Matroushkas in St. Petersburg

Matroushkas at a local market

Wyona bought a set of matroushkas (10 dolls, one inside of the next) in the market in the same time that it took our guide to gather 20 people around her and get them walking toward the bus.   

I was nervous that she was going to miss the bus, so I was keeping my eye on her as she darted from booth to booth.


At the same time, I was keeping my eye on the guide so that I would know which corner she turned if she got ahead of us.

As well, Wyona bought a couple of Cokes from someone who only spoke Russian, and Wyona waited as the clerk to get the right change for her at another booth. 


No one speaks the international language of commerce that goes with buying and selling as Wyona does.  

Buy your dolls at Red October

I have seen her do it in China and now in Russia.

There was no time to shop on the tours.  


And the ship tour guide had lingered on the picture of the market that runs beside the Church of the Spilled Blood.


He told everyone to memorize the look of that market.  


Then he said, "Buy something here at your own risk.  


The chances of you being pick-pocketed will never be higher.

We shopped instead at a new market called Red October.  In fact, we lost each other -- or I lost her.  I didn't even see this isle of goods until we were leaving the shop.

Fables are painted on the body of the doll.

What we didn't buy in the market, we bought when the ship ran their own Russian Bazaar.

The Jewel of the Sea shops close down when we are in a port.


But at sea -- buying and selling is sweet.


Arta

Tallinn, Estonia

The streeet is as steep as it seems.

My sightseeing tour was a walking tour of Old Tallinn

That tour that came with a warning: a person must be able to walk over cobble stones for two miles.

A good warning, because some of the streets were original, perhaps 300 years ago.

This street was steep.

Other streets had well-rounded cobblestones. 

Old Herman

One of the city towers is called Old Herman, and a place where, in the past, townsfolk looked for the flag to see who is their current ruler.  

During the 1940’s Estonia was passed back and forth between the Germans and the Russians so many time that they didn’t know who was currently ruling them.  

They soon knew to look at the flag on that tower to see. 

Estonians have had 20 years of independence after centuries of being ruled by someone else.  

They have declared a national tree, a national flower, a national fish, a national bird – and are having trouble giving up their kroner for the euro, since they also loved their national money.

However, as the tour guide explained to us in Russia, all forms of currency are accepted.  Her words were -- if it looks like money, it is money and you can use it.

Charming Estonian Buildings

I saved my shopping dollars for Tallinn, Estonia, having read that this is the place to buy woolen sweaters.   

I spotted the central market during the morning tour.

The Marketplace

Wyona and I had plans to meet up for an afternoon of shopping.  

She choose to shop the local market on the streets outside of the old village, and it was not long before a vendor was promising her the size and colour she wanted … and then off he ran through the market, promising to be back in 15 minutes.   

He arrived just as the downpour did and we went back to the ship, fully satisfied – shopping and sight-seeing at the same time – one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Arta

The Hermitage

Hermitage Staircase

Ceiling in the Hermitage

Wyona found a bargain cruise, one we could join in seven days.

I like to be part of her adventures.

I had no idea of how large the European collection of art in the Hermitage is, and for that matter, I had no idea of what the Hermitage represents.

Rather than beat myself up too much about knowing so little about where I was going, I decided to ride on the wings of every historical movie I have seen about Russian or novel I have read, and trust that I could remember some of what I learned in that overview of European history what I had not enjoyed that much, 50 years ago.

“What is the wage of those women make who were standing  in every room in the Hermitage?”, Wyona asked?

“A good wage.  They work 2 days on and 2 days off all month for $150 for the month,” said the guide.

The women who sit in each room have a job -- to keep the crowd from stopping too long in any room.  


I was reminded of being on a moving sidewalk in front of the crown jewels – the sidewalk kept anyone in the crowd from standing and observing the jewels.  


The same thing was happening here.  

Hoards of people walk through the hermitage and for us the rule was “look straight ahead and keep walking or you (the group) will never get out of the building”.

Arched Hallway in the Hermitage

Zenada Rogers had given Janet Pilling a book on St. Petersberg. Janet lent the book to me.  I was reading it on the plane, letting my eyes linger on the pictures and trying to imagine what I would think when I saw finally saw University Avenue, the Rostral Columns, and St. Peter and Pauls Church. 

One coffee table book on Russia is not enough.  


The question in Russia was … which of the books in the Hermitage gift shop to buy, given that I only have 15 pounds of extra luggage space to work with.

I was trying to calm an anxiety I felt as I walked through the rooms of the Hermitage, glimpsing the breadeth of the history I have no knowledge of, seing the opulence and splendor that eventually brought along the peasant Russian revolution.  

 “Which book are you going to buy, Arta?” asked Wyona.  

I reached for the biggest hardbacked volume, measuring by weight and size.  That made the walk through the rest of the rooms easier, knowing I could study that volume later in the year – when I eat lunch alone or before I go to bed at night. 

I choose Saint Petersburg: History of Architecture, Pushkin’s Fairy Tales and The Hermitage: The History of the Building and Collections.

Rembrandt's Flora in the Hermitage

All of the pictures I took in Russia can be seen in tourist books in much more detail and with text that I can't reproduce.  Still, my camera was clicking, taking images I now treasure.


That is a long way to come from thinking only a week ago, that the Hermitage was a monastery.

Arta

Looking over the Deck and Bridge at the Portofino

Testing the Safety of the Life Boats

One day Wyona and I stood at the window and watched the yellow life boats lowered into the water and then taken for test run.  Wyona said she heard the captain doesn't like how this wears out the lifeboats, but it is a safety standard and one that was fun to watch during lunch. 

There is so much to do on board -- much of it organized. There are presentations about land trips that can be taken; hour long instruction about what to buy at the markets; dance lessons occur every day -- practise the cha-cha, the tango, let your feet do the swing or line dance for a while.  I can hardly fit all of that in and get to the restaurants three times a day.

Wyona noted that there was a bridge lecture. we hadn't tried.

 ... a sailboat comes into view

Timidly we made our entrance into the Portofino Room, as yet unexplored by me for it is one of the specialty restaurants on board.   

In typical fashion, I took my daybook to take notes.  I always want to be prepared to read over my notes in the evening and see if I understood what I heard.

Carrying the book there was a waste of energy, since I had to listen.  

Really listen ... without even putting a pen to paper the man was going so fast with ideas that were new to me. 

The lecture was on Defensive Signalling.  I learned about the categories of attitude, what to lead on declarer’s lead, third-hand strategies, trump echos and suit preference.

The next day we learned how to count losing tricks in a hand and then we sat down to deal and then lay down our cards

A lovely way to end the day

The best part of the lesson was the visit afterward with the bridge master, Trevor, and his wife, Christine.  She said that they have cruised 30 times.  The first time they paid for the cruise.  Now they cruise and  teach bridge.  She added that it is getting hard to find new cruises they want to take.


Yet another reason for a person to really get good at bridge!


Arta

Early Morning Exercise

...evening...

... sky over the Baltic Sea ...

... early morning ...

I can walk 2 ½ miles an hour on deck 12 when the wind is blowing and the few others on the ship are awake.  

Some people were still enjoying yesterday for when I passed the Arcade, I noticed, they had not gone to bed yet.  

But for those of us who had retired early only another fellow beat me to the track, an older fellow, a serious runner if I could judge by the look of his calves.  

I didn’t see much else, for I kept my head down, it was so windy.

I was enjoying the half of the trip when my back was to the wind, and thinking of the high wind that comes with a Chinook.  

Many people were inside at the gym, but I choose the deck, the fresh air, the sight of the clouds at the horizon and the sun streaming through breaks in the clouds above me.

Wyona gave me a swimming suit cover up to wear through the halls when I go to the hot tub.  

Never having put it on to this point in my trip, I determined to go to the hot tub, after my walk was over and then to breakfast.   

Slowly Wyona and I are getting to know the other Canadians aboard – a quiet lot for when a masters of ceremony calls out how many Canadian’s are onboard, there is scarely a voice that can be heard responding.  

But now we know a couple from Vancouver, 2 from Quebec, and a couple from New Brunswick who asked us if they could join us.  

Their accent was definitely different from ours and with her New Bruswick lilt she finally said to us, “We have noticed you on board.”   

That makes me more nervous than it makes Wyona.  

“Oh don’t misundersand.  It is not because you are making fools of yourselves”, she said, which makes us even more nervous.

This morning an unshaven retired policeman from Quebec who spent 45 years on the force sat by us.  

He was alone.   

“Are you a Canadian,” I asked.   

"Why in the h*ll would you say that," he responded gruffly.

Taken aback, I replied, “The tattoo on your arm looked like the one my Uncle Loran had, and he was in the RAF.”  

“So, you are right.  I joined the army when I was 17,” he replied, “too young for the profession of policeman that I wanted so I spent 3 years in the army first at Sarcee in Calgary.”

Wyona kept her head down and ate her food.   

“I’m not saying anything,” she said later, “to a man whose wife won’t eat breakfast with him.

She is fun to travel with.


Arta

Copenhagen ... and a mermaid

View from the outdoor patio of the restaurant

Wyona is a good tour leader taking a novice like me and making sure I have the opportunity to see what is available to do.

The minute we got on the boat she showed me the way to the Windjammer, a beautiful restaurant on Deck 11.  While others carry the luggage (finally).

We were alone at our table, for others preferred to stay inside.

She and I had the deck to ourselves, except for members of the crew who also found their way out to eat and enjoy both the air and the beautiful sights that can be seen when a ship docks.

Sunset on the Baltic Sea

As well, on the first night, she was quick to show me what the evenings look like as the sun goes down.

There is so much to do onboard that few people are on deck at this time of night.

Bands are playing in 4 different night clubs.

Added to that, people are at dinner, or enjoying an evening in the movie theatre or enjoying their seats live theatre (singers, dancers, jugglers, ariel artists, etc.).

And outside, the sea is going by and the sun is setting.

Mermaid

By the time we were loaded on buses in Copenhagen for my first adventure on land, I could see that the quicker I got to see the famous mermaid, the closer I would be to her.

I scrambled down over rocks and boulders to get this picture.

Then I walked the perimeter of the harbour, where I found a well paved path that led me to her destination as well.

I spent the rest of the morning watching the Changing of the Guard at the Danish Palace. Everyone was given two hours of free time.

I listened to the military band, enjoyed the gun salute, watched the officers change places, and stood back the horses performed a military tattoo.

Changing of Guard at Danish Palace

Wyona is skilled at running along, probably from those years when she watched Teague and Lurene play in the marching band on Parliament Hill.

I was also practising taking care of my purse.

There is no port where a general warning is not given to tourists: take care of your wallets and your passports.

Signs to that effect are posted everyone -- even in London, I might add, where at the Embankment Tub Station there is a big sign saying that this area is well known as a spot where people can loose their money or precious identity papers.

I am usually a few steps behind Wyona, since there is no use me leading the way ... given I usually don't know where I am going.

She keeps her bag close to her side.

I follow suit and away we move, having the time of our lives.

Arta

Day Two in St. Petersberg

The University Embankment

In St. Petersburg, lunch at the Last Palace on Monday was eclipsed on the second day with lunch at a new restaurant, one our Russian guide Margarita had never visited before.  

Wyona slipped over to some other tables to get the six forks that were missing at our table.  

That took care of the problem of having no utensils. There was no oil and vinegar for the salad.  We ate it as it was. 

The soup was a simple peasant soup, a texture that our friends didn’t like, the onions, carrots and potatoes grounded so finely that they were like sand and the dominant flavour was pepper as far as spices go. 

The Rostral Columns

I was interested in the soup, since it is like many soups I have eaten in the past – a cupful will help you last from lunch to supper with no hunger pangs, along with a piece of bread. 

On board ship, I have been passing on the bread tray every night, but at lunch I wanted to try a piece of this dense square loaf:  rye and whole wheat, and the vinegar under taste might have been from this being a sour dough loaf. 

Our table didn’t even get the main course when, so when the larger group was packing up to leave we still hadn’t had the fish and rice with a few boiled vegetables in it, nor the fruit cocktail that was served as dessert and that had come right out of a tin.  We did get the shot glass of vodka and the champagne that came with the meal.

Now all of that to tell you about getting back on the bus.  The tourists were not happy.  The members from our group from India who had caused a lot of trouble the day before had been now been ushered to a different place in the restaurant than the rest of us and given, by the Indian owner, a different (and more desirable) meal.

Bitter complaining broke out to the tour leader.  “My plate was chipped … my glass was dirty .. I am sure my goblet had not been washed … why did the Indians get a different meal … we had no dressing on the salad … we didn’t get served at all … I am so mad about this, I am going to complain… the service was so poor, … the waitresses just stood there looking at us” and on and on.  As their chagrin poured out, one complaint was fueled by another.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

Finally the tour leader said in her cross “I-am- laying-down-the-law” guide voice, “Look, this is a brand new restaurant.  The owner is probably is not going to succeed.  He will be taxed so highly that he will not make any profit.  What is a chipped glass to you or a cup that has to be wiped out?  You have a standard of living that is 10 times higher than these people.  Look around you on this trip. And don’t complain.”

There was a quiet silence.  


I took her advice and continued to look carefully at what I was seeing around me.


Arta

The Rock Church

Outside Face of Rock Church

I love rocks.  

I bend down to pick up an unusual one and put it in my pocket  I can sing Al Simmons’ “I collect rocks”.   

When I walk along paths in B.C. and see a rock that would be good for a rock wall, I can finally tell if that one is just the right size or a little too heavy for me to lift.  If it is too heavy I figure out if I can go back to my house and  get my dolly involved in moving that rock. 

Organ Pipes

So how nice was the surprise in Helskinki when I found out I was going to visit a rock church.

The organ pipes are in front of rocks.

The walls of the church are rocks.

The baptistery is rocks.

Roof

From the outside, there is no towering structure for a steeple, no flying buttresses, no ornate marble figures in the outer wall niches of the church.

This church counts on mesmerizing its congregants with the shape colour and texture of rocks in its interior.

People were preparing for a wedding when I was there, so I only viewed the church from the balcony.

Wyona's tour group got there before ours, and they walked up and down the isles and listened to a young woman practising for a paino concert. 

Pews and Baptistry

 Helsinki Lutheran religious practice rocks.

Arta

Lunch in a Swedish Manor

I couldn’t write at my computer and watch what was going on around me at the same time, so there I was on Day Six of twelve days of a Baltic Cruise, having not written a word about boarding a ship, being at sea, visiting Copenhagen, Stolkholm, Helskinki or about reading up on what I am going to see in St. Petersburg.

Porvoo

When strangers on board would ask how I liked my first time on board I could only say, “I feel as though I have stepped into a movie.”

I visited Porvoo on Day Six.

The guide put a map of the village in our hands while we were still in the bus.

She showed us the path we would take – a stroll over a bridge, a left turn along the river, a visit to the city hall and lastly, the candy shop we were to visit.

Brumberry Candy Shop

“Did you buy some of the candy for your sister,” someone asked at dinner.

“I knew not to do that. The sample I tasted melted in my hand before I got it to my lips,” I replied.

I couldn't help but take a picture of the candy shop sign.

Any shop that has been around since 1871 deserve lots of patronage.  But there were to many people flowing in and out of the door for free samples for me.

So I walked the cobble stone streets and looked for the typical architecture that brings tourists to this town.

I went up and down narrow alleys and read the historic commemorative plaques on many of the buildings.  Well, I tried to read them for I forget that I am in a foreign land and can't read much more than street signs and menus.

Lunch at the Manor House

Wyona and I split up for the day.

She took a half day tour in Helsinki.

I signed up for a full day rural trip so that I could see a good example of Finnish 17th century architecture.

As you can see, my tour included lunch.

I took my camera along for the first time on the trip.

Basement of Swedish Brewery

I pulled out my camera when I saw what was an example of life as it might have been in those days -- a small fireplace and a child’s rocking horse and lots of kitchen utensils.

The second floor dining room in which we ate was a converted brewery.

The manor house, a large yellow building nearby and the lands around the manor house supported the labour of 50 onsite families. There was even a school for the children in this complex.

Because there was a national ban on alcohol in those days, home brew was the drink of the day.

Angel with trumpet above barn door

The starkly decorated bar of the two floor brewery was not in service and was just a plant that ran between two of the inside supporting pillars of the building.

After lunch I went outside to looking at old door handles.

Then my eye caught angelic metal figures on the tops of barns doors.

Soon I couldn't keep my eyes off of the wooden beams that criss-crossed brick structures.

Barn at the back of the Finish Manor House

That is when I met another woman with a camera -- she too loved the lines and curves of the brick and wooden buildings.

As we drove along the highway, I saw all of the flora that I see at the lake in British Columbia.

Some tall pieces of mullen, yellow and in flower caught my eye on a hillside.

I snapped a shot of some daisies growing in the flowerbed at the feet of Czar Alexander the Great.

I was reminded again of how we are so different and yet so much the same.

Arta

Cancelling the EuroRail pass

Wyona and I put aside our plans to get EuroRail Passes this fall, tempting as the adventure sounded.  Our common friends, Peter and Margaret Oldham, did the trip and updated Wyona on the planning that has to be done.  Even the seats on the train must be pre-booked. 

The two of us are spoiled from the freedom of the BritRail pass – no booking unless you desire a certain seat and the freedom to change travel plans on a whim. 

“How about letting me plan a Mediterranean cruise instead of going EuroRail,” said Wyona.  “Greg, Margaret, you and me. I think we can see the same places, and not have to carry our bags along with us, but leave them behind on the boat while we do day trips.”

So the next trip will be one that is planned for so far in advance that Wyona and Greg bought special luggage for it.  When they  passed through an outlet store in Texas that sold cruise luggage, they called me to say, “We are getting a large piece of this for the two of us, and think you would enjoy a single.”

That is the piece of luggage I was packing today.  It is getting a trial run before the Mediterranean trip. I might have cancelled both trips if I had known that I would be in a cold sweat before I got my clothes inside.  This bag has more compartments than I have categories of things to pack:  14 pockets, 22 zippers, 16 snaps, various plastic interlocking straps and a complicated locking system.

Good thing that I am counting this as a trial run with me so that I will be skilled with its use by the fall.  I had to get someone to come into the room and help me close the bag, and it didn't even weigh fifty pounds.

“Did you get everything ironed before you got it into the hanging garment bag,” she asked me this morning.

“Ironed?  Is that part of the deal?” 

 Arta