Daniel, Olga and Gramma Anna we arrived on an overcast, rainy and cold day – this was what we were greeted with in this city of islands and 5,000,000 inhabitants. We had contracted with SPB (short for St. Petersburg) Tours. It was a small Mercedes van capable of accommodating about 20 or so people.

As I said at the outset, it was quite chilly as we hit gangway to clear customs in the Russian port area. While we arrived just a little later than scheduled (a Celebrity ship was given first access to the wall so we had to wait out in the bay) we were one of the lucky ones to get off the Eurodam early with the side benefit being a much shorter customs lineup. Even though we might have been twenty-fifth line it must of took us at least 45 minutes or so to edge our way up to the big red line on the floor. Who knew when the guys at the other end of the line actually got to the line as each person had to stand there a good five minutes to get past the unsmiling, unspeaking, unfriendly, devoid of personality border guard. She would look up at us and then to the passport – then she'd look up and then again back at the passport. Apparently the delay was directly related to the fact that she had to make sure that we (our names and vital information) were entered into the Russian computer systems. In the end not one word was spoken and then we got the green light, which meant we could go forward.

Once we got in the van, most seats had been taken so Deb and I were separated - one of us in the front and me in the back of the bus for the entire 8-hour tour. Generally St. Petersburg is like other large city with the exception of a few things – more specifically – the trams look very, very old and the yellow traffic light comes on just before the red traffic light turns to green (novel idea I think) – the buildings were no more that 4 or 5 stories high but they covered entire blocks. The apartment complexes on the outskirts of SPB were massive with many blocks forming of apartment towers forming a mini-city. It seems that a lot of these different developments were referred to by different premier names like Lenin Complex or Gorbachev Square, etc.

We started off the tour in and around the SPB city centre making short 5 and 10-minute photo stops at some of the local churches. The city is brimming with dedications to previous leaders – statues and wall plaques, arches and statues and public parks and green areas everywhere. The one thing that I didn’t really know was that SPB was comprised of several islands of which contained canals and bridges galore. Our tour leader Luba (meaning Love) was good – her English was exceptional complete with a hint of an English accent – odd considering that she grew up and was raised in Siberia. She was very informative and at the odd time somewhat critical of the current Putin regime along with an obvious dislike for Hitler and the destruction that he directed throughout the city.

One of most interesting side trips was a ride on the SPB Metro subway or underground. To begin with we were warned not to take any flash photography in the station or underground – this was strictly forbidden and enforced so as to protect the eyes of the subway conductors on the trains. One guy on our tour took a flash picture at street level before we even descended to the deepest subway stations in the world (they have a layer of soft/wet soil that required them to dig down close to China) and one of the officials freaked and told him in no uncertain terms any more and you’ll be arrested. So I double-checked my settings one more time. These stations are unlike anywhere in the world, they are like galleries, with marble flooring, chandeliers and stone carvings on all the columns. The escalator that took us down to track level went at breakneck speed (stay to the right and hold on) and likely down some 3 or 400 feet below ground. We boarded the train for just one stop and compared to my Toronto memories – we flew at speeds never experienced before on an underground train.

Our driver, Igor was good – he dropped us off in the most convenient spots and was always there to wisk us way to the next attraction. We then headed to Peterhof to see the Royal Estate of Peterhof some 45 minutes west of SPB. We toured just the grounds here and the fountains and landscaping is fantastic, really a Versailles of Russia.

From there it was off to the Catherine Palace, which was the summer residence of the Russian tsars located in the town of Puskin. Puskin is a much beloved author and poet according to Luba. The Amber Room is amazing and I don’t think I’ll every see more gold leaf in one palace ever again. What is truly amazing is that this entire palace was looted and then burned by the Nazi’s into total destruction. It is now a work of art; a good majority of the restoration has been completed with more always on the go. You really need to look at my photographs to get a feel at how ostentatious 56-room palace really is. Apparently Catherine was found to have some 1,500 dresses in her closet – she never wore the same dress twice. Given that spring is still to arrive here in Puskin, I can’t imagine the look of the grounds when everything would be in full bloom – again spectacular.

Back at the ship – back through customs and back on board – tired after a long day. Deb and I decided we would forego Day II of the tour and stay here on board instead. Tonight was somewhat strange given that were so far north (60.08.92N and 024.55.18E) the sun didn’t really set until midnight. Today the sun rose 4:39 a.m. and the sun won’t hit the horizon until around 11:00 p.m. – it’ll be a long bright day. Next stop is Helsinki, Finland – can you say Absolute Ice House – they apparently let you keep the glasses – just good luck getting them home in one piece.