Saint Petersburg, Russia

We were on our way to St. Petersburg sailing the Gulf of Finland as we were leaving Tallinn, Estonia behind. The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic sea, and St. Petersburg is located on the eastern end of the gulf which belongs to Russia and where the river Neva drains into it.

We docked at the port of St. Petersburg at 7:00 AM. We had two days in St. Petersburg. Immediately after the ship docked, intercom announcements started with full fury and with a kind of severity that going to Ashore in Petersburg would mean that immigration officials would be in the Marine Facade Terminal to thoroughly inspect the documents each time passengers exit or return to the ship. And the Passengers on a Holland America Line’s Shore Excursions were required to carry their passports, and the tickets were issued for their excursions with the same name as the passport. We had our tickets for 9.5 hours tour. Since the tour was to leave at 8:30 AM, we got down to the area from where the boarding was to be conducted. Everyone was asked to go when their group was called. And it turned out that each group was numbered by the number of the bus they were going to be on.. At first, we proceeded to the Maine Facade Terminal to clear our immigration. When I got there, a fierce-looking immigration officer took my documents and, intermittently, glared at me as she checked the details. I felt as though her glare was burning holes through me. Once she was done, she slammed my documents on the counter very rudely without a word. I was happy for her stamp of approval, regardless of how reluctantly it came and was on my way to where my husband was waiting for me.

We went out to find our bus, where a pleasant guide welcomed us and helped us with our seats etc. When everyone was aboard, the guide told us that the drive was about 75 minutes and the first part of our excursion was to Peterhof Palace, a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, St. Petersburg. We would visit the Grand Palace, which was the centerpiece of the entire complex. On arrival, we were greeted by a long line of tourists already waiting to enter the palace. We joined at the tail end of the line cringing at the thought of a long wait in freezing temperatures with blowing wind to boot.

We had no choice but to stand there in line, but the guide was kind enough to let us sit in the sun while she guarded our spot by standing there with her flag until we were ready to go in. My understanding of the protocol was that once you get in line, you just stayed there until your turn comes, if you leave you lose your place. But whatever rule the guide was following worked for us. Surprisingly, this massive crowd moved fairly quickly giving us a chance to enter the Palace. As I entered, I felt a sense of déjá vu, taking me back to the Palace Of Varsialles in France, in 1993. And was pleasantly surprised to find out that Peter the Great envisioned, and commissioned the building of the future palace as a better Russian version of the Palace Of Varsialles after his visit to French Royal Court in 1717. The Grand Palace is known as the most brilliant of all the summer residences of the Russian Czars.

Even before we entered, we were asked to put on overshoes which were stored in containers for the visitors to use in order to protect the immaculate parquet floors of the Palace.

Once you entered the Golden Hall, there was no doubt about it being golden. This ornate hall with intricate gold work all around was simply magnificent. The chairs with golden frames and luxurious blue silk upholstery were arranged along the wall which created space for the hordes of tourists to pass through. The beautifully painted ceiling, once again, took me back to the Micheal Angelo’s painting of Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican, Italy which we visited in 1990. The ambience and beauty of the Golden Hall was breathtaking. We had to pass through quickly to be able to see as much of the Palace as we could in the time allowed by the excursion schedules. The Grand Palace, we were told, had thirty room and we would be able to see only some important ones.

As we walked from room to room we were in awe of splendor and beauty not only of the designs and coloring of the interior which was, obviously, of a majestic quality, but also of impressive artifacts, outstanding decorative pieces, tables setting with magnificent porcelain tea services and dinner services used to decorate the Palace. Intriguingly, some rooms had floor to ceiling blue- glazed stunning ceramic fireplaces which resembled Chinese ceramic ware that I am familiar with. Hopefully, the photo gallery below would give you some idea of what pleasure you have in store when you have a chance to visit the Palace.

Much more spectacular than the Palace itself were the gardens and fountains surrounding it. These gloriously designed and sculptured gardens with cascading fountains were absolutely perfect and mesmerizing.

After this totally amazing and overwhelming experience, we had our lunch in a small cafe. From the sublime to the ridiculous came to mind, but the food was delicious, company was good, and it offered well deserved rest for everyone before the next jaunt to Kronstadt.

After lunch we continued to the town of Kronstadt to visit St. Nicholas Cathedral. Of the multitudes of churches in Russia dedicated to St. Nicholas, apparently, none is more grandiose than the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas. The Cathedral is beautiful all around. We spent sometime in the cathedral and took pictures to capture the beauty and feel the happiness to see such an extraordinary feat of skills.

After a Panoramic drive through Kronstadt we returned to the ship. We settled down to the regular evening activity including a great dinner and were ready to take on the next day in St. Petersburg. I will cover the day 2 in Petersburg in my next post.

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