Of Wings and Whispers

[Major]

I trust the storyteller will now change his avatar

 

[drron]

We passed a ship that looked like the Orion but was heading in the wrong direction-

.

.

.

.

.

An unusual cloud formation to end the show.
That night we had dinner in La Terraza and it was good.Once more amused by some of the antics that go on with wine with a couple being scathing about the standards of the complimentary wines saying they wanted a French white wine.The wine waiter they had was European so he went through all the grape varieties of the French whites they had on the complimentary wine list to which she replied no we would like a French white burgundy.The waiter replied but madame that is the French chardonnay that I mentioned.Touche.

Then it was off to bed in readiness for our return to St.Petersburg.

 

[drron]

We awoke the next morning to a gorgeous sunrise.We were awake earlier than the last cruise and sunrise was a little later.We were passing what appeared to be a naval base.I thought this sunrise was better than many of the sunsets I have seen-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

So it was now time for breakfast.However my plans for the day were thwarted.We had booked a half day shopping tour in the morning and I was then going to leave the tour and walk back to the ship visiting a couple of other museums on the way.They switched the tour to the afternoon.When you are on a ship tour you can only go out when the ticket says so.Another advantage of a Private tour(not the silverseas private tours though).When you book a private tour through a Russian agency they get your visa.It is for the duration of the tour so on our first visit we only had to show the tour ticket on the first day and thereafter only had to show our passport-were never asked again for proof.Should have gone for a half day private tour.

Add to that it was raining all morning.So glad we did everything on the first cruise.Our"tour"took us to the first shop that we had been on our private tour-knowing the system I was able to sample a little more than one shot of vodka.Then taken to a second shop and the plan was then to have ~ 90 minutes free time walking the Nvetsky Prospect.Well we knew the time and place of the pick up,it was not raining so off we went.
First we went to thir first "department store/mall".A very large building but a totally random selection of things for sale,various sized rooms and seemingly no planning at all.It did though allow photos of neighbouring buildings.A couple of shots on the way first-

.

.

.

The middle photo of the top 3 is the Department store.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

We walked a couple of blocks then realised we weren't far from the Church of the Spilled Blood.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

We had been to Starbucks but not for coffee.A Starbucks St.Petersburg mug-what more appropriate souvenir could you get!

.

.

.

That restaurant was definitely not on my must visit list.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It started raining heavily again so it was back to the gift shop/pick up point.When we got there an ambulance with flashing blue lights was outside.Turned out that an older German lady from our bus had been knocked down the stairs by an impatient Chinese tourist.
But back to the ship for another very nice dinner.

 

[drron]

And some night scenes of St.Petersburg from the ship-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Tuesday and now we are not allowed off the ship.Didn't really matter as it was another miserable day with rain and wind.Used it to catch up on some sleep.
So the advice if you are going to St.Petersburg on a cruise.Think about going on a smaller ship as they will dock in the centre of St.Petersburg.The larger ships dock well outside and usually a 1 hour + ride into town.I would definitely go for a cruise that spends at least 2 nights there as long as it arrives early and leaves at at least 6pm on the third day.48 hours would not be enough time to see enough of what St.Petersburg has.

But if you go by cruise ship definitely get a private tour through a Russian Travel firm.We would heartily endorse SPB tours.They were easy to deal with online and paying by CC.Did everything they said they would.Wonderful guide and driver.Flexible.And your visa that they arrange covers you for all the days you have booked and not just the tour times as per ship's cruises.

Tuesday night and it was dinner with 2 Aussie couples.One working for an airline.a great night.But before that was sail away-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The name at the entrance to the port is still Leningrad.Lots of new buildings here as well.

.

.

 

[drron]

Leaving St.Petersburg there was a lot of traffic-

.

.

.

.

.

We awoke the next morning as we sailed into Helsinki-

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Our plan was to walk into the CBD where the Marimekko outlet was supposed to be.Unfortunately it turned out to be only a normal retail outlet with high prices.There were also a lot of beggard in this part of town.Had not seen that before.So another walk back to the ship through the markets-

.

.

.

.

.

Lunch on the Pool deck then a successful day at trivia and golf.
The next day was a sea day so more relaxing.Quite a way into the day we overtook a slightly smaller vessel-

.

.

That night it was the Venetian Society coughtail party and formal night for dinner.We dined with the Guest Relations Manager,Priscilla,from Sao Paulo.We were having a great night with lively conversation.As we were served dessert there was a loud crash.Turned out to be our Scot trivia partner who had passed out crashing to the floor and knocked herself out.As luck would have it her head landed no more than 6 inches from the feet of a Neurosurgeon at the next table.The crew were fantastic and she was taken off to the hospital.However her husband had slight cognitive problems so I took care of him until the Cruise Director and Cruise consultant took over.They ensured he was looked after that night.Fantastic work Vicki and Nancy.

Drama over and it was off to bed ready for Warnemunde in the morning.

 

[drron]

Entering the channel at Warnemunde-

.

.

.

A Costa lines ship beat us in but it had to go further in before it could turn so we were first to the wharf.Not everything on the water was large-

.

.

.

The Regal Princess was already at her dock.You can see the relative size by the shadow we cast.

.

.

.

What a screen!Not every vessel was classy.The Costa dock,we would be further along the wharf.

.

 

[drron]

Ready for the day trippers-

.

.

.

.

Several trains ready to take people on their day trip to Berlin-

.

.

.

Whilst we berthed in front of an RV park.Not many busses for the Whisper.
Very soon we were off for a walk around Warnemunde-

.

.

Despite all the seafood available some headed straight here-

.

 

[drron]

The seagulls were huge.The young fellow had to protect his piece of crab from the older birds-

.

.

.

You can still fahrt your way around Germany-

.

.

.

This was the old entrance to Rostock harbour.

.

.

And a favourite beach for East German summer holidays-

.

.

 

[drron]

The wind was a problem on the beach but not for some others-

.

.

.

An icon of East German architecture-"the teapot"-

.

.

.

If you look closely there are actually a couple of people in swimming-

.

.

.

.