The "best" part

Day 20 - Flamm
It is not very often that I wake around 2.30 and (a) it is light outside (b) we are in a Norwegian Fjord (c) it is cold & clear (d) there is snow on the hills/mountains .  Well I did this morning and pleasingly the water was calm as we carried on up the fjord.  Went straight back to sleep after waking Vivian and then woke again just before 4.00 and took some photos of the daybreak.  Repeated the above around 5.00 and eventually got out of bed and ordered tea around 6.00.  The sky was clear and shortly after we stopped, as we had reached the end of our little finger off the main fjord and we were at Flamm.

After a little while we noticed the ship reversing, probably about half a kilometre, this, we assume was to allow the Holland America ship to get past and berth at the only berth in the port.  (Correction - We have subsequently established that we temporarily docked to allow the passengers with the 7.00 train excursion to disembark!).   We were relegated to sitting offshore and using tender boats.  I was tempted to say "anchored" but that would be technically incorrect.  Although we are only some 200 metres from shore, the fjord is around 1,000 metres deep - they'd need a lot of anchor chain.  Instead we are running our stern thrusters to keep us stable.

Thankfully our tour is not until midday, so we had a relaxed breakfast (what's new) followed by a decent coffee and eventually went down for tender tickets at 10.45.  Our meeting time was 11.45 on the pier ashore, and I think that most of our tour and other later tours did the same thing.  Anyway we wandered around the port part of Flamm - population just a couple of hundred people, before going back to the pier to find that they were already  loading the coach so we got straight on and we actually left 15 minutes early.

Flamm is popular for it's scenic railway journey up through the mountains.  The ship's tour was booked out, as I mentioned earlier, so this bus trip is much the same, but as it turned out, better in many respects. We travelled on the main highway (16) Oslo to Bergen, which incidentally is the road we are looking at across the water from our stateroom.  The road is generally narrow (even by NZ standards) and our trip took us through 9 tunnels, the longest being 4.5 kilometres. 

We zigzagged under huge power pylons which run from the underground power station across the country to Oslo. This 1 power plant supplies 40% of the electricity needs and is fed from rivers and streams uphill (rather than lake storage)
The longest on the overall route (we turned off just before it) is 45 kilometres long. All the tunnels are simply cut through the granite rock, with minimal lighting etc.  However the government is embarking on a project to both widen all the tunnels in Norway and also line & paint them - just like Johnstone Hills tunnels!!! 

Although the road we travelled is a major tourist route, thankfully traffic was sparse, given the hairpin bends and narrow tunnels.  Unfortunately we had an incident coming back, where 2 buses were passing, we connected with the upper side of the rocky tunnel and the bus now has a gouge down to the insulation.  Clearly the Norwegian love their tunnels and there are 2 mammoth projects underway - 1 is for a ship tunnel ( not kidding) to enable ships to go from one fjord to another without having to go out to sea. The other one is a suspension tunnel which will float under the water to enable ships to go over, but other than being connected at each end, the rest would have done from of flotation system.

We continued along for about an hour  climbing 2,000 feet to an area of Osterbo, where we stopped at the new Tramping Club premises for coffee & Norwegian waffles, which are more like a crepe, but were delicious.  The return trip was along the same route, with a side trip to the "main" town of some 2,000, with an historic church.   The weather has turned out fantastic, clear but quite warm - roughly 20 degrees.  We have been extremely lucky as it has rained for the last month and snowed just 2 days ago, hence traces remain making it most picturesque.

Had a late room service lunch at 3.00 and in no time it was dinner again.  No show tonight, an early night was called for as we continued sailing out if the fjord.  Tomorrow promises a similar day in the northernmost fjord we are visiting.

Day 21 - Andalsnes
OK, I was awake around 4.00 and looked outside, where it was light of course but we were still at sea.  Stayed sleeping until 7.00, by which time we were happily sailing up the fjord.  The countryside is somewhat similar, but beyond there are two mountains, which looked more like Switzerland or Canada or Alaska or NZ!  I was worried for a bit as some cloud descended, but by the time we docked at 9.00, clear skies abound.  This is a relatively new town having been extensively destroyed during the war by both sides.

We have a train trip after lunch, so usual morning activities, except we needed a trip to the Pursers Office to sort out an overcharge!  Just as well I check our bank online as I saw an extra charge by Cunard on Sunday.  It was the internet again - when I purchased our next 120 minutes on Saturday afternoon they decided to add it to the previous cruise.  The issue really is that we are "Gold" on this cruise, which gives us 2 hours internet free. 

Now someone less generous than me might suggest that this was a deliberate error to deprive me of the free time.  Well, can you really think of another reason?  After trying to fob me off with "see Internet Manager ", she eventually went out the back to see the Finance Manager who agreeed to the refund.  Why oh why do Cunard do this? We have heard so many stories during these cruises where they were charging passengers twice for their cruise "by mistake"

But that aside, it is lovely sitting in the cafe looking out over the fjord, drinking coffee and updating this.  We will probably have a quick bite of lunch as we need to be in the lounge for our tour by 12.45.  Looking really good outside and generally similar conditions to yesterday.  As it turned out, yes temperature was 19-20 degrees and little in the way of wind.  Excellent!  All the winter gear we brought is staying in the suitcase.

It was an excellent trip, with modern train through the valley to a little ski resort village of Bjori, where we then boarded a coach for the return journey, stopping a couple of time for photo opportunities - and of course souvenirs.  Great scenery,  which we compared favourably with the Rockies trip.  We toured with our table-mates, Derek & Sandra from UK and they were great fun (as always). We were back just in time to close up the ship & cast off.  We are now headed back down the coast to Bergen tomorrow and then regretfully it is full steam ahead for Southampton.

4 photos from Flamm & 5 from Andalsnes.

Fjords at last

Day 19 - Stravanger
Still quite a few bumps during the night, not that they worried us but we have heard that quite a few passengers were sea-sick.  Don't know how they'd cope with the Tasman Sea!   Still dull and chilly when we arrived in Stavenger, which is a small town "famous" for fishing and more recently oil.  From our side of the ship there was little to see, mainly industrial.  We berthed quite promptly, which as a surprise as I had thought we were traversing a bit more of a fjord.

A little later for breakfast as we are just doing our own thing here.  So it was after 9.00 before we hit the waterfront and headed toward the church at the end of the harbour.  We did not go in, but headed through some nice shopping areas and through the new library complex.  We were looking for the Art Gallery and it turned out that there was an exhibition of a famous local painter in his 80s.  Unfortunately the gallery was closed, BUT the librarian felt sorry for us and led us in through the back door to the gallery for a private showing.

A watery sun poked through as we headed back towards the church (as a reference point) but then the heavens opened.  We waited a bit under the shelter of the old information centre and headed off in the drizzle in search of the Archeological Museum. Circled the lake, climbed a bit of a hill, crossed under a motorway, went around the University and found ....... it was closed on Monday's!  

So back to town and along the opposite shore to the ship and it was just before midday and this one restaurant/ bar was advertising coffee & cheesecake for 85 Norwegian Kroner  each.  When we got back to the ship I found out that the total cost was NZD27.80.  The coffee was quite good as we'd asked for a double shot latte.

On our way back to the ship we diverted to the Old Town, which I had thought would be an original village but it turned out to be the quaint little houses on the hill, directly outside our stateroom, which I had previously described as 1950s state houses.  Walked back to the ship and warmed ourselves with lunch in the MDR, followed by a rest.  Wouldn't you know it, the clouds rolled away and the sun shone brightly!!  Still a chilly wind and the sea outdide the harbour looks choppy.

All aboard was 4.00 and at 5 past there were still stragglers coming along, I must say that I was impressed with the Officer in charge as he sternly berated each and every one of them, so I don't think that they will be late again.  A small crowd (if a dozen is a crowd) gathered to wave us off, so out came the NZ flag.  A pleasant visit and very nice people.  In general the town was clean and we were surprised at the amount of restoration work going on (including the 12th century church).

Just a quick update, we have had dinner, been to the show (Aussie tenor we've seen before) and back in our stateroom where the sun is still shining brightly and the sea is a *little* calmer.   Tomorrow we are due in Flamm, which is quite a way up the fjord and in mountainous terrain, so apparently we are likely to be out of internet connectivity for a time.

Onwards to Norway

Day 17 - Southampton again
Feeling greatly relieved to get the blog posts all away, as well as St Petersburg photos, we took our leave of Waterstones (which is primarily a book store) after over an hour and only £6.10 for coffee and sticky bun.  We wandered the mall and were surprised how many (up to) 70% off sales there were.  Obviously they had their summer while we were away!   Also made a call into M&S, where they still had the special on Pinot Noir - 2 for £12, which is much, much better than USD54 for a poor one onboard.

Walked back to the ship and straight through the terminal, with just a pause at port security, who love to have men take their belts off.  As I have (or at least had) lost a bit of weight, I actually needed 1 hand to hold my jeans up.  Happily aboard, we once again went to Lido - no real option on embarkation day and then back to the cabin to wait for the library to open.  Vivian got a new book and we called into the cafe on our way back.  Much better coffee today thankfully.

While the rest of the passengers had their emergency drill, we sat on our balcony and watched the port workers (they were all going home!).  Straight after the drill we went down to the excursion office, which had *just* opened.  There was a queue already and unfortunately the Flamm railway was fully overbooked already.  Back in the cabin I looked at the website and that too appeared booked.  The last resort is to try the station on the day, you never know.

We have a new dining table, just one away from where we were, but this time for 6.  And all six turned up (Brits).  We do however have different waiters and service was slow and not particularly friendly but perhaps it is early days.  We went to the show, which was average with singers (not very good) and dancers (the usual) along with the singer from the Queens Room, who I did not like at all.

Day 18 - Sea day & formal night again
While the sea has calmed down a bit, it is still showery and cool.  We just hope that it improves before we reach Norway tomorrow.  Yet another internet disaster - this time it won't allow me to log in.  Managed to see the internet woman this morning and of course the usual reaction is that I have done something wrong,  but upon further investigation, she agreed that I had an active account with 127 minutes left, but didn't know why I had the problem.  She has escalated to the Internet Manager and hopefully I can get back on line after lunch.

An observation of this cruise is that there are a lot more physically impaired  people, with walkers, scooters and sticks almost the norm - certainly more than on the Baltic cruise, and also the majority are new cruisers.  I will not be drawn into any observations on social etiquette or standards, as that would make me judgemental.

We went to the Sunday service once again taken by the Captain, followed by coffee and  poked our noses out into the fresh air, but agreed that we were not really dressed for such.  Much to Vivian's surprise, there is bridge this afternoon, even though we only have 2 sea days.  I am still not connected to the internet and now have to wait until 5.00 to see the internet manager - pretty hopeless really.  I filled in the afternoon attending the ports talk but really didn't learn anything except that all the port towns are really small - & that Flamm is a tender port  so just as well, I didn't prebook privately as undoubtedly ships tours will have priority on the tenders.

Well, the Internet is fixed - it seems that anyone on a back to back was affected, but resolved (obviously if you are reading this).  Despite some reservations,  we have booked a couple of excursion, so all we need now is the weather!   Avoided thd Captain's Cocktail party for the usual reasons, had a most enjoyable dinner and our table mates are great fun. 

As the show is a repeat song & dance, we also skipped that *but* found or at least reestablished our connection with the Commodore Lounge.  This is in Deck 10 at the front of the ship above the bridge.  Panoramic views and the sun was shining, but waves were about 5 metres from the side. We passed through yet more oil platforms, some of which are quite large. We arrive in Stravanger tomorrow morning and hopefully will wake up in time to see the sail in through the 18 mile  fjord (Oh, and yes, that the weather performs).

Photos - St Petersburg

Hermitage (5)
Pancakes
Nevsky Prospekt (3)
Metro (4)
Peter and Paul Fortress (4)

The end of Cruise 1

Day 15 - Skagen
This is a major fishing port right at the top of Denmark.  We berthed along with one of the Silver Seas boats, so plenty of visitors to bolster the population of 9,000.  Apparently 2 million visitors arrive annually - but very limited English translations.  This is the only port where we have booked a Cunard trip.  When we originally went to book we were told that it was sold out, so we asked to be waitlisted & immediately she said, "Oh, there are places available and you are booked".  Amazing to think that we could have just walked away and there would have been no sale.

The morning is colder and rain is threatening but we do not leave the ship until after 10.00, by which time it *is* drizzling.  Such a small town and in reality so few sights to see, we sort of zigzag around to give the impression that we are going further - but eagle eye here can always spot the red and black funnel of home no matter where we are.
First stop was the old fishing houses & museum.  Interesting, but hung around far too long in reality.  Back on the bus and we have a problem with hydrologic system, so spend 20 minutes just sitting in the bus.  OK, supposedly fixed, so off to the buried Church.  Well, a mini ice age (climate change) took place for about 100 years in the 1600s, which resulted in all the pasture being covered in sand dunes, which in turn buried the Church.  All that remains is the tower.

The last stop was the real reason most of us took the tour and that was to go to Gregen, the uppermost point of Denmark and continental Europe. We were taken from the information centre out to the spit by tractor-bus.  Fortunately the weather was reasonable and we were able to wander out to (almost) the end of the sand spit and have waters from the North Sea (to the left) and Baltic Sea (to the right) wash together.  Some took off shoes and socks to get the full experience 😁.

While we were admiring the sight, a couple of seals popped out of the Baltic and came really close to shore.  They looked cute.  There were a large number of ships (many gas carriers) anchored offshore, once again in the Baltic and they anchor here waiting for their next assignment.  There are also thousands of ships making the journey around this point to get to the Baltic and Scandinavian ports.  Our tour ended with a drive through the town and back right on time at 2.00.

Skagen boasts 2,000 hours of sunshine per year and although we were here on the longest day, we didn't actually get any sunshine until after we had sailed away.  Of course, daylight hours are another matter and I did check out the sky just after midnight the previous night and confirm that it was far from dark.  The other thing that makes Skagen famous is the proliferation of artists and writers, taken with its solitude and special light.  One of the writers of fame was of course Hans Christian Andersen.  Once again we had a bite in the Lido, as we were far too late for MDR.

Day 16 - At sea (& no formal)
The North Sea was bumpy and once again the outside deck was closed.  Once again I tried to get this blog sorted out, but to no avail.  In any event my remaining 8 minutes disappeared quickly, so resigned to trying to resolve at Southampton tomorrow.  We had a pub lunch at the Golden Lion, which is something that Cunard do well.  Vivian's final bridge finished a bit early, so thought that we'd do afternoon tea in the Queens Room, but seeing a queue of dozens and the room already full, we retreated to the stateroom and once again had green tea and chocolate cake.

Our "last" dinner was disappointing in that no-one else turned up, so yet again (& I haven't really laboured this) we dined alone at a table for 8.  We are unsure whether we stay at this table for the next cruise, but said farewell to waiters just in case.

As we were on our own, dinner was pretty quick and the roast beef delicious, so we were able to get down to the Golden Lion to join our St Petersburg group for a farewell.  They had just won the visual trivia, so got a bottle (small) of bubbles each couple.  They failed miserably in the Wipeout Trivia, but the table next door won.  They didn't want their bubbles, so we ended up with one.  We all said our farewells and the others went off to late dinner.  We went to the show, but were a little late and there were no seats, so we popped into the cafe for a coffee.  There was a reasonable swell running, but a watery sun was shining as we headed back to Southampton.   Our new cruise cards have been delivered to our stateroom and we are free to get off and on as we like.

Day 17 - Southampton
Early breakfast as MDR closed at 8.00, but thankfully clocks went back an hour last night although they go forward again tonight.  A bit shower, but we got off just after 9.00 and have wandered into Southampton,  to the Mall we patronized 2 weeks ago.  Have managed to get free WiFi at Waterstones, along with good coffee.  Still could not resurrect my blogs, but after the big St Petersburg loss, I have been composing them in a word processing programme,  which I have just used, so so many blog updates all at once.  I shall try the photos later, but while the blogger was working I thought I'd get this up to date.

So here we are, so far we have just found 2 Australian couples also doing the Fjords - we met one lot at an intersection on the way in to town, the other at bridge.  Small world and funny how it just seems to be the people from miles away who select back to back cruises.  The showers have lifted although I am wearing a rain jacket.  The temperature at 11.00 is around 18.

Heading home

Day 13
Nice to have a leisurely day to get the blog up-to-date and generally relax after our busy, yet most enjoyable St Petersburg visit.  I spent all day relating our thoughts and activities over both days while still relatively fresh in my mind and finished by adding photos, when ..."Blogger is restarting". NO, NO this can't be happening,  but yes it did.  The whole day was lost and what you have just read was actually version #2, some days later!  I was not a happy chappy.  The only good news is that Vivian & Don came top at bridge.

The weather has turned a bit and the sea is choppy - enough for the decks to be closed, but nothing really for us seasoned cruisers .  We are however steaming along at 23 knts, possibly the fastest we've ever gone - it must be the lady driver!  Although it is formal night, they have become a little repetitive and we did not "do" either the Ball or the entertainment.  We were a little peeved to find the corridor on deck 2 by the Queens Room was closed for a private function, meaning that to get to the front if the ship we had to go back up a deck!  We went down to the Golden Lion after dinner to see if our excursion group was there, but found the 2 girls (sometimes) from our table there, so partook informally in the trivia and surprised ourselves with 7.

We are also bemused (although that is not the word we used) at the Cunard experience.  To explain.  We (& most others, but not all) booked this as a 14 day Southampton to Southampton cruise Q721.  Well, tonight was the big farewell dinner and special mention if all those disembarking in Kiel tomorrow.  To make matters worse, not that it worries us, from tomorrow on there are no tobacco or alcohol sales and all shipboard sales of anything else will be subject to 19% German tax.  Our dining room waiters gave us our souvenir menus and seemed to think that we too were leaving - quite strange.

Day 14 - Kiel
A much brighter day as we sailed in.  We are here during Kiel Week, which is the bjggest regatta in Germany apparently,  the most obvious thing to us was the proliferation of old boats and sailing ships in the harbour.  They were truely a magnificent sight.  We had a leisurely breakfast yet again as we were not in a hurry to go ashore.  When we did, we met once again with the German immigration - certainly no friendlier than the Russians. 

There were 6-700 passengers disembarking here, many who joined in Hamburg (just 90 km away) but also some from UK  who were cutting short the part around Denmark & the North Sea.   Of course this in turn meant 6-700 new passengers getting on.  Some just having a 3 day cruise to Southampton but I understand some are doing the Fjords with us.
We walked the "blue line" through Kiel, but we found that the town was scruffy and very much a port/ferry town.  We were generally  unimpressed.  However in the middle if town they had set up stalls from basically every country in the world where they sold nztional national  food and by the Town Hall there was a stage and entertainment once again from every country represented.  We found the NZ stall which was probably the least impressive,  selling Lamburgers (I ask you).

There was a big band from Copenhagen  playing in the middle of the main street, which just happened to be outside Starbucks.  To explain, all the previous cafes etc had been outdoors, sold smelly fried/fatty food & encouraged smoking, so at least Starbucks was clean (& had free Wifi).  So coffee and cake (coffee OK, but cakes gave been better) and updated my tablet.  I have only 12 minutes left on my shipboard account and as it doesn't flow over to the next cruise ì am not buying any more until Saturday.  The same also applies to our shipboard coffee card.

Back to Kiel.  We walked the length of town, through the park which has or was currently being, taken over with stalls, tents, cars etc. for the regatta.  Carried on down to the waterfront and admired yet more boats & sailing ships (and another 4 or 500 bars and stalls set up) before deciding go return to the ship.  The Kiel Week regatta apparently attracts millions of visitors and thankfully they hadn't all arrived while we were there.  Oh, we were encouraged by the extensive Police presence.

Once aboard we had a snack lunch in the Lido (sounds posher than the Horror Zone!) before returning to the stateroom to rewrite the blog and watch the ships go by.   Something else I have learned about Kiel is the canal that runs through the country and exits in the Elbe, a little (or a lot) way from Hamburg.  This is a shortcut to the North Sea and saves time & distance of having to sail up and around Denmark.

St Petersburg (Day 2)

Day 12
Well, what a difference a night makes - clear, but cooler day with a bit more wind than yesterday. Our pickup time is not until 9.00 today and thankfully the MDR opens at 7.00, so we had a leisurely breakfast before heading ashore.  This time immigration were not really interested in us and we were through in less than half a minute.

Right on 9.00, Ivan the punctual arrived and we headed back into town, this time back to the waterfront,  but on the other side for some more photos and history lesson.  I forgot to mention that Konstantin is, apart from other things, a history teacher.  It was time then to move once again to a multifaceted Shakespeare stop to meet the lovely Tatyana, the owner of TJ Travel - mainly so that we could pay our bill.  Yes, we had made no payment until this second day, which is pretty impressive.  It really was too early for vodka however.

Following this we drove over to the Hermitage museum, which is closed on a Monday, so no crowds like we saw yesterday.  The museum is only open to TJ Travel groups, of which I estimate were about 30.  However it did allow us a far more leisurely and uncrowded view of the treasures stored there.

Once again, words fail to describe the Hermitage and the treasures.  One interesting point was that Russia purchased all the items, particularly the antiquities - whereas the likes of the British museum are generally from UK explorers.  We spend a good 2 hours going through and of course it would be impossible to see everything, but we had an excellent overview.  Konstantin was particularly taken with the various Madonna paintings.

Lunch was at our own expense today and by consensus we agreed no one wanted a big meal and we were not keen on pies (which was another option), so we settled for pancakes - the others of course had not had pancakes.  The pancake place we went to was quite different to last night, this one was more like McDonald's - where you order and wait for your pancake to be made in front of you.  The pancakes themselves were different, in that last night they were rolled but today they were folded.  Still very delicious and only cost NZD18, along with 2 green teas (not as nice as last night, just tea bags).

Following lunch, we "strolled" Nevsky Prospekt,  which is the main shopping and eating area.  While doing this, Vivian & the other women were accosted by a cartoon character,  who wanted his/her photo taken, but then of course wanted money.  We didn't have any, and he wasn't overly happy.  Just to clarify in case anyone want to challenge how we had no money ey but had just had lunch - credit card for everything.  Works like a treat and I can immediately check the NZ amount via internet banking.

I digress (again).  Just after the above encounter, we entered what we considered to be the "Harrods" of St Petersburg, and this was where a gang of pickpockets almost got Cecil.  They crowded around the shop entrance and suddenly he felt someone in his trouser pocket,  they had already unzipped it but he yelled out and made a bit of a fuss and suddenly there was no-one around.  I was even more vigilant after that, just shows how quick they can be.  And no, we didn't spend anything in the shop!

Next stop was the Metro, where we entered and took escalators down 100s of metres to a level well under the river.  Very impressive and clean and reputed to be the deepest underground system in the world and were also designed as bomb shelters during the cold war.  Lovely mosaics once again, and it only now that I read that photography is not allowed - oops, too late.  Trains run every 2 minutes and are high-speed.  We boarded and went just 1 stop, probably 4 minutes to the sports stadium on the other side of the river.  Although the train reasonably full, we were most impressed at the locals who stood up to give our ladies a seat (are you listening Auckland?).

The escalator up seemed to be even steeper, and everyone looked to be leaning at a funny angle. However we made it back to the surface, just as Ivan the magical appeared.  This time a short drive to the Peter and Paul Fortress,  which is really the foundation of St Petersburg.  At lot of military museums etc. are still located in the area, but we were visiting the Cathedral,  where most of the Czars and families are buried.  Certainly although they had the opulence and wealth, it was a pretty risky "occupation", with the  majority meeting and untimely and brutal end.  Yes, of course it was impressive, but by now it goes without saying.

Finally we headed off for our final Shakespeare stop,  but on the way pass by many locals sunning themselves (and in some cases, quite a bit, if you get my drift), as although the wind was cool, the heat was in the sun in the shelter.  So, final shot of vodka and opportunity to buy souvenirs then sadly we headed back to the ship, saying a fond farewell to our magnificent guide & driver.  Certainly could not have asked for a better tour and we really feel that we got to know St Petersburg and the Russian people a lot better.  Oh, immigration coming back was under 20 seconds.

Thankfully tomorrow is a sea day.

Photos may/may not follow - Blogger issues

St Petersburg (Day 1)

Day 11
Another early start, mainly because the sun was shining, yet again.  We have a 2 day private tour organised and have a meeting time of 7.45 so we ordered room service for 7.00, with a big "please".  Happily it arrived at 6.45 and was good, apart from the coffee, which was cold, but this has been common as although silver tea/coffee pots look great, the plastic vacuum ones on Princess are more effective.

Our tour has been arranged through Cruise Critic contacts,  Cecil & Elizabeth and Catherine & Don (Vivian's bridge partner) from West Australia and Karen & Neil from UK, along with another couple from US, to make up our party of just 10!  Great to have a small group.  It is interesting that cruise companies generally stress that the only way to visit ashore is with a ship's tour or have to obtain a Russian visa.  In reality, provided one is using a registered travel company, they issue a tourist visa as part of the tour ticket.  Our company, TJ Travel is a private tour operator and came highly recommended by both Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic.

Anyway we assembled by the gangway at the allotted time and proceeded to Russian immigration - where we were expecting delays, but in reality the processing was very smooth & efficient.  We were through in less than a minute - something Homeland Security in the US could learn from.  The cruise ship terminal is just over 3 years old and is separated into the 6 berthing areas for greater efficiency.  The was just one Celebrity ship across from us and I believe it was on it's second day.

Right on time we met with our guide, Konstantin and driver Ivan (who was nicknamed all sorts of names during our tour) and our 10 seater Mercedes van.  We took off to the centre of SP for initial photo opportunity,  many off which we would subsequently visit later.  Following this we made the first of numerous "Shakespeare stops" (to pee or not to pee....), which usually came with a souvenir shop.   Our tour did not follow the planned tour as advised, due to the weekend and traffic volumes - but we  certainly covered everything.

Our next stop was the along the Neva River to board the hydrofoil to Peterhof, some 40 km away. We arrived at the bottom of the Peterhof Gardens, which are a mini Versailles,  although the fountain park was absolutely stunning.  The fountains are all fed from ponds, which in turn are replenished from natural springs.  There are no pumps at all, and all the water eventually flows down to the sea.

Following the walk up through the gardens we exited and were met by Ivan the speedy,  who then took us, mainly by extensive motorway towards Pushkin city, where we had a traditional set lunch of Greek Salad,  beetroot soup, beef stroganoff and ice cream.   It was then off to Catherine's Palace,  which is a magnificent building,  more so when it was explained how much of the Palace had been destroyed during occupation in the war.  Certainly the Russian government has done a great job in restoration to date.

In viewing the numerous rooms, it was necessary to wear overshoes to protect the parquet flooring.  We also viewed the Amber Room, which had similarly been restored completely with tiny to larger pieces of Amber - unfortunately photography in that room is not permitted.
I am not really able to do justice to any description of the elegance and opulence of the Palace.   While going through the upper floors, we looked outside and saw queues of 100s lining up in what had now become light showers!

After touring through the garden, we made our way back to the road where Ivan the wonderful was parked close by.  From here we made our way back to SP, a bit slower as all the Sunday traffic had grown quite a bit. Our last official stop for the day was the Church of the Spilled Blood, which unfortunately was located inside the designated fan zone set up for the Federation Cup (football - where NZ went down to Russia in the opening game yesterday).  So we had to contend with additional screening etc. before getting anywhere near the Church.

The church itself is absolutely stunning both inside & out and we were once again lost for words to describe it, other than to note that all of the walls are decorated in mosaics- once again, many are simply minute.   This church is built on the site of the assassination of Alexander II and has been extensively restored, more importantly as, along with other churches, it was abandoned during the communist era and has had many other uses during it's life, including a mortuary.  As an aside, we were surprised to learn that 63% of the population consider themselves Russian Orthodox.

By now it was roughly 4.30 and yet another Shakespeare stop (& souvenir shop) was in order and we found these at the "Red October", where Konstantin also gave a lecture on vodka etiquette (some of us had to do a refresher!).  All good fun.  While the rest of our group then returned to the ship, we changed our clothes and waited for our escort who was taking us to the Folk Show.

Our guide, Cyrill arrived just before 6.00 and took us across the road - well actually it was under the road (they have an extensive underground walkways with shops), where we elected to have a quick bite of traditional pancakes (we had a salmon one and a cheese & ham), along with probably the best green tea we've had for a long time.  Cyril told us that he was 19 (looked more like 16) and that he is a 2nd year medical student.  He spoke very good English and we got a good understanding of Russian life.  The remarkable thing was that he was almost the spitting image of our grandson,  Benjamin.

Back across the road to the Nikolayevsky Palace, where we were attending "Feel yourself Russian".  We arrived just in time as the show started at 7.00, not 7.30!  We proceeded up 2 flights of the red carpet, being greeted with a glass of sparkling wine before entering the concert chamber, which by then was packed.   There were performances by an excellent male quartet and both male & female dancers, accompanied by a small orchestra.  Not all the performances were serious and as the evening progressed there were many amusing acts.  Of course there were also a number of acrobatic performances & Cossack dances.

Halfway through, we adjourned to the adjoining ballroom for refreshments, which included yet more sparkling wine, vodka, caviear and numerous other nibbles.  Certainly plenty of everything and many of the cast mingled with the crowd.  Of course, the tenors had Certain for sale.  The second half was just as good.

The show finished just before 9.00, but unfortunately the rain had started and this time it was more torrential.  We knew that our driver was to be waiting by the gate,  but I had hoped for a break in the rain before running the gauntlet.   When we reached the gate, sure enough he was waiting, but not in a van, but a large black Mercedes-Benz.   So we ended up with our private chauffeur back to the ship.

Thankfully the rain had eased off by the time we got there and it was funny that we were the only ones in the terminal.  We actually woke the old security guy who screened our bags with no interest at all.  However when we went back to immigration, there was only one person on duty, for both going out and coming back.  It seemed that one of the crew was having a problem, so we were held up for about 5 minutes.   Our actual processing was less than 30 seconds.  Our luck failed as we started of from the terminal to the ship - the rain appeared out of nowhere and we got wet.  Fortunately a Cunard staffer bought us umbrellas.

We rushed up to the stateroom, put on a jacket (cause it was after 6.00) and rent back downstairs for a coffee before retiring.  It has been a most enjoyable day and thankfully we have a later start tomorrow.

Peterhof (3)
Catherine's Palace (4)
Church of the spilled blood (3)
Folk Show (2)

Ports & more ports

Day 9 - Stockholm
Woke early, probably around 4.30 and could see that it was light outside, but that was to be expected with sunrise at 3.24 (& sunset at 10.04) !  Anyway, was far too early, so turned over for a while but eventually succumbed to the temptation to open the curtains and wow, what a sight.  Once again we have a 60 mile sail into Stockholm through literally thousands of islands -  big, small, very small and minute.  We are so close to shore and in the morning calm, there is something magical.  Clickity click click until time for breakfast.

As usual we managed breakfast and disembarkation by 9.00.  Purchased Hoho tickets from the information office on the wharf.  We decided, or at least were persuaded to by the combined bus/boat combo.  It turned out to be a good decision.  Once again we elected to start with the boat and although there was a 10 minute delay until "our" (green) boat arrived we were soon on our way,  but in the wrong direction. It turns out that the scheduled service didn't start until 9.45.  In any event we disembarked adjacent to the Old City.

Now we wait, and wait but no "green" Hoho buses (they are actually red, just like the other company!) going our way, but then we spot one heading in the other direction and jump on.  It is pretty well completely empty, which is a blessing.  Our driver is of course Irish and off we go to parliament building.  It takes forever, with roadworks  lights, police & we understand the Bangladeshi PM or other dignatory staying in the Grand Hotel on the way.  Over 20 police plus motorcade of 10 big black vehicles blocking much of the area around the hotel.  I am tempted to say more, like how big a security detail would they need if there was a "real" world leader?  Ouch!

Anyway we eventually completed that part of the circuit and processed through the business district, which is relatively modern, given that in the 60s they demolished all the heritage buildings to try and replicate US/Wall Street etc.  What a shame.  Anyway, we had really made little progress on the circuits and could see that it would be at least another hour plus until we got back to the centre of town, so we jumped off by the park, adjacent to the old city.   It was a pleasant walk back to the waterfront (about half a mile from our departure point) and then up to the Palace.

Our aim was to (this time) see the changing of the guard, which is at 12.15.  As it is only 11.00, we have spare time *but* people in the know tell us that we have to be in the front row and that means that as soon as the guards put up the rope, getting to our spot and staying there.  SO, just before 11.30 we have our spot - luckily it was a pleasant temperature and not too much direct sun.  The crowds soon gathered, but we were unmoved.  Feet hurt heaps after it was all over though.

Well, the changing procedure is something to behold - for a start the Major in charge introduced himself and gave a rundown of the history and processes, then in march a dozen guards (both male & female looking about 16 years old).  Nothing happens then until the stroke of 12.15 - if there is a stroke that is, when the sound of a band is heard in the distance and in come the band - on horseback. The only mounted military band in the world.  More guards march in, some Officers also parade, guards run and process and more guards on horseback parade and to be honest I was a little unsure of what was going on, but it was impressive.  Much drawing of swords, waving them around etc.  The highlight was the performance by the band of musical & equestrian manoeuvres.  We loved the drummer on the big draughthorse.  The ceremony concluded about 1.00 and was well worth the sore feet.

We adjourned to the inner courtyard & had coffee & quiche.  Much more reasonable.  We had a quick look at the royal chapel, which was free, but time did not permit us to do the tour of the rest of the Palace,  to Vivian's disappointment.  We did wander through the Old town, once again lots of cobblestones and by that time plenty of eateries and drinkeries!  Suddenly we were back where we started this morning, so not wishing to risk the traffic any more, we hopped back on our Hoho boat and completed the loop, seeing at least a part of Stockholm we hadn't already visited.  Actually, the main "touristy" areas are quite accessible and all in all was much smaller than we had thought.

We completed yet another circuit of the harbour and found our way back to the ship by 4.00, which was in plenty of time for sail out around 4.45.  More exquisite homes on the way out,  as well as those little 1 cottage islands - they don't seem to be worried about climate change and rising oceans!  Dinner was a surprise as our 2 sisters, our other table mates arrived, but unfortunately Raewyn and Phil were recuperating from a big day ashore.  Still, it was really nice not to be (once again) sitting by ourselves at a table for 8.

Day 10 - Tallinn
Yet another lovely day, reaching 25 in the middle of the day.  We have decided to simply walk into town and the Old City.  A very easy walk from the ship and through the old streets once we passed through the city wall.  It was still pretty early in the day and on our way up to the town square, cafes and outside bars were still setting up.

Through the main square (amazed at the number of people drinking beer etc at 10.00ish)  and then up the 150 odd steps to the upper town.  There is a relatively modern (almost 100 years only) cathedral.  At the last minute we decided to "pop in".  Not that I stayed long, but Vivian did and established that there was a funeral service going on & an open coffin!  In contrast, down in the lower town, just by the gate there was another cathedral, which was closed - for a wedding!  It was all happening in Tallinn on a Saturday.

I digress, particularly noticeable when we were in the upper town were the number of tour guides and groups.  Literally hundreds.  When we looked down from castle walls all we could see were buses, buses and more buses.  There were certainly a lot more visitors in town than the Queen Elizabeth.   We had a coffee (unmemerable) and an applecake down in the town square and if you could imagine a group of about 30 with tour guide walk straight through the tables to go to the toilets - they could have gone around us, as it was only a metre or 2 to the roadway, but no.

There was some kind of festival going on and there was a stage with folk music and dancing,  which created a great atmosphere.  Dozens of stalls were set up, selling mainly woollen goods such as hats, gloves and other cold weather essentials.   Thankfully we certainly did not need today.  We wandered home quietly and took it easy for the rest of the day, being aware that tomorrow is a big day, St Petersburg.

Photos:
1 - 3 Stockholm sailing in
4 - 7 Changing the guard
8  Lunch
9  Royal chapel
10 - 11 Old town
12 - 13 Our Hoho boat
14 - 15 Sailing out
16 - 24 Tallinn