Baltic Cruise, Day 6, Riga, Latvia

Unlike Tallinn, which was a delightful surprise, Riga, the capital of Latvia, proved a letdown. Apparently, it’s a new cruise stop, and they are woefully prepared for the onslaught of two ships and their passengers all at once. It took an hour to reach the city, and then we decided to do what did in Sweden and Finland—take a HopOn/HopOff bus tour.  There are a few rivers flowing through Riga and we crossed over a few bridges. We saw this incredible bike caravan loaded with young, virile males singing loudly at the top of their voices when we walked to the square to catch the tour bus. It was only ten in the morning, but these guys had obviously started partying from dawn.

The sparse crowds milling about all seemed to be tourists. The city itself proved clean, and the architecture was fascinating. Riga is famous for its Art Nouveau District, which was lovely and quite large.

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But the ‘old town’ was almost empty. Compared to the bustling energy of Tallinn the day before where every resident was cheerful and smiling, everyone in Riga wore dour expressions. We lunched in one of the few restaurants in the old town on the main courtyard. Here are a few shots:

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We found out later that there are two options for this Baltic Cruise. One stops three days in St. Petersburg and omits Riga, while the other (ours) stays only 2 days in St. Petersburgh. If I had to do this all over again, I would do the 3-day Russian itinerary. Riga felt anti-climactic.

Baltic Cruise, Day 5, Tallinn, Estonia!

After St. Petersburg, I expected the last of the two stops on the cruise to be, well, duds. Wrong!!!

Tallinn, Estonia turns out to be absolutely charming and quaint. We spent most of the day exploring the walled ancient medieval city not minutes away from the port. ‘The Old City’, as it’s called, is remarkably preserved. The road leading to the ‘gates’ is lined with rows upon rows of vendors selling fresh flowers. The smell of lilacs, lavender, and roses perfume the air.

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As with most medieval ports, the city is set on a ridge for defense purposes. We climbed to the three lookout points overlooking the Baltic and managed to snap some breathtaking views.

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We spent the whole day wandering around the hilly village and admiring the beautiful amber jewelry displayed in many of the shops (of course, we ended up buying a beautiful set for the Viking’s mom, who turns 89 this August). Our Russian guide, Alex, recommended a restaurant called The Peppersack, and we ended up having a delicious lunch there.

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As usual, the sun’s shining, the temps are in the low 70s, and there’s enough of a breeze to keep the sea’s brine and the ever present flowers filling our noses. On the way out, the Viking remembers an amber set I admired at the beginning of the day, and he insists on purchasing for me. Sigh. He still makes me melt after all these years.

Baltic Cruise, Day 4, St. Petersburg, Russia

Today, we’re prepared for the bureaucracy of Russian immigration. We’re up at the crack of dawn, but are totally dismayed to find that all of the other passengers on the six cruise ships in dock planned the same strategy. However, we’re earlier so we actually start our Alla Bus Tour on time.

First stop is the St. Petersburg subway. We’re all going—right, a subway is a tourist stop??? But holy moley! You could eat off the subway floors. Clean, full of incredible mosaic art, this subway blows our mind. It’s one of the deepest subway systems in the world and actually goes under the many rivers flowing through the city. The elevators are sooo steep. And it’s not just one elevator, but several to get to the actual platforms. Some shots:

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We exit the subway to take a boat tour. Again, the weather gods are favoring us. It’s sunny, a tad windy, and a perfect day for being outside. Here are some of the sights:

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Next on the itinerary is the St. Peter and Paul Fortress with a visit to the cathedral. The lineups thankfully aren’t too long. More photos:

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We grab lunch at a restaurant famous for its pies—Stolle Pie Shop—yummy.

During our visit to The Faberge Egg Museum, we weren’t allowed to take a single picture. But, only being this upfront and personal can you begin to imagine the astounding detail and magnificent talent that went into creating one of these eggs.

However, the highlight of our St. Petersburg tour is the visit to Catherine the Great’s summer (yes, only summer—ye gads, I can’t even begin to imagine what the winter palace looks lie). Again, the obscenity of the wealth while people starved makes plain why the revolution occurred.

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One note of interest: at both Peter the Great’s Peterhof’s and Catherine the Great’s Summer Palaces, the tour ends with stark, bleak pictures of how the Nazis tried to destroy everything as they left. When I recall the number of historical sites ISIS has destroyed just this year, it makes me believe that as a civilization we’ve learned nothing since World War II. How sad is that?

Baltic Cruise, Day 3, St. Petersburg, Russia!

We arrived at St. Petersburg, Russia well before dawn, which the captain informed us the night before, would be at 3:45. That’s right—the sun hung like a golden globe and the sky was a true azure and cloudless. How do I know this? I set my alarm because until I really saw this with my own eyes, there was no way I’d believe it. So fricking weird.

Everyone had warned us of Russian immigration. Apparently the Russians who work in that department are known for their prolonged, tedious procedures, sour dispositions, and inability to crack a smile. They didn’t exaggerate. It took 3 hours for us to ‘legally’ enter Europe. The birthday group had arranged a two-day bus tour with a company called Alla Tours. Our guide, Alex, aka Sasha, met us, and he wasn’t pleased. We were now an hour and a half behind schedule on a packed day.

Alex hurried us onto the coach and we took off. St. Petersburg traffic rivals LA’s. The streets were snarled with every kind of vehicle imaginable, but since there were six cruise lines in town, huge buses like that were the culprits.

Our first stop was, The Hermitage Museum, founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, and is comprised of six beautiful buildings. The architecture alone is worth the visit, but the art!!! According to Alex, the Hermitage houses a total of 24 original Rembrandts, while The Rembrandt museum in Holland displays a mere 14 of his paintings.

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From there we went to the Church of the Blooded, which is built upon the spot where Czar Alexander the Second was assassinated. Again, the architecture is incredible, but I found the tombs of the Czars particularly fascinating.

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After the church, we ate lunch—Chicken Kiev no less—at a charming restaurant set in a historic building.

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Then we headed out of the city and into a more rural landscape to visit the palace of Peter the Great, the Czar who founded St. Petersburg on May 10, 1703. I’ll let the pictures we took paint the picture.

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The obscene opulence and elegance astounds us. We begin to understand why the revolution occurred. I’ve visited many palaces in many countries, but this is mind-numbing.

While we’ve made up time, we’re now running late for our scheduled ballet performance. The Viking’s not too thrilled about ballet, but even he enjoyed the wonderful setting and the performance of Giselle.

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It’s now near ten at night, and we’re all exhausted. So, when we discover that you have to go through Russian immigration to get back to the boat, no one’s happy. Needless to say, a copious amount of wine, beer, and margaritas were consumed once we are back on board ship.

 

The Baltic Cruise Day 1!

Today, we left Stockholm on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas heading for Helsinki, Finland.

Because I knew we wouldn’t have access to our room on board the ship until after lunch and the morning dawned with a chill, I dressed in layers including a heavy sweater. How wrong could I be? Absolutely, it turns out, as we are once again, blessed with perfect weather! I had to shed garments and ended up wearing Florida summer clothing.

What a way to spend the day. Sailing on the seas, chatting with long-not-seen friends, sipping margaritas, and nibbling on snacks while enjoying spectacular vistas!

The journey to the mouth of the Baltic Ocean took about three hours and the passing scenery was breath-taking. Island upon island with bridges, highways, and cliff-perched houses with boats docked at the base multiplied exponentially. Here’s some of the pictures we managed to snap on the way out:

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That last pic is from our balcony at around midnight. Still not used to the weird twilight. BTW, there were three cruise ships following in our wake. I snagged a shot of them. I anticipate crowded ports…

We met up with our group—a whopping 22 people including us—for drinks during the day and then dinner that night. Now, on my last cruise to Alaska (ten years ago) the food had been fantastic, and I was really looking forward to indulging.

A complete and utter disappointment the food served by the Serenade of the Sea’s kitchen!!! I ordered escargot for an appetizer. It was served stone cold. I sent it back three, yes 3 times!!! Not a single improvement. The main course, which was supposed to be fish, was a gelled glutinous mass with no texture whatsoever. As to the vegetables, soggy would be a kind description.

But, the company was excellent, the conversation titillating, and we all had a fabulous time!