Constellation Baltics Trip Report and Lots of Pictures!

[Cindy]

We finished our tour without pushing, shoving, or incident:D, and headed towards the van for the drive back to St. Petersburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The traffic getting back into the city was terrible and we were quite late getting to lunch. Lunch was originally scheduled for 12:30-1:30, and if I recall correctly it was pushing 1:30 by the time we reached the restaurant. Lunch was very, very good, with salad, borst, chicken kiev with rice, and apple tarts.

 

 

 

It was still raining at lunch time...no al fresco dining opportunities in St. Petersburg!

[TLCOhio]

We finally got inside, put on our paper booties (to protect the floors), checked our coats (a MUCH less painful process than at the Hermitage), and we were off! Like the churches, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and opulence of Catherine Palace. I didn't know where to look first…the ceilings covered in painted murals? The beautiful inlaid wood floors? The gold encrusted walls? There were so many things to focus on that I could have actually spent the entire visit in one room examining all the details!

 

Appreciate, Cindy, your continuing work to bring back nice memories for us from our super visit to St. Petersburg, plus in the rest of the amazing Baltics.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 68,334 views for this fun posting.

[Cindy]

While we ate, we discussed the weather and traffic situation and the group decided to cancel the canal cruise (good move). We were afraid the weather would prevent us from really seeing anything, and as it turns out we heard later that our fears would have been realized. Cancelling the canal cruise led to what was, for me one of the he most enjoyable parts of our 2 days. We went to the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas (a functioning church, not a museum), the Admiraltyskaya Metro Station, and the Kuznechny Market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas was one of the few (and only Russian Orthodox) churches in St. Petersburg that wasn't repurposed for non-religious activities during the Soviet era. When I asked why, Elena didn't know, but she said that St. Nicholas is the most popular of all the saints to Russians, and perhaps that's why it was spared!:)

 

I also learned that photography is prohibited in consecrated, functioning churches (as opposed to museums), so I wasn't able to take pictures. I found this shot of the inside by searching the web:

First floor of the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas

 

 

The cathedral actually houses two churches: downstairs is the St.Nicholas Church, which is the only part of the cathedral we saw, and the upstairs is called the Epiphany Church.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Cindy

[Cindy]

Our next stop was at the Admiralteyskaya Metro Station, where we rode the incredibly long escalators and saw the beautiful mosaics...the station we visited had a nautical theme. The metro station was also a great place for people watching!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

I thought the visit to the Kuznechy Market was fascinating! It was kind of a cross between a flea market and Super Target. Vendors sold toiletries, luggage, housewares, clothing, and purses, and there was a huge food hall and a garden center!

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about 10 minutes "talking" to this sweet lady who makes her own honey. The only problem was she spoke no English and we don't speak any Russian!

 

 

Homemade honey!

 

 

All kinds of nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits.

 

 

 

 

The last three places we visited, especially the market, were a highlight of the two days. Jim and I are both more interested in cultural things and people than crowded museums. While it was great to see how the tsars lived and the opulent palaces were not to be missed, I also didn’t think I was really seeing anything particularly Russian, if that makes any sense. At any rate, we had a chat with Elena, and if we ever return to St. Petersburg, we will certainly hire TJ Travel again, but we’d set up a very different kind of tour – one with about half the number of tourist highlights and twice as many “Not on Trip Advisor’s Top 10” locations.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Cindy

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Sorry your weather wasn't the greatest. We had a spectacular sunny day at Peterhof, which made all the difference. And we got to take the hydrofoil there.

 

Didn't you find yourself on gold leaf overload after a while? I did.

 

Linda

 

[Cindy]

I thought St. Petersburg was a study in contrasts, and I’m not sure I got any feel at all for the people, what they like, or how they live even after spending two days there. On the one hand you have the opulent palaces of Imperial Russia which are your main tourist attractions, but getting from one to the next you drive by endless rows of gray cinderblock apartment buildings and gray clapboard garages. It’s like royalty and communism faced off and neither won, so they co-exist in the same space and the contrast is jarring. On one hand you have the warm, welcoming, and talkative staff at TJ Travel and at the Kuznechny Market, and on the other hand you have the dour, scowling cloakroom clerks and guards at the Hermitage and Catherine Palace. Which is the real St. Petersburg, and who are the real Russians? Both? Neither?

 

I don’t want this to get political, but I thought the Russian people that I encountered were noticeably more guarded than in any other country we visited, including Estonia, which was once a part of the USSR. Since I like to know “what makes people tick” in the places we visit, I found that a little frustrating…almost like parts of Russia are still forbidden, or you can take a peek, but you can’t really look. It was a weird feeling, and difficult to put into words. One of those times where something seems a little strange, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is.

 

The "other" side of St. Petersburg...

 

 

 

 

 

We got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare before we sailed. It felt good to be "home" and get in out of the cold and wet!:) We were delayed sailing because of the horrible St. Petersburg traffic. Apparently there was an accident that blocked the road to the port, and it was preventing a couple buses of passengers from returning to the ship. It also was preventing the pilots from getting to the port, so even if we had everybody aboard we couldn’t have left.

 

As we left St. Petersburg headed for Tallinn, Estonia, the sun peeked through the clouds and it started to clear. I took that as a sign that we were going to be back to beautiful weather for our next port, but Mother Nature had other ideas!:rolleyes:

[england1]

Cindy, your pictures are unbelievable. It makes me feel like we were back there. We were on the cruise after yours and lucky for us we did not have bad weather or terrible crowds. I envy your trip to the market. I would have loved to have done a stop like that. When we had some extra time on our second day they did a drive past of a convent patronized by Empress Elizabeth. The market sounded a lot more interesting. Keep those pictures coming. I check in several times a day just to see if you have posted.

[Cindy]

Sorry your weather wasn't the greatest. We had a spectacular sunny day at Peterhof, which made all the difference. And we got to take the hydrofoil there.

 

Didn't you find yourself on gold leaf overload after a while? I did.

 

Linda

 

 

Absolutely!:D It was a bit much at times!

 

Cindy, your pictures are unbelievable. It makes me feel like we were back there. We were on the cruise after yours and lucky for us we did not have bad weather or terrible crowds. I envy your trip to the market. I would have loved to have done a stop like that. When we had some extra time on our second day they did a drive past of a convent patronized by Empress Elizabeth. The market sounded a lot more interesting. Keep those pictures coming. I check in several times a day just to see if you have posted.

 

Thanks! The market was a blast...I could have stayed a lot longer. I'm a bit jealous of your weather and lack of crowds!:p I really, really enjoyed Russia, but I think some sunshine and a better experience at the Hermitage would have made a big difference in my lasting impressions.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Cindy

[Cindy]

Appreciate, Cindy, your continuing work to bring back nice memories for us from our super visit to St. Petersburg, plus in the rest of the amazing Baltics.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 68,334 views for this fun posting.

 

Thanks, Terry! Your Baltic experiences were read by me many times when I was planning this trip!:D I hope I'm paying it forward!

[midwestchick]

Cindy,

Every so often I jump back on this forum to read and look for trip reports with pictures. I'm amazed at all you wonderful pictures and your narration. I've never written a trip report of our cruises, which are only 2...shame on me.

I've looked at a Baltic cruise but DH is so against it...mainly due to some of the ports, but then I look at your pictures and read all about it and still would like to do it one day.

Thank you so much for posting such a fabulous journey. I'm sure it's taking you hours and hours of precious time to post your report.

May I ask...it there a maximum number of pictures you can post on one post?

[Cindy]

May I ask...it there a maximum number of pictures you can post on one post?

 

Yes, there's a maximum of 6 attachments per post.:rolleyes: Every picture has to be hosted, selected, and pasted over one at a time if I want the full size pictures and not just thumbnails. That's what's taking so long...the text is mostly written, I just have to find the time to sit down and get it all onto Cruise Critic.:o

[midwestchick]

Kuddos to you, Cindy. That takes a tremendous amout of time. I did a trip report once on a Grand Cayman forum but was able to add as many pictures as I wanted to one post.

I had thought about posting pictures from our last cruise that I'd uploaded to facebook but I noticed my full name appeared so decided against it.

I'll be following the rest of your story.

And, how did you create a web page? That intrigued me when I read that.

By the way, your Mother looks absolutely wonderful for her age. I truly hoped she enjoyed her cruise. I would have given anything to take my Mom on a trip like this.

[PathfinderEss]

Totally enjoying your review and awesome photo's, thanks for posting.:)

[Sue L]

Two weeks from today we leave for Amsterdam, we are also using TJ tours for berlin and St Petersburg. Thanks for all the info making the wait more bearable

 

Susan

[sue58]

I would also like to add my thanks to you for posting this fabulous review, I am so enjoying each post! :)

 

DH and I did this same cruise back in June of 2011 and loved it even though we had rain for at least part of each day we were in port. Luckily our pre-cruise days in Amsterdam were sunny so we enjoyed our time there. I would love to do this cruise again but without the rain next time.

 

We also used TJ Travel in St. Petersburg and would not hesitate using them again, I think we might have done the same itinerary. Even though I did love seeing all of those places everything became a blur after a while and like you said, there was so much time spent travelling from site to site and then being herded through the crowds at some of the busier places it became a bit exhausting. If we're ever in StP again I would like a far more relaxed and "real" people view of the city.

[micruiser12]

Cindy,

 

We were on the cruise after you and totally agree with your opinion about the stark difference between the palaces and the concrete communist apartments, etc. Also, felt very restricted with what we experienced, although enjoyed our two day tour very much. Most of our contact with the few Russian people we encountered was limited, but nobody seemed happy. Our guide had to be a little friendlier, of course, but it was an interesting experience there unlike any other we have experienced anywhere.

 

Great job on the review and pictures! Bringing back many great memories!

[DaKa2002]

Cindy, just a fantastic review and incredible photography. Thank you for all these really fine efforts.

[Cindy]

Thanks all! I'll get Tallinn posted tomorrow..it's ready to go.

[Cindy]

Thursday, May 29 – Tallinn, Estonia

 

 

 

I thought this was a charming, charming town, but unfortunately we had horrendous weather. I would have loved to spend many more hours poking around if it wasn’t raining, windy, and cold. It was a good thing that there were numerous shops selling hand-made woolen goods, because my mother decided she needed additional layers!

 

 

It was so nasty out they were taking the gangway pictures inside the ship!:eek:

 

 

We took another TJ tour in Tallinn, and enjoyed our guide Brita very much. She was very open about the positives and negatives of life in Estonia, and anxious to share her knowledge with us. One thing she shared that we all thought was interesting concerned the birth rate and maternity leave benefits. Brita said that the government is working hard to find ways to entice young people to have children and raise their families in Estonia. One policy they’ve implemented is a 36 month maternity leave…18 months at full pay, and 18 months at reduced pay! Of course, taxes are quite high to fund this, but we thought taxes were very high in all the cities we visited.

 

Brita

 

 

Tallinn

 

 

The Estonian Parliament Building

[Cindy]

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a functioning Russian Orthodox church, and we were lucky to visit when there was a service going on. We stayed long enough to see the priest emerge from behind the Holy Gates and begin moving through the standing congregation blessing each worshiper. As with the active church in St. Petersburg, interior photography was forbidden, but I did purchase some post cards and found a picture on Wikipedia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

I loved the Tallinn Old Town – a medieval merchant village dating back to the early 1200’s. Old, quaint buildings and narrow cobblestone streets fascinate me and Tallinn is the kind of place where I could easily be entertained for hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

We spent some time at the Scenic Viewpoint. It wasn't too scenic for us, but I've seen pictures on a clear day and it is really a beautiful spot.

 

 

 

 

 

The birds didn't seem bothered by the weather at all!

 

 

Raeapteek Pharmacy was interesting…it dates back to 1422. Some of the “potions” looked like they’ve been there all that time!

 

 

Vendors set up stalls in alcoves along the old city walls.

 

 

Yes, it was cold enough for real winter clothes! It was a perfect day for this lady to sell lots of sweaters, hats, and scarves!

[Cindy]

Walking around Tallinn when we were there was something of an obstacle course…I spent a good amount of time trying to avoid getting poked in the eye by an umbrella and attempting to keep water off my camera! I did think the tour went a little too quickly – possibly because everyone was cold and wet – but I repeatedly found myself stopping for a picture and then having to rush to catch up with the group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

Medieval merchant houses and buildings in Town Hall Square.

 

 

Tallinn was immaculate! We saw quite a few women sweeping the pavement in front of their homes and shops.

 

 

All bundled up -- and it's almost June!

 

 

Even Old Town Tallinn has a McDonalds!:rolleyes:

 

 

The flower market is open every day, rain or shine!