FUN-photos: Uniworld Russian River Cruise
September 2, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Uniworld Russian River Cruise
We arrived in Moscow very early on the morning of Thursday, July 3rd for our 13 day river cruise. We spent 3 days touring Moscow and set sail on the evening of Sunday, July 6th. We cruised the Moscow Canal, Volga River, Lake Rybinsk, Lake Onega, Svir River & Lake Ladoga. Our stops included Uglich, Yaroslav, Goritsy & Kirillov, Kizhi Island, Mandrogi and ended in St. Petersburg for 4 nights. We disembarked the morning of July 15th and flew to Berlin, Germany. Little did we know that was the same day the Malasian Airliner was shot down over Ukraine.
If you click on the first picture it will allow you to create a slide show. Enjoy!
FUN-travel: Day 13 – End of Uniworld River Cruise
July 19, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Day 13 – End of Uniworld River Cruise
Day 15 – Tuesday, July 15 – End of Uniworld Cruise
Peter the Great on Horseback
Red Square
What I LIKE
- 7:00 – decent coffee
- – Chris brings me Starbuck’s Via instant!
- – forgot he had it
- 8:15 – fruit & sandwich to go
- Finish packing
- 9:20 – up to lounge
- – hang out until airport
- – catch up on writing these
- Plenty of AC up here!
- 12:00 – light lunch buffet – soup & salad
- 1:30 – depart for airport
- Ready to leave Russia!
What I DON’T LIKE
- 5:00 am – foot cramp!
- Wake up w/stiff back
Uniworld River Cruise Recap – Russia is not Europe. I thought it would have the charm and beauty of the other river cruises we have experienced but it didn’t.
- As for the ship, it was not up to Uniworld standards. The food, wine and dining room staff were not of the caliber and quality we had in France. It is owned and operated by Russian’s. Uniworld has a presence on board. That’s it.
- As for the room, size does matter! 12 days in a small room (135 sq ft) takes its toll. Also, I have long contended that you have no control of the temperature in your room on any ship (even though they have controls on the wall) and that was certainly true for this one.
The Hermitage
- As for the excursions, some were better than others. They did a good job of having local guides with small groups. Moscow was better than St Petersburg because there were a lot less tourists from ships. My preference is to always do a private tour.
FUN-fact – The Volga River is the largest and longest river in Europe at 2292 miles long.
More FF – Russian architecture is often referred to as “cake tiered.” And Russian church domes look like “onions with candles on top.”
More FF – There are no single family homes in the city of St. Petersburg.
Me, Chris, Norga & Chris at Opera
FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 12 – Uniworld River Cruise
July 17, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 12 – Uniworld River Cruise
Day 14 – Monday, July 14 – St. Petersburg – blue skies w/big puffy, white clouds – high 70’s
Catherine’s Palace
Inside the Palace
What I LIKE
- 6:45 – wake up
- 8:00 – depart for Catherine Palace in Pushkin Park
- 8:30 – arrive
- 10:00 – enter Catherine’s Palace
- – designed by Rastrelli
- – a Baroque masterpiece
- – summer residence of czars
- – features Amber Room
- – covered from floor to ceiling
- – original moved during WW2
- – have never found it
- – recreation cost $6 million & took 20 yrs
- Amber is petrified tar
- See dining rooms, dressing room, sleeping rooms
- 10:30 – walk in palace gardens
- – park & monuments surrounding
- – includes pond, lake, pavilions
- 11:15 – bus back
- 11:45 – arrive ship
- Start packing big suitcase
- 12:30 – nice salad – pasta w/mushrooms
- – ham & cheese Panini for room snack
- Finish packing
- 4:00 – try to sleep
- 5:30 – work on travel log
- 7:00 – farewell dinner w/Norga & Chris
- – lovely couple from South Africa
- – start w/ Castelnau Rose before dinner
- – like the Taittinger its real Champagne from Reims, France
- – special thanks to our BA flight attendants!
- 7:30 – starts raining!
- 10:00 – room phone call
- – front desk wants us to come pay
- – get down there & 6 people all trying to pay
- – holds credit card terminal over her head
- – in hopes of getting connection
- – too funny!
- – lucky me – good to go on 1st swipe!
What I DON’T LIKE
- More hurry up & wait in line
- Every tour arrives at the same time
- AC in room never worked!
FUN-fact – St. Petersburg is the 2nd largest city with 5 million people and the entire city center is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is 34 kilometers from east to west.
More FF – We have been so lucky to have sun everyday and no rain during our tours. St. Petersburg has 60 days of sunshine on average each year.
Not so FF – There has been a lecturer on board but due to her heavy accent we just can’t stay engaged.
The Amber Room
FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 11 – Uniworld River Cruise
July 17, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 11 – Uniworld River Cruise
Day 13 – Sunday, July 13 – St. Petersburg – blue skies w/high, wispy clouds – low 80’s
Inside the Hermitage
Inside the Hermitage
What I LIKE
- 6:45 – cappuccino
- 8:30 – bus departs
- 9:00 – 1st stop – St. Isaak’s Cathedral
- – adorned w/112 granite columns
- – 400 reliefs & bronze sculptures
- 9:20 – 2nd stop – The Hermitage – originally the winter palace
- – contains one of the world’s largest collections of art
- – 5 buildings w/3 million works
- – from Stone Age to contemporary
- – all paintings removed & hidden during WW2
- – was told it would take 6 yrs to see everything if you spent 1 min @ ea
- 9:50 – ticket entrance time
- Line wraps around building
- 10:30 – finally get inside
- 11:30 – go outside to take pictures
- 7:00 – Captains Farewell Reception
- 7:30 – dinner once again better than average
- Tenderloin & tasty dough w/meat inside & cream sauce
What I DON’T LIKE
- More hurry up & wait in line
- Hermitage is packed like sardines w/tour groups!
- Every ship in port has multiple groups
- Can’t even begin to really see the art
- Totally miss seeing the Impressionists
- Total waste of time & big disappointment!
- Sunday & Tuesday are busiest days
- – so why did this not get scheduled on Saturday?
St. Isaak’s
FUN-fact – St. Petersburg is located just 500 miles south of the Arctic Circle and for a few weeks each summer they celebrate the “white nights.”
Not so FF – That means essentially the sun never sets and is brutal if you want to sleep in darkness.
The Operahouse
FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 10 – Uniworld River Cruise
July 15, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Saint Petersburg – Day 10 – Uniworld River Cruise
Day 12 – Saturday, July 12 – St. Petersburg – blue skies w/high, thin wispy clouds – 70’s
What I LIKE
- 6:30 – cappuccino
- 8:00 – City Tour departure
- 8:30 – 1st stop – Smolny – 10 min
- – Baroque cathedral & convent
- – name means tar
- No traffic!
- 9:00 – 2nd stop – island across from old city – 15 min
- 9:30 – 3rd stop – market – 30 min
- – basically souvenir mall
- 10:15 – 4th stop – canal boat ride – 1 hr
- 11:30 – photo op – Peter the Great on horseback
- 12:00 – 5th stop – Square of Arts
- – Pushkin monument & park
- Free time on own
- 12:20 – lunch Mama Roma – pepperoni pizza + 2 beers = $18 – not the best but pizza none the less
- 1:20 – Church on the Spilled Blood – w/onion domes typical of orthodox churches
- 1:45 – Starbucks cappuccino extra shot = $7.60
- 2:05 – Kazan Cathedral
- – looks like mini Vatican
- 2:30 – depart back to ship
- 3:00 – room R & R
- 5:30 – dinner buffet
- 6:45 – depart for Hermitage theatre – 40 min
- – Swan Lake ballet in small theatre
Church on the Spilled Blood
- – only 250 seats
- – was private theatre of Catherine the Great
- – may not be best performance in town
- – but they say “any Russian ballet is better than none”
- 7:20 – arrive
- 8:00 – starts
- 2 intermissions
- 10:30 – bus back to ship
- See full moon coming up!
- 11:00 – snack buffet & wine
- 12:45 – finally go to sleep
What I DON’T LIKE
- 3:40 – 1st wake up
- 5:30 – 2nd wake up
- 8:00 – excursion departure – too early
- More hurry up & wait on bus
- Days too packed w/activities in Moscow & St. Petersburg
- Have to get to theatre early as there are no assigned seats
- Theatre is really hot!
FUN-fact – Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703 to take it out of the dark ages and to be part of Europe.
More FF – They call it the “Venice of the North” because it was built on 42 Islands and boasts over 80 canals.
More FF – We saw the ship, Le Boreal, that we are sailing on in the Arctic next month docked near downtown.
Kazan Cathedral