scubacruiserx2

Joe, thanks for all the photos, especially of the areas those of us only there for 2 days don't get to see. From my time there in 2010 I made these :

 

The Fountains of Peterhof

 

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

 

Peter and Paul Fortress/Cathedral

 

St Isaac's Cathedral

 

Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood

 

The Winter Palace/Hermitage State Museum

 

The Yusupov Palace

 

It's easy enough to do them all (time-wise), plus a canal tour and the ballet, assuming you are up for a busy two days. All the best, Tony

Thanks Tony for your great videos. When we're in the UK in Sept. , you gotta show me how to edit . Got some good stuff that needs editing ! Thanks, Joe

Hi Scuba

Going on the Star and SPB for tour in St Petersburg

Very excited and going solo!

I just found out that I can hire a driver after the tour for three hours

I wanted to take a look at retail in Russia (I'm a buyer ) but would like to be out

and about in a non tour group. Do you have any suggestions about what to see?

Thanks much!

Hi Grancayman. What type of retail are you interested in? (always thought being a buyer would be really neat). There is Gostiniy Dvor and Galleria (multi story mall). If you schedule a "shopper" through one of the tour companies, they are very knowledgable. We used one our last visit and she was much more than a shopper. It was really enjoyable.

If you would like more specific info, you may contact me at scubacruiserx2@gmail.com

Galleria

The link above will not take you to the rankings of guides. You need to click on the Activities (89) button under the bold Things to do in St. Petersburg heading to see the rankings and comments.

To all the first time vistors to St. Petersburg: We thank you for allowing us to become part of your trip. For me , visiting St. Petersburg for the first time was a little like the birth of our first child . There was a lot of planning , cost , anticiptation and labor (My DW had the labor part ! ). But , it was all worth the wait and we enjoyed our child (And st. Pete) so much, that we did it again - a couple of times ! Wanderlust17 - We were booked on the same cruise as you with our grandson but out daughter changed her mind , so we had to cancel. How we wish that we could be there ! To answer your question . We think that all of the private tours offer a better experience and have few , if any complaints. We used Denrus on our cruise and them and another private guide on our subsequent visits - with decreasing frequency as we have become more comfortable , on our own. Most visitors to St. Pete will give good to great reviews of the many companies that now offer guide services. The time is short so you should get busy so you can get the most from this beautiful city. Here is a link to tripadvisors reviews of guides. It up to you and your sister to find the best "fit". Best wishes, Joe

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298507-Activities-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html

Here's the view from the bedroom window.

So after a good nights sleep we met with a guide for a 4 hour "shopping"

tour. The first order of business is a Metro card to ride, and then to learn, the system. It opens the gate with a wave, and a long escalator ride down to the train.

We rode to the Sportivnaya Stadium to pick up some tickets for the Blackmore's Night concert that we would be attending , pictured in the lower left corner. We also received some dollars back because they had over charged us.

We wanted to return on the bus to learn how to use the system so we could be on our own. We then had our guide take us grocery shopping at the local supermarket. Behind this Metro station is the ПИК (Peak) shopping center with the sign in the upper right corner.

Beneath the shopping center is a 24 hour supermarket called ПЕРЕКРЕСТОК ( English-Perrycrosstock which means Crossroad).

It has almost everything we needed , including eggs with numbers !!!

The tour continues with the kitchen

Our first visitor in Russia was from the Oxi Fairy

Followed by Mister Muscle

Note that the Y is flexing it's muscle

The washing machine was in the bathroom and drained into the tub. DW was really impressed by the high spin rate as seen in this video clip(Click on washer for video). I nicknamed the machine Aeroflot.

And the clothes came out ready for the dryer.

I continue to enjoy your beautiful photos. Thanks again for posting.

 

Your comments about the "fear factor" resonated with me. I received an email from our cruise line letting us know we couldn't get off the ship without a visa and that we should book a ship's tour as they'll handle getting the visa for us (I was happy to see it wasn't as "threatening" as I'd expected. LOL). We've also had a couple members of our roll call who believed that we shouldn't book with private tours because of the visa requirement. A number of us had done the research and knew we'd be fine and were sure to let them know. I think times may be changing--they're estimating there will be about 750 people on the ship's tours in St P. So, I'm thinking there are a lot of people booking with private operators.

 

We're really looking foward to our two days of touring in St Petersburg. :D

I'm really glad that Cruise Critic allows this open exchange of information and that so many posters are sharing their experiences with private guides. We hope that you have a great time and take lots of pictures. But, please don't use up all the FUN as we are booked on the Sept. 1, Legend cruise to Norway.

Scubacruiser,

I love your photo of Fyodor's Cathedral with the reflection of the cathedral in the water. I am self reporting for theft of your photo as I just saved it to my desktop. :D

Your actions have been noted by the Thought Police !!!

After running the math , we have found that it will cost less to stay in Russia (Including the cost of the Visas) than the cost of the cheapest interior room of our cruise. We will use our 10 dayin stay Fall 2011, as an example. We mailed our passports overnight with the Visa application. We received our passports (With the Visa attached) before sailing. After the cruise we flew to St. Petersburg. We sat next to an older lady from the US going to St. Pete to meet her river cruise. After clearing Passport Control/ Customs , we met our guide who stopped so we could shop for food.

After about 1/2 hours drive, we arrived to meet the manager of the apartment that we stayed in. She spoke good English , much better than our broken Russian.

Our apartment is where the brown door with the TV dish is. The apartment is located on the Griboedov Canal.

The stairs up are typical of Russia and we neeed some exercise after 12 days of cruising. We feel very secure with the steel door and the 7 dead bolt system.

We called the living area "The red room". Most of the ceilings were 10'.

Small fireplace

The biggest impediment to visiting Russia is Fear. It has been used many times in many ways. When we first went to SP on a Baltic cruise in 2006 , it was common for some cruise lines to scare people into using their tours by creating doubt. You will miss the ship , lose your money , be robbed , or be confused because you don't know the language and nobody speaks English , and you will need a Visa to leave the ship. They were so sucessful that only a total of 6 people on our cruise considered private tours. Many of the people on our roll call echoed and amplified the fear factor. 3 couples agreed to defy the popular logic and try a tour with Denrus. One couple wanted the standard 2 day tour and we and another couple booked a custom tour to see and do more. We paid more and had a blast. The other couple had guide to themselves because no one else booked their tour and they also enjoyed their experence.

Peterhof 2006 with our guide Oxanna

Our guide Oxanna , disarmed our fears with her wit , charm , knowledge and perfect English -with a British accent. One of the reasons we chose Denrus was a direct phone line to Russia . Because Denrus uses our area code in Palm Beach County , we only to dial a local seven digit phone number to have real time communication - with no long distance charges. We spoke to Stan ( An American) so we felt very comfortable using Denrus for our cruise. So here in 2012 fear tactics are still used to dissuade people from obtaining a Tourist Visa to Russia. But its not that difficult (we have done it twice) or expensive but, it is essential to stay.

The good news is obtaining it is the most difficult part of visiting. It takes about the same time and cost as the flight from London. It can be used on a cruise and a post cruise stay. The next Visa we are applying for costs $40 more and is good for 3 years.

After a 2006 Baltic cruise, we wanted to return to St. Petersburg to see some things that we had missed and spend more time at some of the places we liked. We booked a TA/Baltic B2B in April/May 2009. Because we thought 2 days in St. Petersburg may not be enough, we requested the cruise line's authorization to stay in St. Petersburg and rejoin the cruise ship later. Because we would need a visa, place to stay and a flight, we considered a 10 day stay. As things fell into place, we cancelled the Baltic to stay in St. Petersburg for 10 days after our TA.

We hope our experiences will help people to consider a post-cruise stay.

We are planning to return this fall after a cruise to Norway and hope we put our new camera to good use.

After exiting the palace we spent some time in the gardens

And the pavillon of the Three Graces

Not far from Pavlovsk is Fyodor's Cathedral

This was the home church of the last Czar Nicholas II and his family. Click on the link for 1912 photo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcarskoe_Selo_Feodorovski_sobor_1912_004.jpg

It was destroyed during the war by the invaders and was being restored when we visited

Continuing the tour of Pavlovsk with the Throne room

And the State bedroom

A picture gallery. As you can see , we are the only ones here except the babushka patrol.

My wife found this ornate fireplace

And I liked this urn in the Greek hall

We finished with a statuary

On our last trip to Pushkin we chose to visit Pavlovsk instead of Catherine's Palace and for us it was a good choice.

http://www.pavlovskart.spb.ru/english/

We really enjoyed our visit to somewhere different and much fewer visitors. It was of course named for Paul I Catherine the Great's Son and heir to the throne.

We climbed the stairs of the Egyptian Vestibule

And entered the Italian hall

We loved this tapestry and think its a Gobelins

And this ceiling

Tour continues with a smaller dining area

And a larger dining area. The blue Delft pottery in the corner is a heater/fireplace seen throughout the palace.

Touring the palace gave us a case of "goldeneye" so we prefer the quite of the gardens in the back.

And the sound of the flute to the brass band playing New York , New York.

Most tours will include a visit to Pushkin and Catherine's Palace. Your guide will fill you in on the history so I will just provide some eye candy.

My lens can't capture the whole palace but we beat the crowds and the band there.

With so much to see and do in the city the average visitor will run into a wall - you can only do and see so much in 2 days and a night. When we visited with NCL in 2006 we booked a private , custom tour with some specific requests that were not the norm at that time. Gold Room , Metro ,an inside visit to Spilled Blood and Catherine's Palace . We missed Smolny , Yusupov's , Peter and Paul Fortress , Russian Museum and The Church of the Assumption of The Virgin Mary. If we were making recommendations to friends or family who could only visit St. Pete 1 time in their lifetime - we would incourage them to visit those sights in the city and avoid the 4 hour visit to Catherine's Palace. You could see five or six things and avoid 2 hours of wasted driving time. Catherine's Palace was designed by the architect Rastrelli. He also designed The Peterhof Palace , Winter Palace and Smolny Cathedral so, by touring these you get a feel for his design. I know many people may disagree with our suggestion but we would like the reader to consider all the options and make an informed choice for themselves.

Thanks for the memories. We visited in June, 2012 and it was truly a trip of a lifetime :)

Channeling Bob Hope ? LOL. We are glad if we can bring good memories or help new visitors plan / prioritize their trip. Another Russian fast food place for salad , soup and blini is Teremok (little cottage in Russian).

Quilting Cruiser we are envious of your June date because we have to wait until mid September ! LOL. But we enjoy the planning and anticipation. You and Vicktraveller get to see white nights - something that we have missed.We're so glad that you both get to see the upper gardens. Enjoy every moment cause it will go fast . With so much to see and do you will miss something (we missed Peter & Paul Fortress/Cathedral, Yusupov's ) like we did on our cruise in 2006. So take lots of pictures and make lots of memories !

The Chessboard Hill (Dragon fountain)

On the water is the Peterhof hermitage

Most visitors will never see the Upper Garden so will share a few pictures

Here is the Spring fountain

The detail of a Grand Palace cupola

The focal point of the garden is the Neptune Fountain. It was made in Nuremburg in 1650 but it required too much water to operate and was put in storage. It was sold to Tsar Paul for 30,000 Rubles in 1782. It was later stolen during WWII and tracked down in Germany. It was reinstalled in 1956.

Triton opens the mouth of a sea monster

The Sun fountain

In this video clip a young man looks for a secret rock that turns on the trick fountain.

After a rest room break near the Chess hill and Roman fountains , we saw this group of children playing. As I composed the picture a young lady saw the camera and begain posing.

Hi, I'll be there in July and I'm wondering what currency I should bring? Euro, US or my credit card will be accepted everywhere, even by street merchant? :confused:

 

Thank you for the pictures, looking forward to the adventure. :)

We have used them all . But usually credit card for guide service(not all restaurants will accept them), and we notify our company before we go of our travel dates. U S dollars (new) as a backup and to bargain with. And we don't pay an exchange fee. One trip they gave us the exchange rate as Euros - if the price is marked Y.E. Euros are fine and work in many places besides Russia. On our last trip I took this picture at the base of the Rostral Columns.

I later noticed it on the 50 Ruble note ( $1.70) .

Thank you, scubacruiser, for the information on Lenin and Peterhof. It was interesting to learn a little history in regards to Lenin and his final resting place. What a wonderful opportunity to have been able to visit his office, WOW! Is Red Square in the neighborhood of the sites visited on the standard tours? I also very much enjoyed the Peterhof website. Thanks for including the link. You are correct, lots of great information on the history of this magnificent site. I think this is what I am most looking forward to seeing during my visit! :)

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

Thanks again for your kind comments. Lenin's masoleum where he is on display is located near the Kremlin in Moscow.

https://ssl.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=340&with_photo_id=64572664&order=date_desc&user=5500593

Most visitors travel outside the central area and go to Peterhof. A good web site for history and a map of Peterhof is here.

http://www.peterhof-express.com/about_peterhof/get/

Most visitors go to the Grand Cascade near the palace first. Inspired by Versailles , Peter employed J. B. Le Blond as architect for the palace and fountains.

a video clip shows a quick pan shot

In the pool Sampson ( Symbolic of Russia) defeats the Lion (Symbolic of Sweden).

Another victory

Где Ленин ?( Where is Lenin ?). In a city that was named Leningrad (1924-1991) , you may see a number of statues of Lenin. If you go to Catherine's Palace you will see this one in front of the House of the Soviets.

.

On April 1,2009 a statue of Lenin near a train station was bombed and a hole blown in its bottom.

We requested a visit to see the statue with our guide Gennadiy and he told us that we could see another one. Much to our surprise we got a VIP visit to Smolney Convent where the Bolsheviks under Lenin took control of Russia and formed the Soviet Union.

We were led past armed guards to meet another guide who spoke only Russian. We were given a comprehensive tour and history lesson and a visit to Lenin's office.

There were were many personal belongings , documents and photographs and paintings. Beginning in 1991 the building has been the residence of the Government of St. Petersburg.

Here is the statue that was attacked in front of the Finland Train Station

One day I took a walk with my camera near the cruise port and spotted

this one

So where is Lenin ? His body is embalmed and on display in a mausoleum in Red Square.