Travelin' Fullers Blog: July 2016

Wow! What an amazing day! It is Sunday, and today was a holiday -- Navy Day! The fleet was in and President Putin was here to view the parade---- as well as a few thousand other people! We got an early start and managed to miss a lot of the traffic as we did a scenic drive through the city. It's a very full day. We got back to the ship at 5:15 pm and are leaving to see Swan Lake at the Marinsky Theater at 6:50 pm.

But to back up, this morning's first stop was the The Peter and Paul Church and fortress built by Peter the Great. The bastion that was built was the first of its kind in Russia. The design was taken from the French. The wall was built , not in a straight line, but in a kind of "zig zag pattern" so it looks more like a hexagon. The Romanoff's are buried in the Peter and Paul Church. It was not open when we were there.

The next stop was The Fabrege Museum which holds 10 of the fabulously jeweled Easter Eggs designed by Carl Fabrege. The designs he created always had some kind of a "surprise " inside. They are amazing works of the finest craftsmanship by the master jeweler. There were 50 eggs created, but Russia has only 19. --9 here and 10 in Moscow. The rest are lost, broken or in private collections. Many of the eggs were made as gifts for the Czar and Czarinas of Russia. It was a custom of the nobility to give a small Fabrege egg to a child at its birth and then one for each year thereafter until,the child was 18. At that point, they took the eggs back to Fabrege and he hung them all on a chain. It is a sad note that Fabrege fled to Switzerland with nothing when the revolution occurred. He died with no money having had to leave all behind. He was heartbroken that the Russuan life and era he knew was gone forever.

The next stop was The Church of the Spilt Blood. It so named because it was built on the location where Nicholas the II was assassinated by Bolshevik revolutionaries. The church was built to honor him. Inside the church there is a small section of the street preserved with the stain of Nicholas II's blood on the stones. The church is one of the most beautiful in all of Russia as you can see in the photos below. It took 27 years to restore the church which fell into disrepair when communism enveloped the country. Please note that ALL the images you see are mosaics. Quite remarkable!

Next stop was lunch, and a good thing since the skies opened and it poured! But, The sun conveniently came out as we started for the Hermitage. The Hermitage was built for Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately she died before it was completed so the first occupant was Catherine the Great. Catherine felt that the palace with 460 rooms was too large, so she built a smaller Hermitage that connected to the larger palace. She was influenced by a philosopher who advised her to collect art. She sent out a request to ambassadors and asked each one to send her a piece of art. She received more then 260 pieces. But, her small Hermitage palace had no place to display the large art collection so yet another building was built to display the magnificent pieces that Catherine acquired. Only about 3% of the collection of items the Hermitage has are on display. It is said that it would take 12 years to see EVERYTHING! The Hermitage is one of the top three museums in the world. We saw paintings by Da Vinci, Rafael, and Rembrandt. The peacock clock, which you will see below, in a photo still works. It is played once a week on Wednesdays. The tail feathers go up, the claws move back and forth and the head and eyes move. It is a most amazing clock.

After the Hermitage, we fought holiday traffic to visit the apartment of a terrific young woman, Eliza, and her boyfriend of ten years. She graciously opened her home to us. The flat has been in her family for 5 generations. She was raised by her grandmother who has recently moved out of the city to a dachau. Her grandmother has a laptop and at age 80 is still doing paperwork for patents for large companies! Her boyfriend is a concert orchestra musician who travels a great deal for concerts out of the country. When we asked what her long range plans were, she said they only plan one year at a time because her country's government has not always been so stable! The inside of her flat was charming. Very neat and well decorated and quite functional. However, you have to climb four flights of stairs to get to her flat. If you wish to throw out garbage it is down the four flights of stairs and a block away. She is quite fit and trim! Any wonder? The outside of her apartment building is quite "rough looking" and she hopes one day the outside will be renovated . But it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. She said she will live her whole life there. She works, by the way, in the service department of the tour company we are using! Thank you Eliza for your generosity in sharing your home with us and for the lovely tea and cherry pie!

We got back to the ship in time to quickly freshen up and have room service deliver dinner before we dashed off to to see Swan Lake Ballet. It was a LONG (2 intermissions) but enjoyable performance. I had never seen the ballet before so I thoroughly enjoyed Tchaikovsky's classic love story! It was a long but enjoyable day! Would you believe we got back close to midnight and we have to be on the dock tomorrow at 7:30 am! Yikes! And here I am blogging at this ungodly hour! Hope you Enjoy! We did!

Before the crowds arrived for the military boat parade.

Peter and Paul church where the Romanoff's are buried.

Gill found a friend inside the Peter and Paul Fort. The fort with the new style of bastion that was copied from France.

Statue of Peter the Great....and yes, his head is quite small.

The beautiful Church of the Spilt Blood -- the site where Nicholas II was assassinated.

Inside the Church of the Spilt Blood. EVERYTHING is a mosaic -- everything you can see. It took 25 years to construct. After it fell into disrepair, it took 27 years to renovate.

Solid marble and a golden door with semi precious stones..

Walking around with his owl outside the Church.

The next several photos are of the recovered Fabrege eggs in the Fabrege Museum. The top of this jade tree is a music box with a bird that pops out.

Hand painted miniatures on ivory of the royal family.

A rooster pops out as the surprise in this one.

Grand entrance to the original Hermitage.

The actual throne of Catherine the Great.

Each hall was grander then the next. Clearly influenced by the French style of grandeur.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Portraits of war heroes from the Napoleonic Wars.

The Peacock Clock.

Made of malachite, the urn Is actually a mosaic!

The lovely young couple that allowed us to visit their flat.

You can see what I mean about a "rough" exterior.

The loving room..

Eliza's family wall of photos is behind us.

In her very functional kitchen. However, it was the thinnest refrigerator I've ever seen.

The kitchen...

Five generations back--- the first inhabitants of the flat..

Tea and cheery pie... What could be lovelier?

That's all for tonight. I will try and upload photos of the ballet theater tomorrow, but there are no photos allowed during the performance.

We have enjoyed a beautiful day in Helsinki-- a record breaking day of heat! Still we very much enjoyed our tour, in spite of the fact that half my suitcase of warmer clothes has not been touched. This part of the world is enjoying? record heat!

A few interesting facts about Finland. The country has been recognized as number one in the world in education. They are tied for the number one spot in science and math with South Korea. This in spite of the fact that the first year of school begins at age 7. Preschool is for age six and it's just to get them ready for the school routine the following year. All education is free for Citizens, and even for immigrants. However, this changes next year and immigrants will have to pay 11,000 euros a year to attend the university.

The language is either Finnish or Swedish. English is widely spoken and is generally the second language chosen and taught in schools. Today the population is only about 6% Swedish, but everything (including street signs) are printed in both Finnish and Swedish.

Finland was under Swedish control for a large part of its history. In 1550, Gustav 1, the Swedish monarch, ordered (forced) several hundred people to come to what later became known as Helsinki, to settle the area. He wanted a seaport since Tallinn was controlling a lot of trade in the Baltic. It remained a small fishing village for almost two hundred years. In 1808, it was conquered by the Russians and during their occupation, the city began growing. Dissatisfaction with Russian rule and calls for independence continued during this period and in 1917 Finland took advantage of the Russian Revolution to obtain complete independence. However, they remained in the sphere of Russian influence and eventually became very reluctant allies of Germany as WWII began. They chose the lesser of two evils as they saw it and allied themselves with Germany to avoid takeover by communist Russia. They were however, not an active participant in the war. Helsinki was mainly a recuperating area for wounded soldiers. At the conclusion of the war, they remained an independent country. The country rapidly modernized and held the 1952 Summer Olympics. You might think they would host the Winter Olympics, but consider the fact that in winter time there are less then 5 hours of sunlight a day. It is one of the big negatives for those who live here. Depression and suicide are national issues. Everyone takes vitamin d because they have so little exposure to sunlight.

Ready for dinner. Not yet docked in Helsinki.

Yes, the Ferris Wheel is just steps from where we've docked.

The most famous Finnish athlete --9 gold medals. 3 silver medals and 22 world records.

Tom Roddell in front of the Olympic stadium that is being renovated. The country is sports and rock band happy! They are especially crazy about their ice hockey. But there are 52 rock bands per 1,000 people in the country. Compare that to 10 Rock bands per 1000 people in the USA... Fins are a very "fit" people. Everyone jogs or bikes! There are gyms everywhere in the city.

Gene got very inventive and took this shot of the tribute to Sibelius from underneath the sculpture.

This is the sculpture built to honor Finland's greatest composer, Sibelius.

The likeness of Sibelius..

Our driver was very amusing and she spoke 4 languages. She was knitting socks for herself!

The "church in the Rock" -- a working Lutheran church.

This is where the Congress meets.

A very pretty and interesting metal sculpture inside the Music Center.

A VERY long line of empty coat rooms..

In the city center--Senate Square-- is the majestic Lutheran Helsinki Cathedral finished in 1852. Although Lutheran, its architecture shows the Russian influence with its domes.

How fun! They decorated the trees in this small park like dresses!

Senate Square...

Example of street signs printed in Finnish and Swedish. Notice the animal picture? It is a modern replacement, but in Medieval times, different animal pictures on the street corners allowed those who could not read to know where they were.