So, our jaunt over to Russia was fairly spontaneous as in, we probably booked a week before we arrived. Now, we had talked about hopping over to St. Petersburg since we would be in the area, but obtaining a visa was such a headache, I told Javier, I didn’t want the hassle. So, we left for our trip without a Russian visa and therefore unable to visit Russia, right? Wrong! In doing some research on travel from Helsinki to Tallinn, I stumbled across a website that offered ferries and cruises. I saw that one of the offers was for a 72-hour, visa-free entry into Russia. Of course there were all kinds of stipulations and rules, but there was a way!!! Since I had already done the research for the visa, I was aware of the hoops we would need to jump through. So, after a few phone calls to different Russian hotels as well as Marriott and Expedia (you can never be too sure, you know?) We figured out what we needed and went for it.

St. Peters line

You may remember our savior George from Stockholm. Well, one of the stipulations to enter Russia is that you MUST present a printout of your hotel confirmation. Without confirmation you cannot enter the country. Hence, George printing out our stuff was truly a lifesaver. We arrived in Helsinki from Stockholm around 4:30 pm due to a flight delay. We had to check in for our ferry by 5:30pm at the latest and we were told the drive would take us 45min or longer depending on traffic. After weighing our options, we opted for a taxi and made it just in time for our overnight ride! Whew! The ferry was comfortable and we had a small cabin that had a radio with like…8 stations. After clicking through, we found a winner- #7, which strangely and honestly, was one of the best radio stations we’ve listened to…ever. After a quick dinner and walk around the deck, we checked in for the night, knowing we had a long a busy day ahead of us.

Got Babushka?

So, a little background information regarding entering Russia visa-free. The rules are clear, but some, apparently, are not too strict. For example, if you enter the country without a visa, you have to be part of a tour group, and you’re supposed to stay with that tour group (at all times) while in Russia. We met quite a few Americans in Scandinavia who had gone into St. Petersburg, but did so with a cruise. From the cruise ship, they would board the tour bus, take a guided tour, and return to the cruise ship in the evening to sleep. If you’re like us, and don’t have a ship to sleep in, you are expected to stay with your “tour” during the day, and remain in your hotel room once your tour stops operating. Well, our “tour” consisted of a small van with three stops.  It’s basically a shuttle to the various hotels. There was no tour guide, nor did our driver even speak to us. Fantastic. So technically, we could be out and about while our tour bus was operating, but must be indoors thereafter. Well, who wants to be cooped up by 6pm? Not us, and apparently, no one else either. So, this “soft” curfew rule is overlooked by police as long as you don’t do anything stupid…check.

Military… no bueno.

Since we only had two days and were too early to check in, we dropped our stuff at the hotel and took off to see the sights. We decided to walk in the direction of the Hermitage. The first thing we noted was a very strong military presence, which we later learned was because of their “Flag day” celebration. They brought out numerous tanks, missiles, and other military vehicles and weapons…I’m not going to lie,

walking tour

it made me a little wary. When we went on our free tour of the city, we had this young girl for our tour guide who was very friendly and knowledgable. The meeting spot for the tour was at the Alexander Column, which is in the middle of Palace Square with the General Staff building on one side and the Winter Palace and Hermitage on the other. All of the military…stuff was located in front of the Hermitage with a large stage and bleachers on the opposite side. When we arrived, other tour members were asking the guide about the military vehicles and she was explaining that they were there for the celebration, and with a giggle she she said, “Don’t worry. They’re not going to the Ukraine or anything.” We all gave a nervous laugh, and I instantly got a little paranoid like someone was going to jump out from behind a statue and arrest us. Javier and I acted under the assumption that everything we said was monitored in some way. I know, we’re a little ridiculous, but since Javier didn’t enter as a Peruvian

The State Hermitage Museum.

citizen, us two visa-less, tour-less Americans were not going to take any chances. The free tour was really great and informative. We wish we had taken advantage of them in previous cities. We walked all over, saw the highlights, and when it was all done, Javier and I returned to the places we liked the most. I am rather amused as to how the Russians tell their history. In the UK, when they spoke to someone dying, it was tragic and emphasized…like, it was a big deal. In Russia, both our free tour guide, as well as our Hermitage tour guide spoke of assassination, betrayal, and murder with virtually no emotion. Maybe they have repeated these stories so many times that they don’t really care anymore, but I have a feeling they could be talking about something just as horrible that happened last week with the same emotion, or lack thereof.

Go proing the tank, flag, and column.

Speaking of lack of emotion…we found that people in Russia to be very direct and generally, not too friendly. We were so spoiled by everyone speaking english prior to here, that it was a little weird to come across people who either didn’t speak english, or just didn’t want to. Javier tried to speak to people in spanish, but that didn’t seem to work either 🙂 It was very difficult to get people to smile, and after smiling and saying hello to the customs agents, and subsequently being the ONLY one’s stopped and checked, I decided it was better to just go about my business and pretend like I didn’t notice anyone. Javier on the other hand greeted everyone with, “Privet!” (hello), which actually did draw a smile here and there.

Jackie and The Church of the Savior on Blood

Having spent several hours in the Hermitage the day before, we were well aware of how big it was, what we didn’t know was that it is the second largest museum in the world- the first being the Louvre. Went to church of our savior on the spilled blood. The most beautiful church I have ever seen. It is built in traditional Russian style with the colorful caps. But the most impressive was the inside. The entire interior is covered from floor to ceiling with brightly colored tiled mosaics. The mosaics are different biblical themes, mostly on the birth, life, and death of Jesus, but there are apostles, disciples, other ornamental mosaics as well. Everything about the church was spectacular. It’s not a big space at all, yet we still managed to spend a couple of hours inside. Javier couldn’t take enough pictures. It is the most beautiful

Church of the Savior on Blood

building, both inside and out, I have yet to see. It really makes me want to go to Moscow to see St. Basil’s cathedral and compare, but at the moment, that trip is on hold.

We asked our tour guide for restaurant recommendations, specifically, Javier wanted to know where to find the best Borscht (beet soup). She recommended this traditional little cafe, Pectopah, and told us that it was decorated like a traditional babushka’s home, but a little over the top. So, of course we had to give it a try. The cafe was located on the main street, but underground. We were greeted by a crowing rooster when we opened the door, and when I used the restroom, there were birds chirping. The place looked like a

Borscht

log house, with sheets hanging like laundry, which they cleverly used to separate the tables. There was an open hearth with a fire, where they cooked kebabs. All over, there were knickknacks of little clocks, pictures, lanterns, instruments, stuffed animals on couches, wooden coat racks, and an iron with ironing board. The food was delicious and very filling. There were TVs located in various places that were playing either a Russian sitcom, or a Russian movie…but it looked older…like Monty Python. After one of these filling meals, we noticed a man reclining on the sofa with his feet up and shoes off, watching the show, while his wife finished her meal. This really was like being at grandma’s house!

St. Petersburg.

We hiked to the top of St. Isaac’s cathedral where we could see all of St. Petersburg and Javier could take pictures to his heart’s delight. We learned that the bridges in St. Petersburg are lifted at 1am and do not close again until 4am, so you’d better make sure you were on the right side of the river, or bring a sleeping bag. We had a variety of weather from warm and sunny, to torrential rain and hail. And every night, since we had to be indoors by the sunset, we watched a lot of a Russian music channel which was awesome- todays hits, late night gold pop, 80’s and 90’s

The band playing… singing.. goodbye.

Although we enjoyed our time, we were happy to leave, and felt a wave of relief when we boarded the ferry to return to Helsinki. The first thing Javier did when we arrived to our cabin- turn the knob to #7 our favorite music station. Our ride back was much more entertaining than our ride there. After dinner, we heard an announcement that there would be a show in one of the other restaurants. The show was a mixture of traditional Russian folk dances complete with the quintessential move where the men squat with their arms crossed and pop up…hey!  It was a whirlwind two days, and we had another ahead of us, so we turned in early to rest up for our next whirlwind.

Next stop…Helsinki and Tallinn! To see more pictures of St. Petersburg click HERE.