el_bandito
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2010
We did Hermitage and Evening Canal Boat Trip on the first day, then Pushkin/Peterhof and the Folklore Show on the second day. Definitely wanted to maximize our time in St. Petersburg. I studied Russian in school, and this was my first trip there, so I was super excited.
Hermitage was definitely a whirlwind, but that's what you're signing up for, right? Our guide did a great job of marching us all over the museum, and I feel like we really did see all of the highlights. It was super crowded, though, so I recommend you stick very close to your guide. My mom got lost at one point, but caught up with us pretty quickly. I think there were 3 or 4 other cruise ships in port that day, plus all of the other non-cruise tour groups and individuals. Fortunately, they used headphones so we could hear our guide, but there was some interference if you fell too far behind. In all honesty, I thought seeing the Winter Palace was even more exciting than the art collection. Basically no time for souvenir shopping.
The Evening Canal Boat Trip was very nice - definitely need to see St. Petersburg from the waterways. I absolutely fell in love with the city, kind of a cross between Paris and Venice. There were a few singers and musicians who played on the boat, and the one singer was really excellent. Nice relaxing evening, and there was both the open top and covered lower level for seating.
Pushkin/Peterhof was a loooong day, but worth it. There was one shopping opportunity at Catherine's Palace in Pushkin - an open-air market and some nicer shops nearby. Just know that anywhere you're shopping on an excursion is basically all tourist-focused. The shops had nicer things, but not cheap. The palaces are simply astounding. We got to Catherine's Palace early, which was nice since it wasn't crowded. By the time we got to Peterhof later in the day, that wasn't the case. Bear in mind that the grounds are open to the public, so that part is definitely more crowded. The guides said the pickpocketers were out, but they did a good job of keeping us wherever they weren't. Just use some common sense and you should be fine. Oh, and lunch was maybe a bit longer than I expected, but very good. Starters of cold meats and veggies, then a mushroom cream/soup, then borscht (which was superb, and I don't care for beets!), then two kinds of cabbage rolls, and I can't remember dessert, but it was all great. In a restaurant modeled like a wooder summer house (dacha). Sure it was touristy, but the food was all very good, and they also had singers and musicians performing.
We got back an hour late from that excursion, but there were two big things going on those days - the economic forum one day and then the holiday for all the school graduates the next - so that likely had some impact. The main dining rooms were adjusting for everyone's schedules. Dinner started earlier, around 5:00 or even 4:45 at Topsiders. The Head Servers passed out tickets based on your schedules, and since the ship wasn't full, we were able to eat at the first seating between our excursions on the first day, so we got to try the Czar menu. Second day we only ended up with 30 minutes from the time we got back on the ship to when we had to meet our next excursion. My folks were contemplating not going (Mom was having bad allergies), but I said I wanted to go even if they didn't feel up to it. Not knowing when I would have a chance to come back to St. Petersburg, I didn't want to miss a minute of it. So, the folks decided they felt the same, even though we were all very tired.
And I am sooooo glad we did that. That folklore show was one of the highlights of our trip. We had decided not to book the ballet, figuring that Russian ballet dancers always seemed to be visiting and performing in the States. The folkloric show seemed like it was a bit more unusual. Plus I know a number of Russian folk songs from my studies. But we were pretty exhausted, my mom was suffering from allergies, we'd had folk singers at two of our other excursions...we still ended up going. Well, this "folklore" show was presented by the Russian Cultural Society inside a concert hall within one of the palaces in town, so it was definitely legit. The 2-hour show consisted of a Russian military men's choir and band in full uniform and a troup of exceptional dancers. Truly, truly excellent!! I am so glad we chose this over the ballet, which I heard from others was a bit uncomfortable given the lack or air conditioning (or maybe just minimal air conditioning) when everyone was dressed up.
So, if anyone's still trying to decide what to do in the evening, definitely book the folkloric show. It was a trip highlight for us!
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we are doing both folk lore and ballet. when you say 'dressed up'... how dressed up were people? we have our tuxes and such for formal night but were not planning such a dress up for the ballet. or is it that elegant?
