tours, cultural exchanges, and travel forums combined.

Here's a couple of my favorites: 

Searching for Moksha speakers in Mordovia:

Drinking with random people in Belarus:

 

[GOARMY]

Thanks for sharing the videos.  The dear Babushka--earnest and proud.  Poignant comment that she and her husband (I presume) could make it on their pensions--as long as they didn't spend too much on vodka.  

 

And then--that second clip.  The twin banes to longevity in the former Soviet Union and its descendant States:  alcohol and cigarettes.  But, that could apply anywhere East or West. 

 

Great commentary  throughout by an English guy obviously not afraid to Go Native.   OTOH:  he speaks the lingo, which is kind of important.  People to people diplomacy. 

 

GOARMY!