Thursday, May 11, 2017
We had a free morning, and much to our surprise, we took
advantage of the chance to sleep in, have a late breakfast and take a walk in
the neighborhood near our pier.
We headed to a supermarket with a couple of objectives, one
realized, one thwarted. When we travel,
we always like to see what’s available in local grocery stores. Often, that’s because we need to stock the
kitchens in our temporary digs, but even when that’s not the case, it usually
provides a good window into daily life for real people. Heinz Catsup in a pouch, milk in a sealed
bag, and a variety of dried fish packaged in cellophane bags and hanging on a display
rack like Gummy Bears all caught our attention.
Less satisfying was Tom’s attempt to buy an assortment of the local
brews. At about 10:45 am, we were
evidently too early for the purchase of alcoholic beverages, though we were
never able to ascertain exactly what the magic hour is – 21:00? 10:00? Noon?
As we tried to interpret hand signals and gestures, each seemed to be a
possibility, none the definitive hour.
After lunch, we joined a group headed back into the city
center escorted by Vadim. There, we
boarded a boat for a cruise on the rivers and canals that thread through the 42
islands that make up St. Petersburg. It
was a sunny and clear afternoon, but at least one of us made use of the
blankets provided for a bit of extra warmth.
We enjoyed gliding past golden-domed churches, palaces, museums,
theaters, fortresses, and under bridge after bridge – including one that was
100 meters wide. Sometime after we
began, we were “joined” by a young boy looking down on us from a bridge as we
passed below. Much to our surprise, he
appeared again, smiling and waving, at the next bridge, and at almost all the
successive ones, too. We soon were able
to spot him running along the embankments and taking occasional shortcuts. He got quite a workout, and was well rewarded
for his efforts when he greeted us as we disembarked at our dock. As Vadim observed, it was better than dealing
drugs!
Back at street level, we visited the Church of the Savior on
Spilled Blood, this time to see the interior.
The church, largely funded by the Romanov royal family, was built to
honor the memory of Tsar Alexander II, also known as Alexander the
Liberator. Though Catherine the Great
had planned to free the serfs, it was not until her grandson, Alexander, was on
the throne that emancipation occurred; he signed the decree granting freedom in
1861. Twenty years later, he was
mortally wounded when his carriage was bombed; the church was built on the site
of the attack, and the flower-bedecked spot where he fell is marked with a
marble canopy. The walls, ceilings, and
many domes of the soaring interior of the church are covered with mosaics of
every color; the effect is breathtaking.
The building served as a private church for the Romanovs, a warehouse
during the Revolution, and then as a museum under the Soviets; currently, it is
a museum, with certain weekend hours reserved for Orthodox services. During World War II, the Great Patriotic War,
it was shelled by the Germans. In the
course of postwar repair work, an unexploded bomb was found; it had pierced the
roof, but not the ceiling, of the
central dome!
Almost as soon as we returned to our ship, which was docked
on the Neva River on the outskirts of the city, the captain cast off and we
were on the move – destination Moscow.
We cruised into the countryside as we enjoyed dinner with shipmates from
a rural New Jersey dairy farm and the London business and banking world. We’ve enjoyed the open seating for meals on
board; people just wind up sitting with others who look companionable or on
their own, as they wish. So far, it’s
been very interesting, and a quite a bit of fun.
Sometime after 10:30 pm, we cruised past the fortress of
Schluesselburg, a stronghold once belonging to Sweden and Germany, and the site
of the execution of Lenin’s brother, who was accused of plotting against the
Tsar. There was still just enough light
to see the shadow of the hulking bastions of the island fortification.
We have no Internet connection tonight, so will post this
when we’re back online.
This all sounds wonderful ---
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