A Personal Favorite: The Malachite Room At The Hermitage (Winter Palace)

On our final day in St. Petersburg, Dan and I returned to the Hermitage in the hope of seeing art and decorative attractions that are usually not shown to tourists taking the standard quickie tour. This is easier said than done since being a tour participant is the only way to get into the museum if you have not gone through the difficult and expensive process of obtaining a Russian visa. The problem is that tour participants are discouraged from touring the museum on their own and they are required to remain with their groups some of the time. However, we were able to split free of our group for at least a short time, long enough to enjoy seeing artworks we would not have seen otherwise. We also got to visit my favorite museum room of all: the spectacular Malachite Room. here is the description of the room from Wikipedia:

The Malachite Room of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, was designed in the late 1830s by the architect Alexander Briullov for use a formal reception room for the Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, wife of Nicholas I. It replaced the Jasper Room, which was destroyed in the fire of 1837.[1] The room obtains its name from the use of malachite for its columns and fireplace. This large salon contains a large malachite urn as well as furniture from the workshops of Peter Gambs (1802-1871), son of the famous furniture maker Heinrich Gambs, which were rescued from the 1837 fire. During the Tsarist era, the Malachite Room, which links the state rooms to the private rooms, served as not only a state drawing room of the Tsaritsa, but also as a gathering place for the Imperial family before and during official functions.[2] It was here that Romanov brides were traditionally dressed by the Tsarina before proceeding from the adjoining Arabian Hall to their weddings in the Grand Church.[3] From June to October 1917 this room was the seat of the Russian Provisional Government. When the palace was stormed during the night of 7 November 1917, the members of the Government were arrested in the adjoining private dining room.[4] Today, as part of the State Hermitage Museum, this room retains its original decoration.

Ballet Evening In St. Petersburg

Dan and I booked a ballet performance for Thursday evening offered by our cruise ship. Usually they cannot tell you much about which company you get to see, or which ballet, so you have to take a chance. We saw Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," a full length masterpiece by one of our favorite composers. The performance was given in the historic Hermitage Theater, which was a treat to see. The performance itself was good, although the conductor could have been better at dynamics with the small orchestra being too loud at times for the intimate hall. The lead dancers were capable and the corps consistent. The production was traditional. All in all it was an enjoyable if not spectacular evening of ballet.

St. Petersburg Tour Part II

Thursday morning we first boarded a riverboat for a river and canal cruise, seeing the wonderful elegance of this special city. We also visited three of the great churches: The Kazan Cathedral (where a sung service was in progress,) the Church of the Spilled Blood (built to commemorate the assassination of the Tsar Alexander II, and the grandest cathedral, that of St. Isaac, which took 40 years to build. Then our small bus with its twelve passengers traveled to the town of Pushkin to visit the magnificent Catherine Palace, masterpiece of architect Bartholomeo Rastrelli. Built for the empress Elizabeth I, this splendid Baroque palace is most famed for its unique amber room. Then we returned to the city to see the ornate Yusupov Palace. Though it is most famous as the site of the murder of the evil Rasputin, the palace is equally remarkable for its well-preserved early and late 19th century interior decoration. Tonight we will return to the city for a performance of the ballet. - Dan

St. Petersburg Tour, Part I

On our return to beautiful St. Petersburg the six of us took a private tour. The grandeur of the Hermitage impresses everyone, although the guide focused on just a small part of the collection. It was special to revisit important masterpieces by Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. After the museum we took a subway ride on the ornate and recently built Metro to see the Peter And Paul Fortress. It contains the cathedral where the main Romanoff Tsars are buried and the fortress where many dissidents were imprisoned including Dostoyevsky. Then a hydrofoil ride on the Gulf of Finland transported us to Peterhof Palace, where we walked through the amazing 18th century gardens surrounding the splendid Summer Palace of Peter The Great, the founder of magnificent St. Petersburg. - Dan

July 4th In Helsinki

We spent a full day touring the vibrant Finnish capital on Tuesday. We visited the spectacular Lutheran cathedral, the Sinebrychoff Art Museum and the famous "Rock Church" built into solid stone. Wednesday we begin our three day visit to St. Petersburg, Russia, where we have booked a private tour for our party of six.

A Visit To Riga

The biggest surprise on our trip so far was our visit on Monday to Riga, the capital of Latvia. Four of us took a self-guided walking tour of the old town, full of a wide variety of architecture. Some of the oldest buildings are Gothic, and these churches are often near houses and shops created in the Renaissance or Baroque styles. All over one saw plentiful parks and colorful flowers. The final stop on our tour was the wonderful Alberta Street, to have a rich lunch at Alberta 13. Alberta Street is the highlight of the city's remarkable array of Art Nouveau buildings, and in that area, Riga is second to none. Mansions and apartment houses boast Medusa heads, scroll work, turrets, and many other fanciful architectural details. Many of these extraordinary buildings were designed by the Russian Eisenstein, father of the famed film director Sergei Eisenstein. - Dan

Touring Klaipeda, Lithuania

We left our ship with Peter and Tom R. for a morning tour of the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipeda. From a small tour bus we saw the historic old, wooden timbered houses, the Theater Square, and a flax seed warehouse of "fachwerk" (timber) construction. This old trading city was controlled by the Germans and Russians for centuries before Lithuania achieved independence in 1990. - Dan

Cruising The Baltic

Saturday was a day at sea on board the Oceania Marina. The ship offers plenty of activities including a heated saltwater pool, fully-equipped gym and health club, library and plenty of spaces for quiet relaxation. Some of our party of six enjoyed a movie, playing duplicate bridge, or walking for exercise, Mealtimes in the various restaurant venues offer opportunities for socializing. Today (Sunday) we will visit Klaipeda, a quaint harbor town in Lithuania.

Days In Copenhagen

We actually began our current travel adventure in Copenhagen. Initially Jim had a difficult time since his checked luggage containing his entire wardrobe was not delivered to him by the airline when we arrived. We had a tense couple of days until he was reunited with his luggage on board our vessel just prior to setting sail for our cruise. In spite of the temporary lost baggage problem we did enjoy Copenhagen. Dinner in town on our first evening was at Frida's, featuring local cuisine. The day of our cruise departure we also got to see the changing of the guard at Amalienbourg Palace, the city residence of Queen Margarethe. We also toured those parts of the palace that are open to the public. We visited the opulent main train station bulit ca. 1920 before taking a taxi to board our ship. - Dan

Cities In North Germany

On Friday, June 30 The first stop for our ship, Oceania Marina, was the Baltic port of Warnamunde, in Mecklinberg, a northern section of Germany. We rented a car and four of us drove to lovely Schwerin, site of a great castle of the Dukes of Mecklinberg. A fanciful combination of historical Romanticism and ornate decoration, this huge castle was well worth our drive in this rainy section of the Baltic. After our visit to the castle, we spent time at the town's small but fine art museum, which has a particularly good collection of 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings by such masters as Hals, Fabritius, Rubens, Steen, Brueghel and many others. It also has an amazing, life-size portrait of "Clara," a rhinoceros immortalized by the French artist Oudry in the 18th century. After a delicious lunch at the Cafe Prag, our excellent driver Jim drove to the Hanseatic city of Rostock, which has been restored after it was heavily bombed during WWII. We visited the Romanesque "Petri" church and drove through town before heading back to he ship. - Dan