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A Renewed RussiaMartha Nell Beatty, Sept 2004 In June 2004, I took a group from the Friends of Sulgrave Manor on a trip to Russia. Two nights were spent at the old-world yet up-to-date Astoria Hotel in St. Petersburg and ten nights on the ship. While on the Viking Kirov two of the nights were on the ship, which was docked in St. Petersburg and another two while the ship was in Moscow. Moscow Something had happened to Moscow that no one had told me about: it is bright, glowing, green, with brilliant displays of flowers. Our guide said to come back in early May to see the glorious tulips. Who would have thought of going to Moscow for the tulips! When I go to my library on Sacramento Street or drive along Portola Drive or go by many other parts of San Francisco, I see how poorly we are keeping up our public areas. Then I think back to how carefully kept the parks and garden areas of Moscow (at least the ones we saw) are. There is a pride in the presentation, which can be sorely lacking in many of our areas. Another very major change was the traffic. Sometimes it could take us almost and hour and a half to go to and from our ship to the center of the city; it the best of times it would take only a half hour. One of the stranger stories of Moscow is the rebuilding of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a prime location very near the Kremlin. It was dynamited during Stalin’s days, and a park with a statue of Lenin was to replace it. Then the plans were put aside when World Ward II started and eventually a huge swimming pool took over the space. Then in the ‘90s the swimming pool was demolished and a sparkling new cathedral was built by the labor of 2,500 workers who completed it for Moscow’s 850th anniversary in 1997. Some question whether the city could have better used the swimming pool than another cathedral; there are quite a number. Unfortunately we were not able to tour Red Square or the Kremlin (except for the Armory) because we arrived the day before their independence celebration and they had closed of the Square for preparations. Actually when we were en route to GUM we could look over at Red Square and see masses of soldiers with their red flags marching in groups. The Armory is a splendid place and much more than it sounds. It is the place in which repose many of the jewels, costumes, and carriages of the royal family.
The guides like to take visitors to visit the metro stations. Riding the metro is a border-line frightening experience. The remarkably fast escalators take you deep under ground—something like four stories—so that you view an interesting station before zipping off on the metro. Usually you stop at another station to view that and then continue on to a third. It is very clean and every station has its own unique character and works of art. The Pushkin Museum has a breathtaking Impressionist exhibit, which I found much more enjoyable than that at The Hermitage because it was not as crowded. Of interest to some of my group was the special Schliemann gold collection. Next time I visit I want to add a visit to Tretyakov Gallery, which has the largest collection of Russian art in the world. Next time I would like to spend more time in this increasingly fascinating city. St. Petersburg This is one city where there never seems enough time to see and do everything. First there is so much in the city and then there are the surrounding areas. This time we of course had our visit to The Hermitage (twice actually) and to the ballet “Gizelle” at the Musical Comedy Theatre. We had a brief visit to the Church on Spilled Blood, which deserves the more lingering look that I had experienced previously. This time I made my first visit to Yussoupov Palace, where Rasputin was slain, and to St. Peter and Paul Fortress, where Peter is the most famous of those buried in its structure. Our first visit outside the city was to Peterhof, Peter’s great Palace. We concentrated on the Palace itself and only had time to look at the gardens with their fabled gilded fountains from the top terrace. The last time I visited I spent most of the time in the gardens and visiting Monplaisir, an intimate “cottage” that Peter was supposed to favor. It really takes an entire day to see both the Palace and the grounds properly. Our other visit was to Tsarkoe Selo and the grand Catherine Palace. Here the most breathtaking room is the incredibly restored palace is the Amber Room. I am fascinated by one of the architect’s Catharine commissioned, Charles Cameron. It seems quite incredible to me to have a Scot participating in such a venture. Restoration of the palace is still continuing. This visit also included a stop at the considerably smaller Pavlovsk, Paul’s palace. Catharine had Cameron design both the palace and the garden for her son Next time I am in St. Petersburg I want to add a visit to the Agate Palace in the gardens of Catharine Palace, to Oranienbaumm, where Catharine built a Chinese palace, and to the Russian Museum in the city itself. The Ship Surprises: no phone in cabins (Knock on door for wake up).
In fact the ship’s staff, like much of Russia, operated with cell phones.
There was a pay phone for guests, who bought a phone card to use in it; part of
the time the phone was not functioning however. The ship was wonderfully organized although I would not have expected this. Everyone was assigned to a bus (32 per bus) from the time of boarding in St. Petersburg to disembarking in Moscow with the same guide the whole time. (In the ports we would pick up local guides as well.) Our group had one bus and half of another, which we shared with an English group from Noble Caledonian. Even the lectures on the ship were for the different groups so that nothing was too crowded. Dining rooms—rather like the QE2 or QM2--with passengers in the more expensive cabins in the smaller dining room on the higher deck. However, there were the same menus in both. Wait staff was very good, eager and attractive. The dining room staff was clever in mixing up things so that some days there was a buffet for lunch; other times not. It wasn’t as if you went into the dining room knowing that it would be the “same old, same old.” Some dinners would have a theme—like the Pirate Night. There are several very pleasant public rooms with plenty of room for people to find cozy corners. In the evening there is piano music in one of the rooms. To show how rumors get around, one day someone said, “I guess the piano player is not blind after all because he had music in front of him.” (Someone had started that rumor.) A great highlight on the cruise was our Russian professor, who gave us four lectures. Those who had been on the QM2 crossing felt she was better than any of the speakers on that trip. The guides were also tops. There is so much to understand about Russia and these people really helped us. Perhaps the remark I remember the most from the lecturer was “Russia’s niche in the world is in the arts and literature.” I kept wondering why this massive country needs a niche. |
Perhaps
Moscow is fun to visit because you don’t only visit cathedrals and museums
but GUM, take a ride on the Metro and attend the ballet, opera and/or the circus.
GUM, the glass-roofed galleria next to Red Square, is a great place to stop for
a coffee or ice cream and watch the shoppers. It was beautifully restored in the
1950s.| Taha'a Pearl Beach Resort “It's a very special place. The Taha'a Pearl Beach Resort is a real gem. It's the closest to a five-star facility we visited and head and shoulders above the other Pearl Beach resorts we visited and heard about. It's very secluded, so there's not a lot to do outside of the resort, but Bora Bora is only 20 miles away. Taha'a would be a great first stop for honeymooners before moving on to Bora Bora, which was my favorite island.” M.W., Jacksonville, FL |