Author: Peter Meggyesy

It is just after 6 am and as I power walk through the park, camera in hand, all around are ethereal blobs of poplar fluff blowing in the air and underfoot. The place is deserted apart from a few Saint Petersburgers walking dogs and going for early morning jogs. The sun is shining brightly and this is one of the 60 sunny days that Saint Petersburg gets per annum. The two most annoying aspects of the trip so far are cloudy weather and the masses of tourists. My 3 hour sprint before breakfast removes both of these hassles and our central location means that I accomplish a great deal photographically. This city is nothing short of spectacular! We arrive at the Four Seasons Lion Palace Hotel to find we are in a magnificently restored nobleman’s palace. The decor, the rooms are easily the best I have ever stayed in.

The city itself was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 and it was not long before it took over as the capitol of the Russian empire from Moscow. While revolutions and civil wars throughout Europe and UK resulted in curbing of the powers and the excesses of the monarchies. No such “convulsions” happened in Russia until early in the 20^th century the extra couple of centuries of unfettered excess by the Tsars has created an opulent city beyond imagination. Clearly the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the German invasion during WW2 put a major dent in all of that but in the post Soviet years much restoration and reconstruction has ensued.

The gold dome of St Isaac Cathedral dominates the skyline here and is only 2 minutes walk away.

  Built between 1818 and 1858 the views from the cathedral colonnade across the city are amazing.

Reminding us that this is a naval city:

Sometimes called the “Venice of the north” the city has a maze of canals. Initially built to minimise the risk of flooding to the city, they now form a major tourist attraction with cruises and some nice photo opportunities as well.

 

Of course it is not without its share of churches:

 

But above all it is the palaces that define this place with two of the most magnificent ones a short drive away to feature in the next blog.

 

Finally there are the museums and my favourite one celebrates the easter eggs made for the Tsar to give as a present to his wife. Handmade and jewel encrusted by Carl Faberge in the late 19th century these decadent pieces truly dazzle. Enjoy!

Student’s of history will know that the classical Tsarist name for this city was Saint Petersburg, The Soviets changed it to Leningrad. Having seen this place it can never be a Leningrad with the grey, soulless vibe that that conjures up. This is and always will be the exuberant, extravagant masterpiece of the Tsars over 300 years from its founding in 1703.

Finland is a country shaped by water. Inland it is lakes dotted profusely throughout, better appreciated from the air when flying in to Helsinki airport. Around Helsinki it is the sea that has carved out hundreds of small islands that form holiday playgrounds for the city’s residents.

It is Saturday and the small ferry is filled to capacity with locals. Picnic rugs, strollers and dogs on leads far outnumber tourists  on the 15 minute trip to Suomenlinna Island. This World Heritage site has a historic fortress dating back to 1748. Strategically located at the mouth of the main waterway to Helsinki it has been added to over the centuries and the last of the armed forces only left here in 1973.

Now it is a beautifully preserved park with grassy meadows, well preserved fortifications, museums and cafes.

It is mid summer and a fresh but sunny 18C, clothes are coming off and bikini clad women lie on the tiny patch of brown sand that qualifies for a Helsinki beach. I do not see anyone brave the chilly waters of the Baltic sea, though. Finnish society is very much shaped by the unique geography of this country. There is a very obvious Scandinavian vibe to this place, distinctly different in look and feel from neighbouring Europe and Russia. Geopolitically the Finns have struggled with the fact that they are wedged between Sweden and Russian. Up until the early 1800s the more powerful Swedes controlled this country there is no love loss between the two countries. War with Russia resulted in Russia taking over and once again the poor Finns were an occupied nation. In 1917 after the Russian Revolution Finland finally gained independence. Until 1991 it was an uneasy existence, sharing a land border with the USSR the Finns measured their political pronouncements regarding Russia betraying an undercurrent of anxiety that the “big bear” may one day attack.

The other factor that shapes this society is the climate. We are very near the arctic circle, in fact Santa Claus lives in this country. More than 6 months of the year it is freezing cold and the country is blanketed in snow. At that time the sun rises at 10 am and sets around 2 pm. Right now the reverse is true, the sun sets after 11 pm and rises around 4 am. Each morning here the sun is high and blazing in our room by 5 am forcing us to draw the blinds to snatch a couple more hours of sleep. The cuisine reflects the long cold winter. There is no animal husbandry so meat is light on. Seafood is plentiful in the summer months as are vegetables including fields full of berries in particular. In the winter even the sea freezes over. Hence the variety of pickled foods and salted and cured fish to sustain one over the winter months.

Enough of my take on this country. I must say that I find this to be a pleasant orderly society. The streets are clean the people pleasant and helpful and the pragmatic Finns decided long ago to adopt English as their second language as their own languages is fiendishly impossible for an outsider to master. Nonetheless the way to really get a big broad warm smile out of a local is to say “kiitos” (pronounced as written) instead of thank you, they love it! This is one of the world’s most liveable cities albeit fiendishly expensive a la the rest of Scandinavia. Take a look at Helsinki.

 

My second son forewarned me, Estonian women are the most beautiful in the world he avers. I can confirm his comment although sometimes battling the crowds of particularly ugly cruise ship tour groups that now frequent the tiny capitol city of Tallinn it can be hard to spot any locals at all.

Arriving at Tallinn international airport we cruise through immigration in less than 5 minutes and our bags are already there. Customs similarly a breeze and a few short minutes later we are in our taxi covering the mere 4 km to our central city hotel. Would have to be the easiest international arrival ever!

The Estonians laboured under the heavy yoke of Soviet rule and was a broken economic backwater at the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now it is booming economically with a particular emphasis on the “e economy” and has been described as a Baltic tiger. Tourism is also a heavy earner as it is now a par of the many Baltic cruise itineraries and is a favourite stopoff for two main reasons. Firstly the tourist “Old City” is small and compact and easily covered in 1 day even with the masses of humanity disgorged from the cruise ships that clog the narrow laneways. Secondly it is incredibly beautiful. The best thing to do here is just wander get lost in the winding narrow cobble stoned lanes and enjoy the views.

 

Our final morning in Moscow opens with sunshine and blue skies and sees me playing catchups for all that we lost through bad weather. A very early breakfast, of course caviar again but without the champagne then across the road for a picture of the famous Bolshoi ballet theatre and a metro trip out to one of Moscow’s top attractions the Novodevichy convent. Suzanne parts ways with me and indulges in her favourite past time, shopping. Somehow at the moment Moscow churches seem out to frustrate me. The other day it was the indefinite defacto closure of Christ the Saviour, today the church at Novodevichy is closed and covered with scaffolding for renovations.

 

   

I meet up with Suzanne for one final time in Red Square and this time we successufully visit Lenin’s mausoleum. The degree of preservation is really quite amazing and I am struck by the fact that he actually cut a handsome figure much softer than the hard steely eyed Lenin statutes that adorned all of the former Soviet Union. The experience here is less rushed than I remember at Mao’s mausoleum many years ago. There are 5 embalmed Communist dictators world wide. I have seen Lenin and Mao. I missed Ho Chi Minh when I was in Hanoi as he was in Moscow for his annual touch up when I was there. I missed the 2 Kims in Pyongyang when I was there as it was closed in preparation for the recently deceased Kim Jong Il. So close to achieving an unusual “collector’s” set!

Happy birthday Peter says our pretty young waitress at breakfast with a big smile. I am gobsmacked as I have been trying to keep my 60^th a low key affair and a perfect stranger acknowledges the occasion. Suzanne assures me that she had nothing to do with it and I assume it is the hotel’s efficient check in system that has flagged the event. I am pressed to indulge in some Russian champagne along with the daily caviar that I have been having at breakfast.

I have booked a long 14 hour day trip today out to the Golden Ring towns of Vladimir and Suzdal about 200km east of Moscow that starts and finishes with a 2 hour train trip out there. The excursion affords a glimpse of rural Russia on a backdrop of substantial historical monuments some of which are World Heritage listed.

Vladimir was the capitol of Russia between the 12th and 16th centuries when Moscow took over. The highlights are the two 12th century cathedrals and the Golden Gate which is the last remaining part of the original fortifications of the city.

Suzdal, a further half an hour away, is a pretty, bucolic affair with multiple little churches and quaint wooden houses complementing the larger tourist attractions.

We arrived back at our hotel after 10pm and settled in the lounge to enjoy a light late supper over a couple of birthday drinks and catching up with all the messages wishing me a happy a birthday. To all my family and friends, I love you all and feel especially privileged to have you around me.

Our Kremlin tour starts with what has now become the obligatory rain showers which mercifully clear back to just heavy cloud cover. Kremlin in Russian means fortress and there are many Kremlins all over Russia in any significant city. Of course this one is the granddaddy of them all and the forbidding walls enclose 800 years of collective history. We see the old palace that is now Putin’s workplace and could almost cross the road to touch it but for the nasty looking armed guard who I am sure has orders of shoot to kill!

I always imagined that the big red brick walls enclosed the political heart of Russia forgetting that for centuries that political heart was the Tsars and they created a beautiful royal wonderland of palaces and churches, many of the latter with exquisite interiors. Sadly most of the churches including St Basil’s Cathedral are no longer functioning places of worship. In the Soviet era especially under Stalin all religion was banned by the state and the churches were closed. The more significant ones were kept as “museums” such as they are today. Many didn’t fare so well and were razed to the ground, most notably the already mentioned Cathedral of Christ the Saviour which was bulldozed and the site became for a while, the world’s largest swimming pool.

As the afternoon progresses the clouds begin to peel back and yes it is blue skies and sunshine just as we are about to complete the tour in the armoury museum. A quick whizz through to see the famous Faberge eggs and the dazzling crown jewels and I am off and running! An orgy of photography follows.

        

When I am finally back at Red square the clouds are still at bay and despite the impending dinner reservation at the 23rd ranked restaurant in the world, White Rabbit, our decadent tasting menu must wait as I take the only decent outdoor photos of the trip so far. Happy days!

The mild night air envelops me and, in the fledgling darkness, I pass young lovers sharing passionate kisses, Muscovites walk their dogs and all around is one of the world’s best known capitol city squares, Red Square. Flood lit and fairy lights all combine to add sparkle and life to the iconic Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral. I stand in the middle and revel in the 360 degree panorama. All around is a living fairy tale a melange of medieval European castles and Oriental domes.  It is 11pm and the sun only set an hour ago on a frustrating day.

Our first day sees leaden skies overhead with frequent rain showers and even storms. This is a pattern that is repeated pretty much the whole time here. My frustration at trying to extract something half decent photographically would have been palpable to Suzanne. Compounded with this were issues with a crazy queue for Lenin’s mausoleum that left us just on the wrong side of the 1 pm closing time and an inexplicable mass of people queuing outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour preventing us from getting in. Later we find out that these are pilgrims from all over Russia to worship at the church as it has recently acquired relics of the revered St Nicholas. There is no public access to this tourist hotspot for months.

In the end we completed the afternoon with a tour that seems underwhelming until you actually do it, namely Moscow’s metro stations. As I have seen in North Korea the communists used the underground rail stations for propaganda and “art” for the masses. Most of the inner Moscow stations were built by the people in the 1950s and they were decorated with frescoes, chandeliers, statues and paintings. Each had individual themes and all were designed to promote Soviet propaganda. Inexpensive entertainment and most importantly unaffected by prevailing climactic conditions.

Come the evening and my wander through Red Square without any rain nor reliance on sunshine and the diabolic weather forecast I resign myself to believing that these night photos are as good as it gets.

 

Why Russia? This was the consistent response from my patients and friends when I was aked about these holidays. Admittedly my primary interest in this country is trekking in Kamchatka but there was no way that I would neglect the rest of such a fascinating country.

Everyone knows all about Russia. It has always been there as the “yin” to the west’s “yang”. As I grew up in my childhood it was the “evil empire”, the premier Communist nation on the planet. The antithesis of the capitalist west, the “good guys”. With a finger on the nuclear button our side felt it had to build bigger and better nuclear weapons to protect us all. I. A closed society it created the iron curtain. Very few people from the west got in and even less information about their society came back out. I always found the air of mystery to be particularly alluring.

When communism fell in the late 1980s and we all expelled a collective sigh of relief. This enigmatic nation’s political system convulsed and morphed into a “wild west” corrupt version of capitalism all the while maintaining a pretext of being socialist. Now the nuclear threat has been replaced with a cyber threat and that somehow seems a lot less deadly than nuclear war.

When I looked further into Russia I realised how little I really knew. This is the biggest country on the planet (even after the loss of the Soviet satellite states in 1991) and the runner up does not even come close at only half the size of Russia. From side to side there is room for 8 time zones (Australia only has 3). It has a population of 142 million but, worryingly, its one of the few where the population is decreasing. The ethnicity of the people is diverse and in this county that straddles both Europe and Asia it is interesting to see that reflected in the differing visages on those walking the streets.

My adventure begins in Moscow where I will see the heart of Russian power and what remains of the Soviet times. Then onto St Petersburg, the ornate and very European side to Russia. The middle 2 weeks sees me on the trans Siberian train to Vladivostok. At over 9000km and seven days travel time it is one of the great railway journeys of the world.and also the longest. The conclusion will be 2 weeks trekking through the magnificent Siberian wilderness of Kamchatka.