Visiting Russia has been a long-time goal that seemed unlikely to happen. But when The St. Petersberg Line offered a 3-day, 2-night, visa-free visit including return overnight ferry, we were onboard.
Boarding the Princess Maria in Helsinki went smoothly as did the overnight crossing. We learned you can't rush Russians; it took nearly two hours to clear Russian customs and get a shuttle bus to our hotel. Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky is by far the nicest place we have stayed since the Broadmoor - and the most expensive. But we are experienced travelers and we can suffer through the experience!
I had imagined I would giggle, "Holy crap, we're in Russia!" as I walked through St. Petersberg. In reality, it was grey as we crossed the Neva past the Hermitage, closed on Monday. The sky was grey, even the pastel buildings looked grey with neglect. So did many of the people.
My smile appeared when I saw the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. I may even have giggled and murmured, "Holy crap, we're in St. Petersberg." All onion domes and mosiacs, 7000 square meters of them, the church was built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated, hence the gory name. By my calculations there are more than 100 million individual mosaic tiles.
St. Petersburg at night
We haven't figured out the public transportation system so my feet were getting sore but my smile hadn't faded by the time we reached Peter and Paul Cathedral where all of the Czars since Peter the Great are interred. Too bad it is being renovated. Back at the hotel we enjoyed our ritzy digs and had dinner in the restaurant. No vodka (yet) but we tried the Chicken Kiev and Beef Stroganoff. When in Rome....
