St. Petersburg, Russia – August, 2013

After a delicious breakfast at the Maxima Panorama Hotel in Moscow, I took the metro to the train station and boarded the express train for St. Petersburg.  While watching the countryside go by, I ate the croissants and cheese I had taken along from breakfast.  What a pleasant journey.  Arriving at the train station at about 6 p.m., I asked a young lady with a smart phone if she could help me find my hotel.  She was more than helpful!!!  She and two of her friends (all barely speaking English) took me on the bus along Nevsky Prospect where we got off and then walked towards the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, across the river and along the canal to my hotel where the receptionist waited for me!!!  Mosta3 was a delightful boutique hotel so close to everything!!!

I wandered around the canals to get my bearings, stopping at Stolle where I wanted to have breakfast in the morning, by a fruit stand to get some peaches and finally at a Georgian Restaurant where I had a delicious Greek salad with walnuts and some hot Georgian cheese bread for dinner.  Afterwards, walking along the canal back to the hotel I was already enjoying being in St. Petersburg.

In the morning after a lovely walk along the canals I had a small piece of fresh plum pie and coffee at Stolle (www.stolle.ru).  There are only large pies for sale, i.e. cheese, spinach, plum, hackberry which they cut into large or small pieces and if you arrive at 9 a.m. when they just open the pies are still warm!!!  I walked through the little craft market on my way to the Russian Museum and decided I would buy a set of Russian stacked dolls sometime during my stay in St. Petersburg.  The museum was excellent.  Set in the Mikhailovsky Palace erected

from 1819 – 25.   The rooms are still filled with old furniture and wonderful fine art.  There is also a separate folk art collection with gingerbread molds, toys, etc. 

I went inside the famous Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood with its dazzling multi domes, topped with glistening gold crosses and partly modeled on St. Basil’s in Moscow. It was built on the site where Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881.  Inside are 7000 sq. meters of incredible mosaics worked on by over 30 artists. 

I returned to Stolle for a spinach pie and coffee for lunch before walking down Nevsky Pprospect (the main thoroughfare) to Dostoyesvky’s “house”.  He lived there from 1878 until his death in 1881 and composed some of his most notable works in that apartment.  He lived with his second wife Anna who wrote down and corrected his stories and the flat is filled with memorabilia relating to his life and work.  Later I returned to this same area for dinner where I had baked trout with vegetables and Georgian bread at a charming little restaurant called Cat Café.

Huckleberry pie and coffee at Stolle and then to the State Memorial Museum of Leningrad, also called the blockade museum.  It was a very interesting museum about the famous 900-day blockade of Leningrad by Hitler.  Many civilians wasted away from hunger, cold and disease from September 1941 until January 1944.  The only source of supplies to the city was the Road of Life, a rough and remote ice road cut across lake ladoga during the first winter siege.  There are many artifacts and pictures inside to explain the history.  Afterwards I walked across the river to the Peter & Paul Fortress which occupies Hare’s Island.  It contains the Peter & Paul Cathedral erected in 1723 and was St. Petersburg’s first church.  It’s interesting to wander around as there is so much history there.

Lunch nearby at a wonderful outdoor called Café Botanika where I sat on the patio and had a carrot salad with sunflower seeds and cashews and pancakes filled with cheese for lunch.  Afterwards I walked over to St. Issac’s Cathedral called the inkwell because of its boxy shape topped by a single gray dome.  Its massive hall can accommodate 14,000 people and during the 900 day siege its grounds were planted with cabbage.  The interior is breathtaking with columns made of single pieces of granite, floors of different colored marble and never ending frescoes.  Dinner across the river at Zoom, a funky café which doesn’t take reservations.  It is like an old house where you dine in different rooms.  There are children’s books, games and crayons on the shelves, a plate of grapefruit and orange slices on the bar for you to help yourself to when you arrive and delicious food.  I had a beet salad with goat cheese and pistachios and a warm fried potato, chanterelle and onion dish which I had to wait 40 minutes for but which was really good.  I finished off with a homemade oatmeal cookie and then walked back to the hotel.

After breakfast at Stolle I walked to the Hermitage State Museum and Winter Palace, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great.  Its collections comprise over three million items, of which only a small part is on permanent display, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.  I had made a reservation so was able to walk right in without waiting in line which saved a lot of time. The “museum” has a patterned parquet floor, dazzling chandeliers and on the second floor several rooms are filled with furniture from the past when royalty lived there.  As the museum is overwhelming it is important to see the things you love first of all.  I started with the French impressionists, i.e. Cezanne, Picasso, etc. on the third floor, continued with some Rubens, Japanese netsuke, some porcelain from England and finally some primitive art.  After three hours I had to leave….

I looked for a restaurant I had read about near Botanika called the black cat but it had closed awhile ago so I sat outside again at Botanika and had a delicious warm lavash sandwich filled with cheese and tomatoes.  I walked to the Kazan Cathedral, inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which was begun in 1801 and completed in 1811.  The interior, with its numerous columns, echoes the exterior colonnade and is reminiscent of a palatial hall.  The interior features numerous sculptures and icons created by the best Russian artists of the day.  I walked along the canals, stopped at Stolle for a quick spinach pie for dinner and returned to my hotel to change for the ballet!!!  Since the famous Mariinsky Theatre known for its classical ballet company was closed for the summer I bought a ticket to the smaller Hermitage Theatre.  I allowed plenty of time to get to the Theatre even though it seemed only about a ten minute walk from the hotel.  Finding the entrance was rather confusing but once inside it was so beautiful.  The theatre is small and you can sit where you like so I found a seat close to the stage.  I had booked “Red Giselle” but it turned out to be Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.  The dancers were superb and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

In the morning it was raining so I decided to go to the Pushkin and save Peterhof for the following day in hopes the weather would improve (it didn’t!!!).  I bought an extra cheese pie for lunch and took the metro to Moscowkaya station and caught a bus to Catherine’s Palace located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin).  I met a very nice Russian lady travelling with her young son and we walked to the palace together.  There was a very long line to visit the palace but it was well worth the wait.  It is a Rococo palace which originated in 1717 when Catherine I of Russia engaged Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace.  It is 325 meters long and more than 100 kilograms of gold were used to gild the sophisticated stucco façade and numerous statues erected on the roof.  The Amber room is one of the most famous rooms in the palace and has walls lined with amber panels.  The other highlight is the great hall, a grand ballroom, with walls lined with mirrors.  Afterwards I spent about an hour wandering the lovely grounds filled with fountains, statues, etc. before taking the bus and then the metro back to my hotel.  Dinner at Idiot, a fun cozy restaurant filled with antiques and memorabilia from the Soviet era set on the canal.  I had mushroom pancakes for dinner and then cheese pancakes for dessert – both delicious!!!

In the morning it began to rain and rained allll day.  I wanted to take the hydrofoil to Peterhof but the water was too rough and they were not running so I took the bus instead.  I waited in line to visit the great palace built in 1715 by Jean Baptiste Leblond for Peter the Great and sometimes called the Russian Versailles.  It was absolutely magnificent inside.  The wall coverings matched the chairs, the small Chinese room was elegant and wonderous, the study has 14 fantastic carved wood panels, etc.  The uncontested centerpiece is the Grand Cascade, a symphony of over 140 fountains in the lower park where I wandered for about any hour visiting small cottages, baths and even more fountains.  Finally I was soaking wet so took the bus back to the hotel to warm up.

In the evening I walked to Teplo for my last dinner in St. Petersburg and it was an excellent choice.  Set in an old house, the rooms are the dining rooms.  I sat at a comfortable table and had a marinated beet salad with roasted apples and hazelnuts, thin pork medaillons with mushroom cream sauce and cubes of fresh pumpkin, and finished with an apple almond tart for dessert. 

In the morning I took a nice walk along the canals, breakfasted at Stolle and then walked to the Grand Choral Synagogue consecrated in 1893.  It is quite a beautiful building and quite lavish inside.  I walked down to see the Mariinky theatre built in 1859 even though I knew it was closed.  A last delicious lunch at Botanika and then the metro and shuttle bus to the airport where I was able to carry on my bag as I would have a stopover in Vienna.

I arrived in Vienna about 6 p.m. and took the train to the metro and as I alighted there was Hotel Kummer!!  It was a terrific place to stay, near a walking street and near the restaurant where I had chosen to have dinner.  I wandered the streets a bit, visiting a cathedral, walking into some narrow streets and finally ending up at Mini Restaurant for dinner.  I sat outside on the patio and had a delicious piece of salmon on top of arugula mashed potatoes, enjoying the evening.  Afterwards I stopped at Café Ritter for apple strudel and whipped cream as who can leave Vienna without eating a piece of apple strudel.

In the morning I savored the wonderful buffet breakfast of little pastries, hard cooked eggs, fruit, rich coffee, etc.  I picked up some whole grain bread, cheeses and some fruit for the flight home as airplane food is never very good.  And so ended another wonderful trip, thoroughly enjoyed.

Silk road – Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – , Moscow, Russia August, 2013

After breakfast our new little group of 3 plus Dima our intrepid leader drove to Ugam Chatkal National Park not far from Tashkent.  We took a tram up to the top of the trail and walked for almost 6 hours through beautiful fields, up and down rocky paths and over some very difficult trails.  We stopped for lunch partway through the day by a lovely river where we soaked our feet and had bread, cheese, hot tea and snickers bars for energy.  We finally (!!) arrived back at the hotel near the tram where we took showers and relaxed a bit before enjoying a delicious dinner overlooking the meadow.  I had lamb and pork kebabs, beet/carrot/cabbage/potato salad and some very juicy watermelon slices for dessert.  We drove back to Tashkent where we had to leave one of our travelers as her visa had the wrong date for entering Kazakhstan.  She had to fly back to Kyrgyzstan and meet us later in Samara, Russia…We had to get two visas for this part of the trip, i.e. Kazakhstan and Russian, both of which were very expensive.

We boarded the train to Kazakhstan very late and slept the night on the train.  The next afternoon they served us some delicious plov (rice pilaf with carrots) and I had taken some biscuits and cheese from the hotel in Tashkent which served nicely for dinner.  The scenery was rather boring which made for a long trip… Arrived in Amalsk, Kazakhstan late in the evening and transferred to a homestay, a large home with several bedrooms let out to travelers.  I took a hot shower and slept pretty well although it was veryyy hot.

In the morning our “hostess” served us hard cooked eggs and fruit and a guide came by and took us to the ship museum where we saw photos of how the Aral sea use to be when it was filled with water and fish.  Walked to the square – rather small as it is a very small little town and then to the market where fresh bread, fruits, vegetables, etc. were sold.  We picked up a melon for tomorrow when we would go to the Aral Sea.  In the evening our “hostess” prepared a traditional stew.  She cooked some meat until tender, made some fresh pasta sheets and cooked some onions and potatoes.  Everything was layered up on a platter and we ate outside where it was cooler.

In the morning after an early breakfast of delicious pancakes filled with homemade apricot jam we left with a guide to the Aral Sea.

The Aral Sea was once a lake lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  Formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world it has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by the Soviet irrigation projects.  The region’s once prosperous fishing industry had been essentially destroyed and the Aral Sea region became heavily polluted.  In 2005 a dam project was completed and, as a result, the water level in the lake has risen, salinity has dropped and fish have started to appear again – all great news.

When we arrived at what is left of the sea we waded in a bit and the water was quite warm and the area was very beautiful.  We sat on an old, overturned boat and ate our fresh melon which was delicious.  Afterwards, we walked over to where some fishing boats were tied up and it looked like they had caught a few fish after all.  They had put out their nets the night before and were gathering in their catch.  One of the fishermen offered to take us for a boat ride and it was delightful.  On our drive back we stopped at some old rusted abandoned ships left when the sea had dried up and took some pictures of camels resting underneath the boats in the shade.  Our “hostess” cooked a nice “farewell” fresh fish dinner for us that night with lots of potatoes – simple but quite tasty.

At 9 p.m. we took the overnight train to Samara, Russia.  In the morning we bought some warm fried potato pies and hard cooked eggs for breakfast.  The scenery changed a bit becoming more lush as we neared Russia.  We had a 40 minute stop and got off the train to stretch our legs and to buy some chicken pies for dinner and about 11 p.m. we arrived in Samara and settled in to our hotel.

Samara is a leading industrial center in the Volga region and known for the production of aerospace launch vehicles.

In the morning we were ALL together again for breakfast.  We took a lovely two hour ferry ride along the Volga River which is the longest river in Europe and across to the village of Shiryaevo where a guide met us.  We toured some deep caves and then visited the Repin Museum where the famous Russian artist Ilya Repin lived for two years and created some very famous paintings, one of which (“Barge Haulers on the Volga”) I saw later in the Russian museum in St. Petersburg!!!  Some of the reproductions of his paintings are in the museum.  As it was his 100^th birthday celebration there was a wonderful show outside the museum with Russian performers singing, playing Russian musical instruments and dancing traditional dances in costume.   It started to rain so we found a little restaurant nearby and shared some delicious plov (what else!!!), and cucumber, tomato salad until the rain stopped.  We had planned to take a walk but it was too muddy so we took the fast boat back to the “mainland”. 

The weather turned sunny again and we strolled along the sandy beach along the river and back to the hotel.  Later we walked to a cozy brewery for dinner…

In the morning I walked down to the Volga river before breakfast.  About 10:30 we walked to the Stalin Bunker built during WWII for Stalin and his “men” seventeen floors down with oxygen, water and food at the ready if Hitler were to attack Moscow.  A guide explained that it was built in nine months by a team of 800 engineers and 2900 workers but, interestingly enough, was never used.  We wandered around the old city taking pictures of old houses, interesting doors, people, etc. and then had lunch at a cute little restaurant.  Dima and I shared a potato/herring/beet salad and cheese pancakes which I am getting addicted to!!!  I stopped by the beautiful Iversky Women’s Monastery founded in 1850 but there was no one available to give me a tour.  Overnight train to Moscow!!!

We arrived in the morning and took the metro to the hotel.  The metro stations are really beautiful and so convenient to use.  We stayed at the Cosmos Hotel which was really enormous and fairly centrally located.  As we hadn’t had breakfast as yet Dima took us to an adorable café near the exhibition center and I had Greek salad and some delicious cheese filled pancakes. 

We took the metro to the Red Square where we met our guide and she took us through several churches and cathedrals within the Kremlin.  We walked to the Kutafya tower, up the ramp and through the Kremlin walls beneath the Trinity Gate Tower.  We started in the church of the Twelve Apostles with its five domes and wonderful collection of icons, on to the Assumption Cathedral with five golden helmet domes, the burial place of most of the Russian Orthodox churches.  Inside is a tent-roofed wooden throne made in 1551 for Ivan the Terrible.  Nearby is the Ivan the Terrible Bell Tower, the Kremlin’s tallest structure and a Moscow landmark visible from 30 km away.  Beside the bell tower is the Tsar Bell, the world’s biggest bell.  Sadly, this 202 ton giant never rang.  North of the bell tower is the Tsar Cannon, cast in 1586 for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel.  It was never shot.  On to the Archangel Cathedral dedicated to Archangel Michael, guardian of Moscow’s princes where Ivan the Terrible and his sons are buried.   Finally, the Annunication Cathedral containing the celebrated icons of master painter Theophanes the Greek.  Afterwards we spent about two hours in the fascinating Armoury with it opulent collection of treasures accumulated over centuries by the Russian state and Church.  There were renowned eggs made from precious metals and jewels by Faberge, royal regalia containing the joint coronation throne of boy tsars Peter the Great and his half-brother, Ivan V, coaches and dresses and crowns worn by Elizabeth and Catherine the great, etc. There was so much to see it was exhausting!!!  Dima met us afterwards and we walked to a “typical” cafeteria where the locals ate dinner.  I chose spinach pancake/kasha/cabbage and cucumber salad and an almond paste cornet (mandelhornchen) which I remember loving when I lived in Germany.  We wandered the walking street before returning to the hotel…

In the morning we visited Lenin’s tomb in Red Square.   Lenin died in 1924 and pathologist Abrikosov had embalmed the body soon after Lenin’s death and he was first placed in a wooden coffin.  However, in 1929 it was determined possible to preserve the body much longer than usual and the next year a new Mausoleum of marble and granite was completed to house the newly embalmed Lenin.  More than 10 million people visited Lenin’s tomb between 1924 and 1972.  Afterwards we walked into the enormous GUM shopping mall with its beautiful glass dome, filled with cafes, restaurants and shops selling fashionable brand names.  On to St. Basil’s Cathedral built from 1555 – 61 and shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky.  Inside is a labyrinth of narrow vaulted corridors and walls covered with breathtaking murals.

With the afternoon free, I walked across the Moscow river to the Tretyakov gallery considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.  It is filled with paintings, portraits of famous Russians, sculptures and drawings.  Lunch around the corner at a little outdoor café of crepes filled with cheese and an espresso before strolling along the river to Gorky Park.  The park has lots of interesting outdoor sculptures and is a pleasant place to sit and relax.

Later in the early evening we all met at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guards and then set off for dinner.  Dima chose a cozy restaurant for us where we dined in the cellar and there were some great minstrels playing as we shared potato pancakes, pickled mushrooms, several salads.  One of the travelers picked up the tab for all which was a really nice gesture for our last night together – how time does fly!

After breakfast I transferred to my new hotel Maxima Panorma and walked DIRECTLY into the hotel from the metro – so veryy convenient.  Next I visited the Novodevichy convent and cemetery founded in 1524 as a haven for wayward wives, sisters and daughters.  Peter the great deposed his half-sister Sofia and confined her to this convent for life along with his first wife!!!   There are several interesting buildings inside the convent walls, the oldest and most dominant of which is the white Smolensk Cathedral filled with beautiful frescoes and icons from the time of Boris Godunov.  Adjacent to the convent the Novedvichy Cemetery is among Moscow’s most prestigious resting places – a veritable “who’s who” of Russian politics and culture.  It is beautifully laid out and quite pleasant to wander among the tombstones.

I had planned to visit the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum but was told there were only replicas of fine art inside.  So, I visited the Museum of Private Collections next door instead and there was a fabulous exhibition of 19 and 20^th century European art.  I was determined to have lunch (even though it would be a late one!!) at the elegant Café Pushkin (www.cafe-pushkin.ru) set in a lovely 19^th century building with a different atmosphere on each floor, including a richly decorated library.  I “dined” downstairs by the window and had the most delicious (and most expensive!) slightly warm cheese stuffed pancakes yet, this time served with hot fruit – yum!!!  I wandered on down the lovely little tree-lined Tverskoy street and stepped into Nedalny Vostok Restaurant which I had heard was excellent.  It looked wonderful so I decided to come back later for dinner.

Although the famous Bolshoi theatre, a landmark of Moscow and Russia, was closed for the season I wanted to see it anyway so walked down Tverskaya Street, one of the main shopping streets in Moscow to have a look. I did return to Nedalny Vostok which was a cozy wood lined “café” with fresh fish, fruits and vegetables on display as well as an open kitchen.  There were three stations serving different cuisines, i.e. Japanese, Chinese and Fusion.  The Australian chef was not there so I tried to explain that I was a chef from California and just wanted to try a few dishes.  They were soo very nice.  They sat me down at a nice table, gave me a menu and then brought me first a crab salad, followed by delicious crunchy spicy shrimp with crisp noodles and finally a perfectly cooked filet of fresh fish with an olive, tomato and red onion sauce.  When I tried to pay they said it was complimentary and thanks for coming!!!  I couldn’t believe my good fortune – a perfect ending to my stay in Moscow as that was my very last night…

In the morning I walked around my new neighborhood before having a wonderful breakfast at the hotel.  I took along some croissants and cheese for my train ride to St. Petersburg and easily found my way to the train station, thanks to the wonderful directions given to me by Dima.  I took the express train which only took 4 hours, had a lovely window seat and thoroughly enjoyed travelling through villages, seeing the lovely countryside and watching the Russian people going through their daily lives...