Mouth of the Neva.

After a good night's sleep aboard the Viking ship, Ingvar, we set out to explore Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia. There are quite a few "must-be-seens" in this city, which is situated where the Neva River enters the Gulf of Finland. We were very excited to see the Hermitage, one of the greatest art museums in the world. The large fifty passenger motorcoaches were waiting on the pier for us. We each picked up a bottle of water as we left the ship. It was going to be a long day. On board the bus with us was Natalia,our Russian guide.  Unlike our other river cruise this one had on board guides. I must admit I liked this idea.  Natalia spoke excellent English and had visited the U.S.A. I found her quite knowledgeable, although I did not agree with some of her political views.

Our bus let us off in front of the eighteenth palace built by Catherine the Great. Natalia told us not to expect the bus to be in the same place after our tour because parking was not allowed

where we disembarked and to leave our bottles of water on the bus.  They would not be allowed in the museum. One thing we noticed immediately about Russian street traffic was the speed at which everyone drove, fast.  And how courteous they were to pedestrians.  If you put your foot in a pedestrian crosswalk the traffic comes to an quick halt,  According to our guide there are severe penalties to those who violate pedestrian rights.  There was not as much traffic as I would have expected for a city of almost five million people. There was a long line to enter the museum, but it moved quickly. Security at tourist sites in Russia is unusual.  I would prefer the term "quirky". Sometimes handbags are allowed and sometimes they aren't. Sometimes long coats are allowed and sometimes they aren't.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason for some of their rules.  It is easy to see why Saint Petersburg is called a very western city.  The czars liked France and sought to copy its architecture.  The interiors as well as the exteriors reflect this.  But I don't think I saw a blue building in Paris trimmed in white.

 Catherine the Great founded this museum in 1764 which, incidentally, was about the time my ancestors were  building their log cabins in the new world. There are three million pieces of art, antiquities, sculpture, and culture in the museum, which is comprised of six buildings.  When you visit one of the great palaces of Europe you become aware of what the wealth of the purveyors of

absolute power can buy.  All of the great masters are represented there. From Egyption art to the

present there are paintings and sculptures. I was fascinated by the collection of twenty-three Rembrandts, an incredible collection  of the Dutch master's work. The tour of this museum, which also included some palace rooms, was five hours long.  Although we did not see everything, we were ready to leave. It was crowded, although we had seen greater crowds at the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid. We found our motor coach a few blocks away from Palace Square, 2.

Back aboard the Ingvar we had an early dinner. We dined with a lovely couple from England. They lived near the Cotswolds, one of our favorite areas of the UK.  After a brief rest, a shower, and a change of clothes it was time to attend the ballet.  I am not a huge fan of the ballet, but I was in Russia and Russia is famous for ballet. Therefore, I put aside my prejudices and attended a performance of Swan Lake.  Once aboard the motorcoach we were told we were going back to one of the Hermitage  buildings. It seems one of the buildings was a theater. Many of us changed into some dressier clothes for the event. I put on a new pair of blue jeans. One fellow whom we would get to know better wore a Scottish outfit but with trousers instead of a kilt.  He said that he had heard that Mr. Putin did not care for men in skirts.The performance was great and was accompanied by an orchestra. The story was quite simple, and the dancing was fantastic.  Nevertheless, there is something about men in tights dancing on their toes that's not quite my cup of tea. But I do admire the athleticism required to dance the ballet. There was one ballerina that caught my attention. She was buxom! A rarity. After this performance, which we were not allowed to photograph, we returned to the ship slightly after ten o'clock.  There was plenty of daylight at ten o'clock, because St. Petersburg is at the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. A buffet awaited us.

We enjoyed our first full day in Russia and were anxious to see what tomorrow would bring.

Boarding the Ingzar

Our flight from Amsterdam was uneventful.  I sort of felt strange going through Russian security though. Perhaps it was from growing up during the cold war and having seen too many spy movies. The uniformed personnel said little, merely stamped our documents and waived us through.  They were very efficient.   Polkova International Airport was not very crowded and as usual the Viking representative met us at the airport. This would be our second cruise with Viking Cruise Lines.  Our first had been a thoroughly delightful voyage from Amsterdam to Budapest. This cruise would be from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Many of our friends had openly questioned our wisdom about traveling to Russia, given the current Ukraine situation and Russian American relations. However, we paid them no heed.

About an hour and a half after landing we were aboard the Viking MV Ingvar. Our cabin was on the second deck almost directly above the dining room. On this ship we had opted for a room on the port side  with an accessible deck.  One of the things we like most about this mode of travel is the handling of the luggage. Once it was stored on the motorcoach which transported us from the airport, ships personnel carried it directly to our room. It's like moving into a hotel room that travels with you.

Dinner tends to be a welcome event for us on board.  Not only is is an opportunity to enjoy some great food and drink but open seating and a casual atmosphere is very conducive to making new friends.  The first night we had dinner with a couple of Mennonites and a woman from Maui with chronic wanderlust.  The lady Mennonite was the minister to a congregation in the midwest.We had the usual "welcome aboard" meeting in the lounge which also served as meeting room.  Crew introductions were made and we were informed about certain particulars of the cruise.  Who to see for what, mealtimes, safety regulations, et cetera.  There were 192 passengers and about one crewmember for each two passengers. One difference in this cruise from our previous was the inclusion of three onboard tour guides. After this informative gathering we went back to our room and continued settling in. This ship unlike the other ship had few 110 volt  outlets. But we had adapters with us to adapt the European style receptacles to our American plugs.  I had to check out the television remote.  (It has been said that I am addicted to television.) Shipboard television usually has local TV and maybe two English speaking stations. Normally, there are feeds from several onboard cameras as well. There are cameras on the bow and in the bar/meeting areas.  So if you don't get to the daily briefing, You can watch it on the television in your room. Staterooms are quite compact although we once stayed in a hotel room in the UK that was smaller. The bed was kingsize and flanked by an bedside table on either side.  There is a desk/vanity/whatever with a stool on which to sit. The wardrobe is built in  of course. The bath with shower is a model of efficiency.  There is a telephone and a smoke detector. Shipboard announcements are no longer made via the speakerphone in your cabin but announced in the passageways only.  It seems some passengers complained about hearing them in their cabins.  However, if you have your television on you may not hear the announcements at all. WIFI,which we have become accustomed to is "iffy".  It depends on where the ship is. We locked our passports in the safe and settled down to a good nights sleep.  It had been a long time since we left Goose Creek. Below is a look at our cabin.

(The bed had a duvet. I HATE duvets! The allow you to be either too cool (without) or too warm (covered).

Thoughts in Red...or Not

Recently my wife and I went to Russia. The Beatles song Back In the USSR is now quite dated; it's just Russia now. We traveled on one of the Viking river cruises. Upon our return many people have asked us: "What was it REALLY like?" I'd like to answer that question now.

Actually, my preconceptions were pretty much blown asunder. I expected a strong military presence. (I lived through the Cold War.) I expected everything to be sort of dark and gray.  All the women would look like stocky peasant women with bandanas on their heads.  The men I expected to look like the guys that killed DeNiro in 15 minutes.  On their streets I expected to see those droll appearing Russian automobiles.

But, alas, it was not like that at all. As tourists there were probably slums we did not see and perhaps some other unsavory bits of society. The large cities we visited were much like America's large cities, the same hustle and bustle and lack of adequate parking. There were lines at McDonalds at lunch time, and teenagers dress and act freaky and weird just like here.  There was hardly any military presence except for honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow. Entering and exiting the country was easy, no security hassles. Many of the women were beautiful and very Nordic in appearance, especially in St. Petersburg.   I did not see many Nikita Kruschev look-alikes.  We saw very few people with tattoos.  The palaces of the czars rival any in Europe.   Can you imagine a room paneled in amber?   There's one Catherine's Palace near St. Petersburg. Imported cars are driven almost exclusively in Russia's large cities,  primarily German made automobiles, but the police in Moscow drive Fords.  Vladimir Putin is their hero.   Why?   Because he put food back on the grocery store shelves.   After Gorbachev's disastrous venture into capitalism the people were hungry.   Another big surprise for me was that Red Square was not as large as I had imagined.   I remember watching the parades of hundreds of soldiers, tanks,  and missile launchers on television.

One thing I did notice was the male chauvinism exhibited when my wife asked directions of a security guard. He turned to me to answer her question.

We Had To Go Round Again

Today as I was leaving the Chas airport the small Delta airliner took the full length of the runway to get airborn. It reminded me of a flight many years ago. It was during the days a propeller airliners. I was flying from Atlanta to Greenville, South Carolina. The plane was a Martin 404. A Fri night in the fall and GA was playing TN in Athens the next day. The plane was overflowing as the football revelers prepped for the Sat contest. As we went down the runway gaining speed you could hardly hear the engines over the noise of the passengers. The engines roared as the plane strained to leave the clenched of gravity. It seemed that we were almost airborn when the pilot cut the engines. We slowed and moved back toward the terminal at a snails pace. We were told we had to get off the plane. My fellow passengers were infuriated...for awhile as we styled into the terminal chairs designed for discomfort. Someone broke open a fifth of Jack Daniels bourbon. Someone else was sent to get Coca-Cola and soon all seemed to be right with the world. While my fellow passengers imbibed, I ventured to peer out window of the terminal. Much to my surprise, they had a fuel truck backed up to the plane. They pumping some fuel out of the plane! It had been too

heavy to get off the ground. Soon we were aboard again and thundering down the runway. I've always liked to watch the flames from the exhaust pipes of those big radial engines light up the night. The pilot managed to get the plane off the ground before the grassy area at the end of the runway. We were on our way to Athens. After the football fans got off the plane in Athens we had an uneventful and quiet flight to Greenille. And I had the opportunity to enjoy a delightful conversation with the stewardess. By the way, Georgia beat Tennessee in the football game.

Off We Go

Here we go again. Off to see the world, or at least a bit of it we've not seen before.

I hate long airplane rides. It's not that I'm claustrophobic...maybe a little bit.  For miles and miles you simply sit in a very small space with severe limitations on movement. I think any flight over 2 hours is cruel and unusual punishment. However, until we get one of the Enterprise's transporters it's all we have.  So, the best we can do is an eight hour flight. At least it is less than our longest flight to date: fourteen hours.  That flight was nonstop from Atlanta to Tokyo. I thought we were caught in a time warp and the flight would never end. 

There is packing, which I am not fond of. What to carry? I never know. What will the weather be like at our destination?  Who can tell? A television weatherman told me once that weather forecasters were right 85% of the time. Which means they are WRONG 15% of the time. Should I pack according to  what the weatherman says the weather "may be" or carry too much stuff to cover 100% of the possibilities? I do not pack, my wife is much better at it than I. What camera should I take? Or Just take my smartphone for capturing the images of breath taking vistas? How much cash will I need? Should I have gotten some Euros at the AAA?  It gets stressful. 

Have you noticed that lately that you can book a flight on a particular airline but when you get to the departing gate it is a completely different airline? Coufusing? It seems the airlines have partnerships with other airlines. When I book a flight on Delta I expect to get on a Delta plane not Air France.  But, then again, Air France has better food. Once upon a time you could use seat layout diagrams of various planes and airlines to pick a seat with a little bit more leg room.  But no more! The airlines have become wise to this procedure and now charge a premium for this little bit of extra legroom. Thinking about it is stressful.

And then there are the government agencies you must deal with in air travel. They operate in the name of security. I for one believe in airline security. I don't believe you can be too safe flying through the air at 30,000 feet at 400 miles per hour. But that does not mean I like to go through security checks. Kinda like going to the dentist. You hate the pain and suffering but you love the results. TSA, the Transportation Security Administration, is the biggie. Yep, that is where you take off your shoes and put all other stuff you have in your pockets in a plastic wash basin and place it all on a conveyer which goes through an x-ray machine. I always seem to forget to remove some small item from my person. Once a TSA employee found a pocket knife in my carry-on bag I had been looking for for two years! Usually going through security is relatively painless.  But what if I look like somebody on the "no fly" list. And then there is the possibility of the dreaded body cavity search. Flying can be stressful.

I have a friend who refuses to fly without medication.  Let me rephrase that.  He refuses to fly without being medicated. But not me.

Perhaps tonight you will look into sky in and see the blinking lights of an airliner and think of me/us as I/we have climbed into the "big sewer pipe with wings" and taken to the sky.

Bon Voyage!