st. petersburg, russia (day 1)

Before we left on our cruise we were informed that the only way we would be able to get off the ship in Russia was to either book a day excursion with the travel company or get a visa. We figured we wouldn't hassle with trying to get a visa so we booked our off-shore adventure with the travel agency (we actually booked every off-shore adventure with the travel agency). Every time we got off the ship we were able to walk directly to our buses and climb aboard but in Russia we had to give them a copy of our passport and have our passports stamped when leaving and coming back to the boat. It was kind of a pain and it was interesting to see how strict the rules are in Russia but I was also excited that I got another stamp in my passport.

Our stay in Russia lasted two days. The first day was spent exploring downtown St. Petersburg where we saw several palaces which are now museums. It seemed like every time our tour guide showed us a palace she would say it was now a museum. One of the highlights of our first day was seeing The Church on spilt blood. This church was just as I imagined Russia would be. The onion domes were amazing and I loved the colors and details they used on the structure. We were rushed through the interior but basically, this church was built on the exact location where Alexander Romanov was slain - inside was an alter where they claim was the exact location where the first blood was spilt. After the Church tour we walked across the street where we got some great deals at the local flea market with our Russian rubels.

Next we took a boat ride along the Niva River and many canals that connect the city, where our tour guide pointed out several other important Russian sites. One thing I did learn on this trip was that the Russian czars were very spoiled. Whenever one wanted a palace they got it - if I were a Russian back in the 1800's I would have wanted to have been a Romanov. Our favorite part of our boat tour was this little boy who would wave to us at each bridge and then hurry and run to the next one so he could wave to us before we went under. He was so entertaining and each bridge we would come to we were cheering for him to make it in time to wave to us. Of course, at the end of our trip he was there to give us one last wave and take our tips. We thought we were the lucky boat that had a special friend to entertain us but we later learned that every boat had a little friend ...I guess it's better than begging for money on the streets.

After our boat tour we enjoyed some authentic Russian cuisine. As we were seated we were treated to a glass of fine Russian vodka. I'm sure the waiters weren't disappointed to have a large group of Mormons that didn't partake of the alcohol. We all wondered if they were sipping our drinks in the back after they took them away. For our meal we had a thin slice of raw salmon with some other weird fishy thing for our appetizer, spinach soup, beef stroganoff and a Russian tart for dessert. The soup and stroganoff were good but the rest was a little interesting. But I'm not picky and it was fun to try the local cuisine.

Last we were off to explore the Winter palace that is home to the famous Hermitage Museum. This palace is HUGE and I remember as our tour guide was mentioning it, that it was the palace in the movie Anastasia. As she was telling us stories I quickly realized that Anastasia was a Romanov and that the stories she was telling of Nicholas II was the story of Anastasia's family. So I got really excited and acted like I knew what she was talking about but when I asked her if the movie Anastasia was based on the Romanov family she quickly just said yes and moved on. So I'm not sure if maybe she'd never seen the movie or perhaps the Russians weren't to impressed with Fox's take on their famous family. Or maybe she knows that the actual Anastasia is really alive and they are hiding her from the rest of the world (who knows). But for the rest of the trip I was singing "Have you heard, there's a rumor in St. Petersburg".

The Hermitage was amazing. The rooms were filled with gold from floor to ceiling and the crystal chandeliers were beautiful. The collection highlights were both of Leonardo's Madonna with a baby, a Michelangelo sculpture and several Picasso's and Rembrandt's. My favorite was the portrait of the "Return of the Prodigal Son" that portrays the father embracing his son after he has returned. If you look close, one of the fathers hands looks like a man's hand and the other a females, to represent both the father and the mother embracing their son. Our tour was a little long but we had the cutest little Russian tour guide that entertained us along the way. After The Hermitage we went back to the ship and got a good nights sleep for our second busy day in Russia.

S&J in front of St. Isaac's Square


The Church on Spilt Blood




Along the canals


Our little friend at the bridge


One of Leonardo's "Madonna with the Baby"


Inside The Hermitage