5th Day - St. Petersburg - August 1st, 2019

A very quiet night. So I slept through until 5 a.m.

We docked in St. Petersburg around 6 a.m. It looked really gray. Thick clouds and quite chilly.

Now let's have breakfast in the Fontane and go on the excursion. Since you need a visa for St. Petersburg or Russia, we booked a tour in advance to have a group visa. Our excursion includes a visit to the Hermitage, a Russian lunch, a city tour with many photo stops, and a visit to the Peter and Paul Fortress.

We started at 8:40 a.m. Meeting point at the theater. We were assigned to group 36 and received stickers with this number, which we attached to our clothing.

Then off the ship, through the control, looking for our bus (No. 36) and the corresponding tour guide Tanja. She was born in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) and speaks excellent German with a typical Russian accent.

She told us a lot about the city, for example that rush hour starts very late (around 10-11 a.m.) as the working hours are adapted to the local conditions, in winter it gets light very late, if at all. And that overnight many bridges over the Neva are open for cargo ships to pass through, in the morning they are closed for car traffic etc. The ships that then arrive have to wait until the next night.

So we were suddenly in the rush hour (but that would probably be the case in any big city, just a bit later) and it was hardly moving, but the bus driver knew his way around.

First to the St. Isaac's Cathedral

Now quickly take a look at or through the blue bridge to a branch of the Neva.

Finally, we were allowed in and were dazzled by the furnishings.

Parade Staircase

The Hermitage is huge, we spent 2 hours inside and saw a lot, but hardly anything actually.

I was impressed by the painting gallery, the old masters like Titian, Da Vinci, Rubens, and Rembrandt etc.

Sabine has a better Rembrandt

Cruiser Aurora

After lunch, we continued with the city tour on our way to the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, built on the spot where an assassination attempt was made on Tsar Alexander II, who died as a result of it.

On the Neva with a view of (behind us of course) the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the fortress of the same name.

The cathedral up close

and from the inside.

Most Russian emperors have been buried in the interior of the cathedral since the 18th century.

Then back on the bus and back to the port.
We were back around 5 p.m., first waiting in line for check-in and baggage control.

Quickly get ready for dinner (for the forgetful ones - from 6 p.m.). There was a lot to talk about, it was once again a fun meal. But we were also a great group.
During dinner at around 7 p.m., the engines started and we set sail for Copenhagen (about 35 hours).
Afterwards, a bit of Ed Sheeran's Perfect and one or two glasses of Merlot in the wine bar
and then an impressive but also exhausting day came to an end.