Stasi Documentation Center - Rostock

Anyone visit this museum? Was it worth the visit? Hard to find?

We love Cold War stuff - so it looks like an interesting place to visit when we're in the Warnemunde port. We're skipping Berlin, just did a land trip there last year.

We did not visit the Stasi museum. However, if you are visiting St. Petersburg and like cold war displays , this museum had some surprisingly candid exhibits. We bought a nice book there filled with Soviet agitprop posters from this era.

http://en.polithistory.ru/vistavka/614-exhibition-soviet-epoch-between-utopia-and-reality

Thanks for the link....

Just looked at my itinerary again and we're in Rostock on a Sunday - dang it - checked the opening days - the Rostock Stasi museum is closed. AARRRGGHHH!

But, I have scheduled a 3 hour "off the leash" "excursion" for our time in St. Petersburg (in addition to a standard 2 day tour). How far is the St. Petersburg museum from Nevsky Prospekt? Plan is to have driver pick us up somewhere between last usual stop on a two day and drop us on the main drag - then meet up again for transfer back to ship.

Thanks for the link....

 

Just looked at my itinerary again and we're in Rostock on a Sunday - dang it - checked the opening days - the Rostock Stasi museum is closed. AARRRGGHHH!

 

But, I have scheduled a 3 hour "off the leash" "excursion" for our time in St. Petersburg (in addition to a standard 2 day tour). How far is the St. Petersburg museum from Nevsky Prospekt? Plan is to have driver pick us up somewhere between last usual stop on a two day and drop us on the main drag - then meet up again for transfer back to ship.

Can you please share details on how you are doing the unescorted time in St. Petersburg? Are you obtaining a Russian visa?

Thanks for the link....

 

Just looked at my itinerary again and we're in Rostock on a Sunday - dang it - checked the opening days - the Rostock Stasi museum is closed. AARRRGGHHH!

 

But, I have scheduled a 3 hour "off the leash" "excursion" for our time in St. Petersburg (in addition to a standard 2 day tour). How far is the St. Petersburg museum from Nevsky Prospekt? Plan is to have driver pick us up somewhere between last usual stop on a two day and drop us on the main drag - then meet up again for transfer back to ship.

The museum is across the Neva River from the Admiralty , behind the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Admiralty is where Nevsky Prospect begins.

Can you please share details on how you are doing the unescorted time in St. Petersburg? Are you obtaining a Russian visa?

Same company that is providing the 8 person group tour has an evening "on you own option" - Alla. No visa. Right now it looks like second driver will meet up somewhere back into town from last stop on 1st day of the regular tour. Plan is just to savor sights and sounds of Nevsky Prospekt on our own - then be driven back to ship. Wasn't cheap - $150 for three hours (in fact our quote is a bit more than what they're showing on their website, so kind of ticked about that). However, it's worth it to us to have some time on our own.

Visas through a processor are expensive and when you add the cost of transportation and entrance fees to sites, this seemed like the most cost - effective way. We've been to Moscow on our own with visas, so experiencing the culture on our own was less important than making sure we saw the sites in St. Petersburg. It was an agonizing decision to go with the tour (hate them) - so we'll amp it up with a bit of free time.

Same company that is providing the 8 person group tour has an evening "on you own option" - Alla. No visa. Right now it looks like second driver will meet up somewhere back into town from last stop on 1st day of the regular tour. Plan is just to savor sights and sounds of Nevsky Prospekt on our own - then be driven back to ship. Wasn't cheap - $150 for three hours (in fact our quote is a bit more than what they're showing on their website, so kind of ticked about that). However, it's worth it to us to have some time on our own.

 

Visas through a processor are expensive and when you add the cost of transportation and entrance fees to sites, this seemed like the most cost - effective way. We've been to Moscow on our own with visas, so experiencing the culture on our own was less important than making sure we saw the sites in St. Petersburg. It was an agonizing decision to go with the tour (hate them) - so we'll amp it up with a bit of free time.

Thank you for the explanation. I see the option on the Alla site that you are referring to. I wonder if you will truly be able to explore on your own without even the driver being with you or nearby? During all the research I did before our Baltic cruise this past year, it seemed to me that you needed to be "accompanied" by the tour operator while you were off the ship.

I hear what you are saying about tours, but in the case of St Petersburg, for the first time visitor with such a limited amount of time in port, going with one of the established tour operators is a wise choice. They are masterful at wisking groups from one venue to the next, and ushering you in and out past the lines of other tourists.

Enjoy your cruise and stop in St. Petersburg.