Leaving Leningrad

We have had a fantastic last day in Russia. The sun has been shining all day.

Our first stop was the Aleksander Nevsky Monstery. It was Sunday morning so the church was full of worshippers. We joined in...for about 10 minutes. That was enough to enjoy the voices raised in song - as it is an orthodox service, there is no sitting, which is why we didn't stay longer, plus, we had to go in search of a certain gentleman we had been eager to find.  That's right...Dostoevsky.

Dale at Dostoevsky's grave

After wandering amongst the fallen and overgrown tombstones we realized we were in the wrong cemetery, and made our way to the far tidier plot which houses the famous graves. We found Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and others. We were quite pleased.

Dale in Lazarus Cemetary, St. Petersburg

tombstone skulls, Lazarus Cemetary

From there we hopped on the metro to visit the Chesma Cathedral, where Rasputin laid in state after his murder. A stranger church i have never seen. It is pretty and pink, like a cupcake.

Chesma Cathedral

We then zipped back downtown to take in the Russian Museum, which had an exhaustive collection of Russian Art, the early 20th century works being my favorites (i.e. Kandinsky). The museum is housed in the former Mikhailovsky palace and is quite impressive.

To close the day we went to the Grand Hotel Europe - bar none the most elegant hotel in the city. We sat in the uber elegant and refined hotel lounge which doubles as a cigar lounge of sorts. We were there for nearly three hours. I had two cigars and vodkas to match. Betty Lou sipped fruity non-alcoholic cocktails and we nibbled on a fine platter of fruit and cheese. It was a perfect way to close our trip.

Mariinskiy Theatre

We are now going back to our room to prepare for our train trip; we leave at 7 am, so it will be an early day.

We both agree that our trip to Russia has been as wonderful and inspiring as we had imagined. Hopefully Estonia will be equally rewarding.

Thank you again for checking in on us.

For the final time,

Da svidanya,

Dale & Betty Lou

Dale in Moscow Metro Station

From Russia with Love

Today we did indeed make it to Peterhof, the palace of Peter the Great. The main palace is exquisite - each room decorated in its own unique style. The grounds are enormous. There is an upper garden, designed in the French style and a sprawling lower garden, more in the English tradition. The Palace is surrounded by fountains i can only compare to those at Versailles. The grounds are filled with fountains, and smaller "sub palaces", surrounded by moats and gardens. One end of the property touches the Gulf of Finland, where Peter the Great would arrive on ship.

fountains at Peterhof

Peterhof fountains

We spent most of the day wandering around in the sunshine and taking in the beauty of our surroundings.

Church at Peterhof

We returned to Saint Petersburg (a journey that involved bus & metro), had a sushi dinner on a patio in the sunshine and soon will be back in our room.

Tomorrow will be our final day in Russia and we shall see how much we can fit in.

Good night.

d & b

Trees at Peterhof

Tombs, Tsars, & Pickled Babies

Friday.

At breakfast in the hostel, we met some new guests: a mother and her four daughters visiting from the Yukon (one of whom is here studying), and a retired fellow from Seattle who is traveling around Eastern Europe. They were very friendly.

After breakfast we found a ticket office and booked our train tickets to Tallinn, Estonia (first class, of course). The woman at the counter did not speak any English so i had to rely on my rudimentary Russian (so at least i HOPE i purchased tickets for Estonia). The trains had only recently started running to Estonia again, but will stop later this month due to certain political tensions between the two countries. We leave at 7am on Monday and arrive around 2pm.

We then walked across one of the many bridges spanning the Neva River (i am pleased to report that the weather today has been outstanding) and visited the Kunstkammer - Saint Petersburg's first museum, established by Peter the Great to display his collection of objects from cultures around the world. The reason i was so keen to go, however, was to see his collection of oddities and "monsters" - mostly this was jars of pickled and deformed babies. Some had two heads, others enormous tumors, deformed bits and pieces, that sort of thing. There were also stuffed rare animals and a fine display of teeth extracted by Peter the Great himself - along side his many interests (and the running of the Empire) he was also an amateur dentist! Betty Lou was not as enthralled as i with this grotesque miscellany, but i think she enjoyed herself a little bit. (Dawn: i think you would have loved it.)

picked babies at the Kunstkammer

picked head at the Kunstkammer

We then walked over another small bridge (there are 300 bridges in the city) to the Peter & Paul Fortress, through the "Death Gate" (many political prisoners were housed and executed there). There was visited the cathedral by the same name where most of the tsars are entombed. Most interestingly, was the small chapel built to house the remains of the Romanovs (who were, of course, slaughtered in 1918).

We had a lovely lunch at an Austrian Cafe (former home of the Russian writer Gorky) before walking back across yet another bridge back downtown. A leisurely coffee and cigar on Nevisky prospect and a bit of shopping has brought us here, to the internet cafe where we wind down from our daily adventures.

Tomorrow we shall head out of the city to visit Peterhof, the Palace of Peter the Great.

That concludes our daily post. Thanks for checking is on us.

Dale & Betty Lou

Dale at the Hermitage

Tackling the Hermitage

We awoke to more miserable weather today which persisted until only a few hours ago. Now it is gorgeous - patio weather. I do not recall if i have mentioned it previously, but the daylight part of the day is so long here. I don't know what time the sun rises, as we have yet to see this occur (which as many of you will know, is rare for us), but it is up very early and the sky is still light at 10pm. As summer approaches, the days will get even longer, until there is only a few hours of darkness each day.

Ok, enough of those trite observations and on to others.

Today we tackled the Hermitage. It is one of the largest museums in the world and is housed in former palaces of Peter & Catherine (the Great[s]). The building is spectacular - one glittering ballroom and throne room after another and each room hung with art from around the globe: everything from classical portraits & religious art to Picasso and Matisse. After awhile it is overwhelming to be in the presence of so much beauty.

The Hermitage

Following the day we wound our way back to The Idiot. We both agreed that a finer mixture of atmosphere and food could not be found. We ate mountains of delicious vegetarian Russian food (yes, it does exist - and nary a potato to be found). I had a little vodka and tea, B had a beverage and we worked on a New York Times Crossword and i wrote postcards while enjoying a cigar. We passed nearly three hours in this blissful manner.

A note in cigar prices (although i don't know if any of my smoking buddies are reading this): Non-Cuban cigars are very expensive, but Cuban cigars are roughly half the price of what they are in Canada. I am in heaven.

We are now meandering our way back to the room for what we hope will be an earlier night. I have several things to accomplish (i.e. sights to see) before leaving Saint Petersburg, but i have not yet decided what we shall do tomorrow. Perhaps i shall let Betty Lou in on the decision making process....

Dawn: Are you out there? Are you taking time out of your busy beach & gym schedule to read our blogging??

Alright, that's it.

So long, farewell...

dale & blou

St Petersburg, Day 2

Ok, i bought some additional time on the computer. Where was i?

Ah yes, we were tired and cranky.

I am pleased to say that a good night's sleep had restored us to our good humors and me to my agonizingly verbose self.

This morning we slept in until 9 and then had breakfast at the hostel.

Today is 9 May, which is "Victory Day" in Russia (the day they celebrate their victory over the Nazis and all soldiers lost in war). It is kind of like their fourth of July. There was a huge parade today, which somehow we missed, but the streets are thick with Russians waving flags and sporting ribbons and drinking in celebration.

Due to the holiday, all of the museums and attractions are closed. Churches, shops and restaurants are open. I had planned that we would spend the day walking and exploring parks and the river. We gave it a shot, but it was bitterly cold, raining and windy. After about an hour or so, we were frozen, so we holed up at a little cafe and sat there for a couple hours, enjoying coffee and lunch (I had pancakes with mushrooms & Betty Lou had mushroom soup and pancakes with beef).

We then felt ready to take on the day and i led us on a walking tour that took us to the magnificent Cathedral of our Lady of Kazan and St. Nicholas' Cathedral. We also walked to Sennaya Ploshchad; it is not much to see today, but back in the day it was a favorite haunt of Dostoevsky and is where he got much of the inspiration for the characters in "Crime and Punishment". We walked past the colossal Mariinsky Theatre and Yusupov's Palace, which is notable not only for its beauty, but for the fact that it is where Rasputin was killed.

Just down the street is the most fabulous restaurant/bar called "The Idiot" (after the novel). It is just below street level and is comprised of several small rooms decorated with antique typewriters and furniture, comfy leather sofas and dining tables. It is super cozy - exactly the kind of place one would want to spend several hours engaging in pretentious political or philosophical conversation or working on one's next novel. Each patron is given a complimentary shot of vodka. We spent some time there. I had vodka and a cigar and Betty Lou enjoyed a non-alcoholic cocktail called "A Little Tenderness". There we met and chatted with three Canadian students touring with their university symphony.

cigars & vodka at The Idiot

After that, a walk home, with a detour here, to the Internet cafe.

Tomorrow we plan to tackle the Hermitage.

Ok, i think i have brought everyone up to speed.

Good night.

Until next time,

drn & bln

The Red Arrow To St. Petersburg

I'm back.

While Betty Lou's post was a bit terse, it was due largely to hunger and fatigue. Had i written it would have been even shorter and possibly filled with expletives.

First of all: the train. Wow. We arrived at the train station on a dark and rainy night and found the Red Arrow waiting for us in all of its crimson splendor (yeah, Alan, i do go on, but as i recall you pay me to write for your newspaper, so it can't be THAT bad). The train was beautiful and our car was spectacular. It was very Orient Express, with lovely curtains and crisp linens, etc. We had a table and two bench seats which folded into beds. The table was set with our breakfast which included bread, meat, cheese, yogurt, juice, water, tea, chocolate and caviar. We also were offered a complimentary cocktail (we opted for juice). There was also two complimentary toiletry kits with slippers, eyemasks and the like. The ride was smooth, but just "clickety clack" enough to be soothing and remind us that we were in fact on a train.  We slept peacefully and awoke in time to witness our arrival in Saint Petersburg while we breakfasted.

Red Arrow interior

Saint Petersburg.

We caught a taxi to our new abode: The Puppet Theatre Hostel. It is really more of a pension-style hotel than a hostel. our room is on the fifth floor. We have beds, a desk, and wardrobe and we are in the same hall as the breakfast room. I am pleased to report that the bathrooms, while shared, are equipped with hot water. I think it was the most enjoyable shower i have ever had.

Puppet Theatre Hostel

Saint Petersburg is quite unlike Moscow. It is very beautiful - more European feeling than Soviet. It is built on and around many rivers and every turn reveals a beautiful bridge or palace or cathedral. There are many signs in English here and far more people speak it as well. The whole city is just very manageable. Also, while in Moscow, we rode the Metro constantly, here we can walk nearly everywhere.

Yesterday the weather was lovely and warm and we sat on a patio and had coffee, and i enjoyed a Hoyo Epicure No.2.

Church of the Spilled Blood

After that, we walked all around the city...for nearly nine hours. We went to the famous Cathedral of the Spilled Blood, an Armenian Church, walked Nevisky Prospekt, lunched at the Literary Cafe (where Pushkin supped before heading off to meet his fate in a duel). Betty Lou bought a small balalaika at souvenir market. We also visited St. Isaac's Cathedral - one of the largest in Europe. It was quite spectacular and allows one to climb a set of winding stairs up to the outside of the cuppola, where you can walk the perimeter and take in breathtaking views of the city. Betty Lou made it about 90% of the way up and froze. I had to coax her up, as there was no going back the way she came. Who knew she was so afraid of heights? I don't know that she enjoyed that particular experience, but i was proud of her for making it to the top.

St Petersburg canal

After all that we were quite exhausted.

....Ok, i am about to run out of time on this computer so i must post this. Will return shortly.

Dale in St Petersburg

d.

Hello

We made it to St. Petersburg in style.  The Red Arrow was fantastic. It was very luxurious and we felt like royalty.  This is me, BLou, posting so the entry will be short and to the point.

We have done a self-guided (Dale guided) walking tour today which took in various palaces and cathedrals. 

We are hungry and going to eat.  More later.

The Red Arrow

Da Svidaniya, Moscow

Well it is our final day in Moscow and it is rapidly drawing to a close. It is 9:45pm and in about an hour we will head to the train station to catch our midnight train to St. Petersburg. That train is the famous "Red Arrow" and we have a private sleeper car booked. I suspect that it will be either completely romantic and charming or hideously uncomfortable.

While i can't speak for Betty Lou (she isn't with me at the moment), i am not sad to be leaving Moscow, in that we have done the things we set out to do. A person could spend a month here are not see everything, i suspect, but we have made a good effort. The only thing about Moscow that i will be sorry to leave behind is the sense of familiarity we have developed in the past week. By now, the metro is a breeze and finding our way around is not too difficult. Going to St. Petersburg means starting anew, but we are ready for the challenge.

Today was a bit of a struggle. Both Betty Lou and I were feeling tired and worn out. I had planned a grand day of visiting the beautiful Novodevichy Convent and cemetery - pick a famous Russian, they're all buried there (including Yeltsin). We arrived on this, the most warm and sunny of days, and the place was closed. It is supposed to be open on Mondays, but, much like Lenin's tomb, it was closed. I was warned that Russian sights were like that; closed without warning. I was very disappointed. The alternative places we could have visited in (its) stead were all closed on Mondays. So we went to Gorky Park.

Gorky Park might be a swell place to visit on a weekend, as it has paddle boast and amusement rides, but on a Monday it was a ghost town. The rides were open, but no one was on them, It was out of a horror movie (i thought). Not "Children of the Corn"; more like "Funhouse". (Dawn will know what i am referring to.)

After that we meandered back to GUM for coffee and ice cream (where i fell asleep sitting up at the table) and took one last lingering look at Red Square and St. Basil's.  In Red Square rehearsal was taking place for the Victory Day Celebrations on May 9th.  There was marching and Russian voices filling the square.

We then went over to Theatre Square for a loooong dinner (2.5 hours-a record for us). It left us feeling sated and relaxed.

Now we wait to go to the train.

I would like, before departing from Moscow to make a few observations which i may have previously overlooked:

• There is no litter anywhere; nor are there any garbage cans
• Pointy shoes are very popular for both men and women, as is black leather.
• Kopecks (100 of which make up 1 Rouble) are still in circulation, but nothing is ever priced such that you would need to use them. They are kept around for nostalgia's sake. In case you are curious, you get about 25 Roubles for $1 and an espresso costs about 90 Roubles.
• Ivan the Terrible was the ruler who ordered the building of St. Basil's Cathedral. The architect was Postnik Yakovlev. After the building was complete, Ivan the Terrible was so impressed by its beauty that he had the architect blinded so he could never create anything to rival it. They didn't call him "Terrible" for nothing.

 Ok, that's all from Moscow. We will post again from St. Petersburg when we can.

Happy Trails,

Dale Raven & Betty Lou North

Sunday in the Park

Another day in Moscow.

Today i had this brilliant plan to take the metro to Izmailovsky Park where there was supposed to be a quaint market selling handcrafted items. We arrived and found the market, which was a sprawling flea market of sorts which i can best liken to a cross between the Hialeah Ghetto market (in Miami), the Richmond Night Market and Canal Street in New York....for those of you who still can't get a visual: it was tents and enclosures filling maybe a football field selling clothing and housewares, toys, food and any other item you could imagine. It was extremely crowded and from what we could tell we were the only non-Russians there. It was not at all what i was expecting, but it was interesting to see where many Russians seem to do their shopping.

After fleeing that scene we went back "downtown" to the Kremlin, where we got an espresso and ice cream (when in Moscow...) and sat outside at a cafe on a promenade in the sun. The weather today was FANTASTIC. Snow? What snow? While sitting outside i was so warm i removed my jacket and scarf. Heaven.

After that we went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts which was especially crowded due to a recently opened Modigliani exhibit. I was a bit disappointed with the museum, as the impressionist works i had been keen to see were in closed wings. There were a few rooms, however, of lovely Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 17th Century.

We then walked back to Ulitsa Arbat for dinner at the same cafe we ate at last night. I had the most exquisite chocolate dessert. Now we are back at the hostel. Yesterday it was filled with Germans, today it is literally crawling with children; the kind that stand too close and stare at you....in fact, they are doing it now....creepy.

Tomorrow is our final day in Moscow. We catch the midnight train to St. Petersburg tomorrow night.

Good night.

d & b

The Kindness of Strangers

I am giving this post that particular title, as i wish to point out the many kind people who have helped us out on this trip - pointing us in the right direction, letting us change seats with them at the ballet (BL had a panic attack when we sat down in our seats in the 1st row of the 3rd tier), dragging us back on the train when we almost got off at the wrong stop in the middle of nowhere, et cetera.

Moscow commuter train

Today we slept in about 2 hours because someone forgot to set the alarm (dale). We raced to the train station and managed to make our train to the country, although to do so we had to skip showering and breakfast.

train platform sign, Moscow

The country was great today. The train ride was an adventure. I'm pleased to say that i successfully used my little Russian to purchase 2 round trip tickets to Sergiev Posad and found the right train. We almost got off one stop too soon, but some nice Russian girl saved us from our folly.

The Russian countryside is extremely pastoral, but much of it looks very poor - dilapidated shacks and barns and whatnot.

The train was very old and very crowded (some passengers had to stand for the nearly two hour ride). People would walk through the cars selling various goods, including steak knives, loofahs, wallets, and tazers.

Our trip to the country was for the purpose of taking us to the St. Sergius monastery. It is basically the Vatican of the Russian Orthodox church. It was full of Monks and pilgrims and worshippers. Surprisingly few tourists. We had a Russian guide, Sofia, show us around. In one of the churches they have a ceremony which goes from 5am-9pm 24/7/365, in which people line up to kiss and pray at the tomb containing the relics of st. Sergius. Pilgrims come of their own volition and sing through the affair. It was so beautiful and quite moving. I still think Catholicism is crazy, but they do have some lovely rituals. Although Betty Lou and i each raised an eyebrow when our guide told us that all of the wealth on display in the church (bejeweled icons and the like) is not to show off their literal 'wealth', but to symbolize the wealth that awaits us in heaven. Uh huh.

St Sergius Monastery building 

We took the train back to Moscow and wandered down Ulitsa Arabat, a wide, pedestrian street with vendors, shops, and restaurants. We found a lovely little cafe and had dinner and coffee and did a crossword.

I must mention the weather again. While there were moments today where it was sunny, they were fleeting. Most of the day was bitterly cold with snow blowing at a steep angle. I had to break down and buy a scarf.

Until the morrow,

BLou and Dale

An Evening at the Ballet

Another day in Moscow and it was a thoroughly Russian day.

We spent several hours at the Kremlin exploring the numerous churches, many of which are about 500 years old and filled with tombs and iconoclasts and all the usual Catholic bells and whistles. (They certainly did favor some violent imagery, those Catholics.) Everything was so beautiful.

me with Tsar Cannon, Kremlin, Moscow

We visited the Armory Museum (also at the Kremlin), which houses all of the riches of the Romanovs. The carriages were particularly impressive, as were the coronation gowns.

After that we were quite fatigued, so we wandered over to Theatre Square, where we had a leisurely dinner before going to the opera at the Bolshoi. On our way in we stopped by the cocktail area of the theatre and Betty Lou spontaneously splurged on some caviar - the perfect pre-show treat at the Bolshoi.

A side note: One odd thing we have noticed is that Moscovites seem to have a penchant for ice cream. There are ice cream vendors on every corner and every 50 feet or so in the mall. They eat ice cream at breakfast and stroll leisurely down the ulitsa (street) licking cones even in the most frigid of weather. Weird. What else can i say?

We're tired. That's all, folks. Thanks for checking in on us.

Betty Lou & Dale 

Mastering the Moscow Metro

Good Day.


We awoke this morning after a surprisingly restful and cozy sleep in our somewhat shabby room. Much to our surprise it was snowing. That's right, snowing. Fortunately the snow did not last long and it was atmospheric; it IS Russia after all, and it wouldn't feel right without a little snow.

Moscow Metro Station

We ventured onto the Metro (the subway) today to transport ourselves to Red Square. It was quite an adventure, but one, i am pleased to say was without incident. Of course, none of the ticket sellers spoke English, so we had to rely on our rough and rudimentary Russian. Amazingly, we were able to purchase our tickets and made it to our destination. I must note, first of all that the signs in the Metro are entirely in  Cyrillic. I must also comment on the stations themselves which are quite ornate and extremely clean; some of the stations had chandeliers, other had stained glass and sculptures.

me at St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow

We arrived in Red Square and were greeted by St. Basil's Cathedral, which is magnificent, so much so that it does not seem real. We wandered around the area and visited numerous churches, a former residence of the Romanovs, and the site of the (former) KGB, which, strangely is right across the street from the world's largest toy store.

Also, at Red Square, we witnessed a curious sight: hundreds of Russian soldiers lined up like, well, soldiers participating in what appeared to be a military ceremony. We couldn't communicate with anyone to find out what it was, but there was solemn singing and men in uniform.

At some point the sun came out and it was actually beautifully warm...for about 20 minutes.

My great moment of triumph came when i stumbled upon a shop selling candy, coffee, tea, wine, and.....cigars! Despite the fact that the sales people didn't speak English, i successfully made my purchase. Victory!!

Tomorrow we head to the Kremlin, where, sadly, Lenin is unavailable for viewing. [insert our pouting faces here] That;s right, the old guy had better things to do apparently. Truthfully, I don't know why his tomb isn't open, but it is closed until the 15th. Tomorrow night we head to the Bolshoi to see the ballet.

That's all. Happy trails,

dale & lou 

So Much For Sensible Shoes

St Basil's 

It is a very sunny morning here in Moscow.

Betty Lou and i have just awoken.

I'm sorry some of you are having trouble posting. I don't know what that's all about, but you can email both of us at my email if you are keen to contact us.

A random tale which i forgot to mention in the last post:

I had been congratulating myself for wearing my sensible Doc Martens on this trip (or rather, i had been thanking Betty Lou for urging me to wear them rather than the more stylish shoes i had originally selected), it seems however that even the most cautious and sturdy of footwear was not enough to save me from my own innate clumsiness. Yesterday as we were entering the rather posh and famous GUM department store i tripped and fell on my face, losing both my balance, my grip of my guidebook, and my pride. The security guard, standing on the other side of a window, looked at me, placed his hand over his heart and shook his head. I laughed.

Dawn, i knew you would appreciate that story.

Later, d

From Amsterdam to Moscow

Please forgive me for this being so brief, but it is quite late and others are waiting to use this computer.

Amsterdam canal & bicycles

We arrived in Amsterdam, which was unseasonably warm and beautifully sunny. We cruised the canals and wandered aimlessly down the narrow cobblestoned streets (i am SO glad i wore my Doc Martens; they're not stylish, but at least i can keep my balance), had coffee outside by the canal and smoked a cigar (well, i did; Betty-lou had a latte). Our hotel, the Hotel Brouwer, was beautifully charming and cozy.

Hotel Brouwer, Amsterdam

We flew via Stockholm to Moscow and arrived this evening. It is cold. About 6 degrees. I have to admit this is a bit intimidating. Most people don't speak English and all of the signs are in Cyrillic. I am, however, pleased and proud to report that this evening BL and i managed to find a restaurant, order food and pay for it in Roubles. She had borscht. I had vodka.

Our hostel in Moscow (The Godzilla Hostel) is...well, it's no Hotel Brouwer, but it is clean and has all of the amenities we could need.

Hostel Room, Moscow

We will post when we can.  Tomorrow we are off to Red Square and to view Lenin's body.

A couple of notes to specific people:

 -Dale says:

• "John Josh, Anthony: i ran into someone from our class at the airport. He was en route to Paris."
• "Steve, it is 2 May and i am thinking of you in particular on this day."
• "Chris, thank you for letting me know what the soup of the day is on Granville Island. You're swell."

-Betty Lou says:

• "Dawn, we thought how much you would like Amsterdam - it reminded us of New Orleans."
• "Ron, I love you."

That's all for now.

Da svidanya.

drn and luba dtmetrunetz