2nd Day in St. Petersburg
Flynn Marr 6 April 2026
We awoke in the morning of our second day in St. Petersburg to beautiful sunshine. This is the view of the harbour from our room.
While in St. Petersburg we had choices of tours we could take. For our second day we chose one called “Russia as the Russians see it”. The idea was to see things that everyday Russians encounter in their daily lives.
This was actually a short tour of about four hours so we were able to relax in the morning and have a leisurely breakfast on board the Eurodam.
The morning brought beautiful blue skys, white clouds and sunshine. The air was warm and we were able to plan our outing with summer clothes.
Susan is sitting on the deck at the stern of the Lido Deck where we had our breakfast before setting out to see how the average Russian lives in St. Petersburg.
After breakfast we left the ship and went through passport control again. Our customs agent was a very pretty girl but again without a smile. Once outside our tour bus was one of several lined up waiting for us.
We were assigned to Bus 7 and once on board we met our tour guide who was a hadsome young man who spoke very excellent English and who smiled a lot. When we were all assembled we were off into the city again.
You can see that our tour bus was very nice, even on the luxurious side. In the back row just to the right of center is Susan.
Our first stop in the city was Vladimirskaya Square where we were to take a ride on the subway. We gathered on the street and our guide explained the sights around us. On one side of the square was the Cathedral of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God which was a Russian Orthodox Church first built in 1783.
Tour buses lined up waiting for Eurodam passengers.
On our drive into town we drove past the Golden Arches familiar to all.
Next to the Cathedral was a stature of Fyodor Dostoyevsky who spent most of his adult life in St. Petersburg. It was here that he wrote some of his most famous novels such as The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment.
Once we had a look about the square we went down into the subway and, actually, it was like a subway anywhere. It was more ornate and had chandeliers and a lot of marble but otherwise, pretty familiar. I was taking pictures all the way and I guess our group stood out because we attracted a lot of stares.
Susan is in the ceter of this picture in Vladimirskaya Square.
These are the domes of the Cathedral of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
In the Vladimirskaya Square was this stature of Russia’s great author Fyodor Dostoevsky who lived much of his life in St. Petersburg.
This subway map we found in the subway station. This kind of map will be found in any subway anywhere in the world.
A subway is a train in a tunnel. But in St. Petersburg a subway is marble lined and has chandeliers above the platform. It is really very impressive. And it is deep below the street because the city is built on a river bank and solid ground for tunnels is a long way down.
When we emerged from the bowels of the earth we found ourselves at the Narva Triumphal Arch in Stachek Square. This arch was first built in 1814 to celebrate the Russian Victory over Napolean. Over the years it has been rebuilt and repaird several times. Today it is a beautiful green color because it is covered in sheets of copper which turn this color over the years.
Here we had an hour to explore a shopping mall on the square which was not nearly enough time. After all of the negative propaganda we had heard about Russia and the Russians, it all seemed perfectly normal and familiar.
From Stachek Square we got back on our tour bus for our next destination: a vodka tasting back in the Peter and Paul Fortress. This turned out to be wonderful fun.
We went back to the same location where we had lunch the day before and were shown into a large room with long tables and benches for sitting. Before each seat was
Here I am in Stachek Square with the Narava Triumphal Arch in the background.
placed three large shot glasses of vodka, at least two ounces each! Susan sipped hers and turned up her nose. She does not drink and this was just too strong for her. Across from me was a British lady who was watching this and when Susan pushed her glasses over to me the lady did the same saying, “You can have mine too”. So there I sat with about nine ounces of vodka in front of me. What was I to do? I was not driving so the answer seemed obvious to me.
We found this large mirror just outside the tasting room and it seemed a perfect opportunity for a selfie.
Here we are assembled for our vodka tasting In front of each person are three large overly generous glasses of vodka.
Additional different types of vodka were at the front of the room in large glass jars. I never knew there were so many very different types of vodka.
We were all given three vodkas to try and they were all delicious.
Susan sipped the first vodka and that was enough for her: she gave them to me!
Our last stop was another souvenir shop just like the one the day before, right down to the vodka at the door.
Our last stop was another souvenir shop and lots of Russian dolls. And there was more vodka at the door but by this time I had had more than enough.
Our ship was leaving early that day and we had to get back. We arrivedd back at the ship about 3:30 and by 4:30 we were on our way again. The trip out to the open Baltic took a while and on our way we passed the Naval Academy and the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral.
As we left the sky was blue with magnificent clouds drifting above catching the sun as it lowered towards the horizon. It was a magnificent evening as we glided out of the Neva River and into the Gulf of Finland and on towards our next adventure.
And so, what of Russia. It was an interesting experience but not one we will be in a hurry to repeat. I am not sure how to describe my impressions. Each country in Europe
Leaving St. Petersburg we passed the ships of the Naval Academy and in the background was the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral.
Outside our room the sky and clouds were magnificent. This image I took from the balcony of our room.
On the Lido deck of the Eurodam before we left the St. Petersburg harbour. This is actually two pictures. I took the one of Susan and she took one of me. Then I stitch them together in Photoshop. We do this often when there is no one to take a picture of us together. The picture does not lie. We were both there, they are both real photos of us, and we could have stood like this if someone was there to take the picture.
has a feel to it. You can sense it when you arrive. Berlin is warm and friendly, Amsterdam is a party town, Rome is history and carbonara, and Paris is …. well, Paris is Paris.
But Russia was sad. I heard no music, I saw no smiles, the passport control was forbidding, there was no welcome. We did not sit in sidewalk cafes. We didn’t even see any. The people were curious about us but they did not smile. Cuba has problems but the people were always warm and welcoming. But not the Russians.
Back on board the Eurodam as the day faded we again had a wonderful meal and went up to the Ocean Bar to dance till bedtime. Life returned to normal and the sadness dispursed.
And on our bed when we went to our room to sleep was an elephant! A small but welcome joy.
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