wandering1

Friday, 12 June 2015

The Caravan Club St Petersburg and the North Grand Tour 2015 The other side of Russia

I haven't blogged on the go as there really was a strange and uneasy feeling around our visit. The haves and the have not. One incident really upset me and the boys faces will stay with me forever. I will start at the beginning. We were on a luxury high speed train from Helsinki into St Petersburg. Really flash, travelling at 200 kmph. You know you are entering Russia when the scenery changes drastically from open fields and villages to

and I didn't manage to snap the security Towers! This was also at the time of our Russian Visa checks. Certainly no sign or smile saying "welcome to Russia!"

One day we visited the famous fortress and saw the opulence of where the Czars were buried. It was vulgar in the extreme,yet beautiful.

These were truly creating an impression for the Tourist. The truth of the matter is that reality is totally different. Having been at a 4 star hotel that ran out of food,milk and beer you do begin to wonder.

One afternoon we decided to treat ourselves to a boat trip. The waterways had been designed by Peter the Great to copy Venice. It was more like Amsterdam meets the River Humber! Did anyone tell Peter the Great that it's bloody cold in Russia and another fact that he's not on the Med and doesnt lovely clear water?! Hey Ho off we go. Duck! There's a bridge coming! Health and safety "what's that?!

Please don't let there be a tidal wave!

Anyhow, whilst managing to hang on to our heads we were suddenly aware that at each bridge we went under there were the same 2 lovely boys waving to us

Some bridges were as much as a mile apart and still they appeared enthusiastically waving at us. On occasions we watched them running along the embankment to catch up or beat our boat. This amused us all greatly ( sad and easily pleased I know!). It wasn't until I started speaking to a local lady about this that she said "It's sad. They don't stand a chance. They are orphans, probably. The state looks after them until they are 14. They are supposed to give them and apartment but they never get one they are left to fend for themselves. Orphans here don't stand a chance" Omg those lovely boys. The lady had no ulterior reason to tell me this that I can think of or was apparant.

We got off the boat and I could see the boys some distance away. They weren't begging or causing a nuisance. I shouted to them and asked them if they were the boys from the bridges and they confirmed that they were They were so young and smiling...I know a big softie.... I got the equivalent of 10 pounds from my pocket and handed it to the smaller boy as I said " thank you" . He hugged me and kept saying "thank you". I don't normally give to beggars and the like but honestly the more I have thought about it, the more I wish that I had given them 100 pounds! What entrepreneurs. They aren't being a nuisance. They are providing entertainment and keeping themselves fit. They could be pick pocketing or stealing but no...I admire these boys. I wonder what will happen to them in life. They deserve to do well. I can't help but think that this was just a little glimpse of the real Russia. If ever you go there please donate to my lovely "bridge boys!"

Oh yes just selling one of these paintings would feed them and the rest of the orphans for the rest of their lives instead of being on display for the over wealthy tourists. What a sick world we live in.

Well you will be pleased to know that I'm off my soapbox now. Most people have gone into Helsinki but we have had a chill out day or rather mucking out day. We get the super ferry back to Stockholm that is overnight. I'm actually looking forward to it, it's so lovely. We then drive just over 100 miles to the next site in the middle of Sweden. I wonder if my impression of the Country improves any?! After that it's Norway, Back into Sweden and then Denmark and a mad dash alone back to the UK as the Tour finishes in Denmark. I can't wait to bask in the British sunshine it's so BrRrer here!

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/european-tours/st-petersburg-and-the-north-grand-tour

Thursday, 11 June 2015

The Caravan Club St Petersburg and the North Grand Tour 2015 Russia!

Wow. We made it for the train at Helsinki. It was a lovely roomy and new train that had wifi on it, a buffet car etc etc. All very modern. You could hardly hear or feel the thing move. As we approached the Finnish border the police came on and checked our passports and some other official came on and checked our tickets. They were friendly enough and all was fine.
Our train came to a halt shortly afterwards and the engine that had been pulling us disappeared and another one took over. I don't know who the officials were but it was obvious that we were in Russia as suddenly there was barbed wire outside the windows! The officials were just as you probably expect. Devoid of and facial expressions and certainly no English. We had to look and stare at them as they compared us to our passport photos. If I really look like that heaven help me! We all were allowed to continue. We reached St Petersburg train station and a lovely young girl was standing waiting for us. She promptly took us to our coach and on to our hotel The PetroPalace Palace. The hotel was rated as 4 star. Some went out straight away whilst we just had a walk and back for our evening meal at the hotel. Disaster! There was a buffet. There wasn't enough food for 40 people! I had to ask for "more" as some hadn't eaten. I felt like "Oliver!" I was told by the restaurant staff that it was impossible to have more. I complained to the hotel manager who was sympathetic but said they couldn't do anything as they didn't have anymore food, so off they went to a local restaurant. The hotel itself is fine and is probably nearly 4 star to us but running out of food?! Lol
The next morning it was to breakfast which in fairness was a lot better but what the he'll we ate I don't know! I did recognise something that resembled cornflakes and toast but as for the rest?! Even the eggs on offer were the most insipid yellow yolks that I have ever seen. Hey Ho we came to ex peri encephalitis something different.
The bus arrived with our lovely English speaking guide and off to the Peter and Paul fortress. This was fantastic except for the Japanese/Chinese cruise ship walkers who were there in full force with their bloody self ie sticks! Where I wanted to shove those self ie sticks is impossible to print. All I can say is that I wished that I had steel toed capped shoes on! Ignorant and rude as ever. It was just organised chaos particularly when we got to the Hermitage. It was so bad that many of our group left early feeling totally harassed and stressed out. Trying to find the exits was near on impossible. Heaven help us had there been a fire! Whilst it was interesting it really showed that there was only one way to visit St Petersburg ,in an organised group. An individual would have stood no chance at all of even getting in!
I was dreading the evening meal again in the hotel,but that was unfounded as there was enough food. Basic but enough but then.....There was no milk for coffee! I asked for more and told that there wasn't anymore milk in St Petersburg! Once again I took the complaint to the Manager but it was too late as most people had given up waiting!
We had a quiet night in the hotel. One really good thing is that the food may have been poor or non existent but the bed was comfy and the black out curtains superb after all the white nights and not being able to sleep! We also did a superb boat trip that was very much like being in Amsterdam but oh so cold!
Yesterday we went to the Peterhof. What an impressive place. Definitely better organised than the Hermitage. The self ie stick/cruise ship brigade were out in extra full force and on top form when it came to ignorance! One of our group who is elderly was feeling unwell when we got to the first floor. I can tell you that there was no one first aid trained, no exit signs marked etc and sympathy or compassion was zero rated! We suspected that our participant maybe having heart problems (nothing serious then!). Fortunately one of our group came forward who was a retired doctor! All he needed to do was sit down and relax ( not the dr-the patient!) Was he allowed to sit down?! Oh no. I had to run, no fight through all the self ie stick brigade to get a wheelchair. Was that straightforward? Oh no. Leave my passport as security on a bloody wheelchair! Well there was one good thing out of this apart from our participant being on is that there are a lot of the self ie stick brigade who have sore shins this morning. I was running through with the wheelchair shouting "excuse me please! " and they looked at me as though I was mad. As I was in such a hurry in the end I just rammed them with the wheelchair! I got through but then how do I get the heavy wheelchair on to the first floor? No lifts! I struggled like he'll with all the attendants looking on and so called "men" . Eventually when I was half way up and by this time totally cream crackered a female attendant did come and help me up the final 100 steps or so! Fortunately the participant was on and it was out into the gardens to see the water fountains that really were a wow and gave us a well earned rest.
To say that the palace and it's gardens were opulent, if not vulgar would be the understatement. Travelling through the suburbs and all the terrible housing you could really see why there had been a revolution Things may have changed slightly but still the peasants queue to line up to pay and see it!
We finished earlier and we went for a walk around to the Cathedral of Spilled Blood etc and then back for the evening meal. There was adequate food but when it came to the coffee...no milk! Same story so down to the bar we go.....The bar had ran out of beer! I do suppose that it could be partly because of the import restrictions but then again this is Russia!

And this is where the real people live. Miles and miles of appartments

A campsite-apparantly the only one!

This is where Put in stays when visiting St Petersburg.

All in all its been an interesting visit. What a cold place. Only 45 days of sunshine a year and it's still cold. I'm really pleased that I have been but I can't help but wonder what the real Russia is really like? Quite different from what we have seen. It's one of those places. I have enjoyed it. I'm pleased that I came but would I come back? No! I'm looking forward to Helsinki this afternoon!

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/european-tours/st-petersburg-and-the-north-grand-tour

Sunday, 7 June 2015

The Caravan Club St Petersburg and the North Grand Tour 2015 Sweden, Estonia and Finland

O so this will come as a surprise to many but the Countries that I so far expected to be IT savvy and sophisticated just weren't! I do hope that you appreciate that I am having to pay to keep my blog up to date! Ouch!
Sweden. Well what can I say about it? Err lots of bridges,Volvo cars, and trees. Lots of mud, miserable people and I can see why they are miserable! I had a very glamorous pre conception and it was nothing like it! We stayed at one of the better campsites that had a lovely lakeside view. There was a bar and restaurant on site but no one used it as the cost was ridiculous. Over 8 pounds for a local beer and a glass of wine that was more like vinegar. The good thing was we had been given a Stockholm pass that allowed us to use the public transport system for free and access to some museums. You guessed it not the museums that could be remotely interesting! Lol
In fairness the public transport system was quick and efficient but a nightmare to understand. Fortunately nearly everyone spoke English. Stockholm itself feels very dis jointed as it's made up of lots of areas which are in fact islands. There were some lovely unusual shops, the ABBA museum etc was all extra money and I couldn't understand how you could really make aN interesting museum about a pop group. I have since learnt it was all karaoke style and computerised. If you have ever heard Date and me sing it's probably a very good job that we didn't go there!
We struggled to get the caravans out of the mud as there were no hard standings or drainage on the campsite. We drove to the ferry port that was to take us to Helsinki and what a lovely surprise we got. Ferry? Never! A totally amazing ship that was more like a cruise ship. Shopping malls, restaurants, bars, entertainment, super cabins.....perfect! As it happened in our group I think we all tried every restaurant and each of us were suitably impressed with our food. As for the beds...fantastic! We disembarked the next morning at Helsinki. First impressions? Stunning! Classy and clean with old wooden sailing ships in the harbour. Impressive ferries going to and fro. Smiling ,friendly faces. I'd arrived in another world! The campsite Rattle was signposted the minute we got off the ship. Lovely hardstanding, clean toilets, friendly reception. Very lovely. I can't wait to explore it more. We didn't have much time yesterday as we caught another boat...This time to Estonia for the day! Yes I'm pleased that we visited it but I definitely won't be dashing back! Basically we visited Tallin. Lots of parks and it's a walled city. Lots of touristy shops and consequently touristy prices. We ate in an Italian restaurant and watched the world go by. Interesting the fact that it was occupied by the Danish, the Germans and more recently the Russians. It is now a member of the EUROPEAN union and we felt at home again at least using the euro, not that we spent much. The capital is so small. We would say it's not more than a town. Hull would be 5 or 6 times bigger and that's not big.
So today we are chilling in the van before our next adventure tomorrow..St Petersburg! Muchly excited. Somewhere totally different. We catch a coach and then a train. Well that's the theory anyway! Better start packing! Good bye Comrades!