St Petersburg - discovering Akhmatova and rediscovering childhood

2,408 miles GMT +3 hours Temp -5

Today Yelena wants to share her favourites, for the parts of Russia important to her. We started with her heroine Anna Akhmatova, a legendary Russian Poet, by visiting the museum dedicated to her, 'Fontanny Dom' - The Fountain House, where she lived from 1926 to 1952.

It is a fantastic museum, quite possibly the best I've ever been to, in terms of the depth of knowledge and passion that the staff and resources offer. Once we has finished looking around we had just under an hour to go and get a coffee and then returned for a workshop, which basically took you back to witness the past in photographs, books, old papers and diaries contained in an old chest to get in touch with life in St Petersburg in the 19th and 20th centuries. As well as to imagine the environment and history of the house, Akhmatova's life and her poetic world, with the aid of a an academic expert. It was an astonishing experience - my arm is not being twisted here :)

After lunch the same expert, Utkina, took us for a guided walk of Akhmatova and other literary figures of St Petersburg for two hours.
It's an absolute must if you visit St Petersburg and like literature.

Akhmatova

Dvortsavaya Square

Pushkin

From there were taken to the Russian Museum, where we were filled with Russian folklore and fairy tales by 'Princess Lena'. If you would like to know the stories then you can read them here for yourself.

Entrance to Museum

Folklore Puppets

 We've had a great day and have been talking about things as children, following on from the fairy tales and puppets at the Russian museum. There are only three years between all us, yet we have little in common from childhhod, all coming from very different backgrounds. Since we arrived back home this evening Yelena has been glued to Yourtube, as she wasn’t aware that it held so many treasures from the past. She would like to share some of her childhood experiences on the blog.


I grew up in a closed soviet city. Nobody allowed in or out unless they were Soviet military because of what was made there. School was very Soviet with lots of 'State' education or what I now know to be propaganda lessons. My father was in the army and not often at home, but when he was he followed my mothers manifesto and he was a good father. My mother was not a communist, although she would pretend to be when the occasion required it. She was an intelligent and well read woman and she instilled in both my brother and me a love of books and the importance to not believe everything we were taught by the state, as she had grown up in Poland and had seen what was outside.


She talked with us almost every night after school right up until we were 16. She wouldn't let us join any of the state youth groups, she kept us away from it by having us work in the garden where we grew vegetables and fruit. We did some gardening because she was careful so that we could answer questions should anyone ask us, or if someone visited from the party. But most of the time we played chess, painted, made puppet shows, or talked with my aunt, grandmother or mother. People thought we were the model soviet family, life was a game and we played it well. 


We didn't have TV, I don't think anyone did at home. We did have a radio and we would listen to it sometimes for plays or music but the same programmes were repeated for weeks along with good soviet news, bad news did not exist in the soviet Utopia of the 70's. At weekends we would go together to the circus or a puppet theatre. The cinema was for special occasions, Easter or birthdays, as my mother was very sceptical about the content. Only Russian films were shown and we only saw the short animated ones, not proper films. The programme would start with the news and then a propaganda film and then two or maybe three of the childrens films. I think so you could not just watch them and then leave. I remember the Hedgehog and the Fog best as we had hedgehogs in the garden. I am not sure if it is the first one I saw, but seeing it again today has made my day.  

The Mariinsky Theatre, formerly the Kirov

The View from the Tsar's Box

This evening we have been to the opera, which made all of our days. We just hope the locals have recovered. Afraid Anya and I were a bit unconventional in that we waited for the lights to go down and the curtain to rise before removing our salopettes and watching Madame Butterfly in our thermals………. Yelena had to bite on her gloves to stop laughing. We didn’t throw caution to the wind and go for interval drinks, and surprisingly the Mariinsky don't have usherettes with cornettos.......tut tut.

I love St Petersburg

Welcome to the Hermitage

2408 Miles GMT +3 hours Temp -6

I was up early this morning like an excited kid on Christmas Day, St Petersburg is fabuuuulous. I love the sense of history, standing in the cradle of the revolution, amongst other things.

The long awaited visit to the Hemitage Museum, one of the oldest and largest galleries/museums in the world, founded by Catherine the Great in 1764, and open to the public since 1852. The collection contains around 3,000,000 items, thankfully we don't want to see all of them. Apparently in the summer you can queue outside for several hours just to get inside, but only ten mins this morning. 

Cupid and Psyche

Once inside the building alone is spectacular, ceilings, walls and floors are works of art in their own right. We all spent some time last night marking out the must sees on a museum plan, but needless to say it's difficult to stick to it as there is so much to distract the eye, especially mine. The high light today for me were the sculptures by Canova, Cupid and Psyche, The Three Graces, and the Penitent Magdalene - simply stunning. 

However after four hours we've reached our limit of being able to take in what we're seeing, and we have two day tickets, so can return on Tuesday – it’s closed tomorrow.

Lunch, Lena asks if we want to try a traditional Russian works canteen - lead on comrade. The canteen belongs to the Herzen Institute, but is open to anyone. It's very busy and basic, but it's warm and the food is excellent, with soup, main course and a salad costing just over £10 for all of us.

The Aurora

Vitaly

Our next stop is a the Cruiser Aurora, which on 25th October 1917 refused to carry out an order to put to sea, which sparked the October Revolution. She is officially still on active service, even though she was launched in 1900, but underwent a major restoration between 1984-7, including a new hull. One of the interesting things found during that work was that some of the parts of the original ship, including armour plates, were made in England. Wye aye man, probably Swan Hunters. We were the only visitors at he time, so had a really excellent guided tour courtesy of Vitaly, one of the ships crew.

A brisk walk in the snow to the St Petersburg Mosque, whose large blue dome is easily seen on the horizon. The foundation stone was laid in 1910 and completed in 1921. It was closed from 1940 to 1956 by Soviet authorities and used as a warehouse. We didn't venture in as prayers were in progress, but the external mosaics were beautiful and the afternoon moon rising above the dome was just the icing on the blue cup cake.

St Peter and St Paul Fortress

A short walk to St Peter & St Paul Fortress, which is situated on Zayachy Island on the Neva river. It was originally built of wood in 1703, but the building we see today was built between 1706 and 1740. The fortress contains several notable buildings within its substantial walls, including St Peter & St Paul Cathedral (built 1712-1733). The Cathedral is the burial place of all Russian Tsars from Peter I to Alexander III. The remains of Nicholas II and his family were also interred here, in St Catherine's Chapel, on the 80th anniversary of their deaths, July 17th 1998. There is also a functioning mint, as well as the city museum. I'm running out of superlatives for the buildings and contents here, and it's only the first day.

It's a really nice city to walk around, there is so much to see, and we took in some of the canals this evening, which give St Petersburg its alternative name of the Venice of the North. The peasants revolted on cooking this evening, and we've been to a Ukranian cafe off the beaten track on the way home. Again the food was excellent, complete with patron sitting in the corner playing a balalaika.

We have spent the rest of the evening at home, talking laughing and eating chocolate. We’re off to the opera tomorrow night, to see Madame Butterfly at the Marinsky Theatre, we’re in the cheap seats, as we haven’t packed our furs and frocks.

NB: the photo gallery is now being updated daily.

Day 1 in Russia - St Petersburg

2408 Miles GMT +3 hours Temp -4

Have a nice day

Customs and border control on the train was a little slow but completely painless, apart from the fact it started at 2 am. No searching of bags, no standing in queues in my socks, or having my toiletries confiscated because they might be a bomb. I am now officially in Russia and it's been a lot less hassle than flying, as well as infinitely more interesting.

The piece of paper I've been issued with on the train and attached to my passport is something I need to have stamped at each place I stay. As we are staying at apartments in St Petersburg and Moscow, Anya and I will have to go to a travel agent or hotel to buy the stamps. The paper and the stamps provide two things for Russia, foreign income, as well as a record of where we’ve been. Failing to comply can lead to problems when you want to leave, and I'm told that policemen looking to supplement their income frequent the main stations to impose fines on non-suspecting independent tourists who are not aware of the system.

We did manage to find the apartment with a little help from GPS, and it's much better than I had hoped. We also do the shopping at the supermarket - google maps, never leave home without it. We had a few hours until we supposed to meet Lena in McDonalds by the station, where Anya and I are kept entertained by loud frustrated Americans, as the menu boards are only in Russian. Why do Americans think if they shout in monosyllables they will be understood - idiots. We are settling into our second cup of coffee when Lena arrives. I get her a coffee and while we're sitting I ask her if the cups still say have a nice day? No, we changed them, they say "f**kski off back to America" now she laughs. 

The vodka aisle at the supermarket

When we get back to the apartment and Lena gets herself settled in she offers me a glass of vodka to toast our trip. I'm not keen, but I know it would be bad form to refuse - "You want the real Russia, then you have to participate", she laughs. Petard, hoisted, come to mind. I'm then told that "Na zdorovje" as a toast is a myth, the Russian version of cheers is "Budem". My Russian education had begun.

Non-Russian education begins shortly afterwards, as Lena informs us that she can't cook. "I have always been fed, I go to the canteen or eat army rations." - Yes well the officers mess is closed, get you pinny on pet, lesson one's tonight. If you want to see British democracy in action, then you have to participate.

We've had a great evening just catching up with each other and finalising our itinerary for St Petersburg………….Hermitage here we come!

Vilnius - Angels, Artists and Uzupis

1658 Miles GMT +2 Temp -3

Lithuanian Angels

At breakfast this morning we were told that we had made the right decision to leave Trakai yesterday, as a coach load of tourists had been stranded there. Ah the joy of being independent and not part of a group, and god forbid I ever do a bus trip........I'd rather walk to Vladivostok.

Cloudy and cold this morning we start with a walk to the 'Hill of Three Crosses'. Another cheerful story, last one though. There are several versions of the story, but essentially they all follow the basic story that 2 monks arrived in Vilnius to convert the pagans to Christianity around 1330. The local pagans took exception to this and murdered the monks. Sometime later a chapel was built on the site and the crosses were added later. Wooden crosses stood on the hill until 1869, when they collapsed, the Tsarist authorities refused to allow them to be rebuilt. In 1916 a new stone monument was built without permission, which the Soviet authorities demolished in 1950. The 1916 design was rebuilt and consecrated, without permission, in 1989, 6ft taller than the first time - in other words, up yours Soviet Union - and its still standing.

My next quest could be a little more difficult to find, as it's only about 12 inches square. 'The Stebuklas' or miracle marker, to commemorate the Baltic Way, which was a show of solidarity against years of occupation by the Soviet Union and was organised by the pro-independence movement of all three Baltic States. On August 23rd, 1989 some 2 million residents across all of the states joined hands as part of a non-violent protest action calling for the restoration of independence for the three nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The marker is the spot where the chain began. According to local folklore if you find the stone marker in Cathedral Square you should stand on the spot and turn 360 degrees to have a wish granted. Finding the marker turned out to be much easier than I thought, as we saw two young chaps dressed as angels turning round in the middle of Cathedral Square..........Is this some kind of sign?

The rest of the day has been very pleasantly spent in 'Uzupis', an independent state within Vilnius, set up by Artisans on 1st April 1997. Until Lithuania's independence it was one of the most neglected areas of the city, having previously been a Jewish area. It contains a majority of houses in various states of repair, and is the haunt of artists and bohemians. Uzupis has it's own flag, currency, president, arm (numbering 17 men) and Constitution, and Uzupis day is celebrated on 1st of April. We enjoyed visiting several art studios, meeting wood carvers, metal workers and felt makers.

We've found the people here very friendly and have only had to use a phrasebook twice. The hotel has been excellent, and are allowing us to use the facilities until we leave tonight, as apparently the area around the station can be 'undesirable' late at night. We’re looking forward to travelling onto St Petersburg tonight and will meet up with Yelena tomorrow.

Vilnius............a dark place

1,658 miles GMT +2 Temp -2

Trakai Castle

The storm approaches

We arrived as per the timetable, put our luggage into a locker and took another local train out to Trakai, as we wanted to visit the castle, which is about 30 km outside of Vilnius. It's situated on an island and has had a very chequered history from its origin in the 14th century, going through several periods of additions, repair and reconstruction up to and including the 20th century. One of the curious things being that during WWII the Germans actually made repairs to it, bringing in skilled men from Germany to do the work. Probably under the illusion that they were going to be the new owners.

There was some snow in Vilnius, however the landscape became quickly more 'Baltic' and by the time I reached Trakai, it was totally Baltic, with a good 6 - 8 inches on snow. The lake surrounding the castle was completely frozen with a blanket of snow for good measure, but it's real fairytale scene. We'd only been there just over an hour when I decided to go up to the top of the wall to have a look at the view - a wall of black sky approaching like some horrible tsunami of snow, so we decided to withdraw back to Vilnius, as we didn't fancy being caught in it or being stuck in Trakai.

Back at Vilnius we book into our hotel (pub with bedrooms) and are offered a lunch of 'Verdarai' and 'Bigos'. Essentially a sausage stew, and the starter deep fried pigs innards - no laughing at least its not Shergar from Tesco.

Thankfully the snow has not followed us to Vilnius and we go to the 'Museum of Genocide Victims'. Lithuania as invaded by the Soviet Union in 1940, and following an ultimatum, became a Soviet Socialist Republic. Mass arrests and deportations followed, and the building's basement became a prison. In 1942 Germany invaded the country, the building then housed the Gestapo headquarters. Inscriptions on the cell walls from that era remain, and it was then that the previously large Jewish population of the city was decimated. The Soviets re-took the country in 1944 and from then until independence was re-established in 1991, the KGB used the building for offices, as a prison and as an interrogation centre. Over 1,000 prisoners were executed in the basement between 1944 and the early 1960s, about one third for resisting the occupation. The remains of 767 people shot between 1944-47 were found buried in mass graves at Tuskulenai between 1994-96, not far from the centre of the town. The graves of the later victims are still unknown. It is believed that there are several mass graves within a 30km radius of Vilnius yet to be discovered.



Physically being in the basement of that building was a challenge, seeing for myself the conditions human beings can inflict on other human beings. Tiny cells with sunken floors, filled with icy water, the prisoner's only way of avoiding the water to stand barefoot on an elevated metal disc of maybe 12 inches in diameter. Padded cells and straight jackets for those who dared to struggle physically with their captors. Seeing messages of defiance or of love scraped into the walls, reading testimonies of people who had survived, the bench where people sat awaiting execution, the bullet holes in the wall and floor that were made having passed through people whose only crime was to be faithful to their country and/or countrymen/women. The walls outside bear witness to the people that lost their lives in the building. I found the atmosphere in the basement of that building just so oppressive, I can't describe it, even after several hours.

The names of the victims

The three muses

 
Our next venue 'The TV Tower', which can't be missed as it stands over 1,000ft high, housing a TV and radio station. Like so many places in Vilnius and throughout Lithuania, it too has a story connected with Lithuania becoming an independent nation. On January 13th 1991, Russia attacked Vilnius and took control of the tower, killing 14 civilians and injuring hundreds more. The streets surrounding the tower have since been re-named after the 14 people who were killed on that night, and flowers and candles are still laid at the foot of the crosses at the base of the tower in their memories.

We spend the rest of the afternoon visiting churches and investigating old streets, until darkness tells us it was time to stop. We did find a beautiful sculpture above a theatre, the three muses, and tomorrow we'd like to find the less traumatic side of Vilnius.

Day 2 Vodka for Breakfast.........Welcome to Warsaw

1,354 miles +1 hour Temp -1

 

Slept without falling out of my bunk on the train. I had my morning coffee with some Poles who were on their way home from work in London for a family wedding. They asked where I was heading and when I told them it caused some amusement, as they told me they thought they were mad for travelling by train. They did their best to talk me into getting used to vodka in my coffee, but I politely declined. Vodka for breakfast – I don’t think so. 

Anya and an excited Natalia collected me from the station, so I’ have had two days here to have some fun with Natalia before she heads back to school in Berlin, while Anya and I head off to Vilnius in Lithuania this evening. We should arrive in time for breakfast......not of Vodka.

Day 1. North Shields - Newcastle - Kings Cross - M&S - St Pancras - Brussels - Cologne - Warsaw

To infinity and beyond.........

Well managed the metro, no crowd to see me off, that was the queue for the taxi rank, and the smokers from the amusement arcade, about as far removed from Phileas Fogg and the Reform Club as kippers are from caviar, but that’s North Shields, my home town.

Travelling quite light with, my camera bag, a backpack and Tiny Clanger who is being sponsored for Comic Relief

I left North Shields at 10am,and be on my over-night sleeper train to Warsaw by 22.30 

First of many cups of coffee on the way to London, wondering how many to Vladivostok - doesn't bear thinking about if it all tastes like British Rail.

I’ve only purchased my tickets as far as Brussels, and my Vilnius to St Petersburg ticket, the rest will be bought as and when, as it's cheaper to buy at the station unlike our glorious country and needless to say there is a much simpler format for tickets. To say nothing of the fact that snow does not bring the rail network to stand still. The Tran-Siberian leg of the journey can be done independently, and the many charter companies running organised tours may well offer luxury, and optional extras, but they certainly know what to charge for it. I was quoted in excess of £2000 for the Moscow to Vladivostok leg of the journey, which included five nights in hotels at various stops. Lena and I worked out that we could actually do it for around 35% of that cost, by doing it independently, staying well clear of 4* hotels and taking full advantage of the discounts offered on Russian trains during the winter. I’ve rented apartments in St Petersburg and Moscow (laterooms.com, I never use any other website), Lena is handing the accommodation once out of Moscow and has told me she has a surprise or two in store, and if possible I should bring some typically British goodies to offer to our hosts – hence my journey taking a brief stop at M&S - shortbread, marmalade, mustard, Stilton, etc etc.

Betjeman at St Pancras

Eurostar with a glass of champagne, so bourgeois, it will probably be Yak milk by the end of the journey, which will no doubt still be an improvement on East Coast Coffee. 

I had 2 hours in Brussels, just long enough to stretch my legs, practice my French, buy some chocolate for my friends, and find the Belgian Comics museum. Alas the latter was closed, so no meeting with Tin Tin and snowy for Tiny. 

The high speed Inter-City Express to Cologne, wow what a sexy train for all you anoraks out there, very comfortable and very quick. I was kind of dozing off nicely until a French speaking couple decided to have full-blown domestic three rows away from me. They were on the wrong train and Madame was berating Monsieur with some serious insults. The best part was when she finally calmed down and stopped shouting, he suggested that a weekend in Cologne could be more fun than Paris – she went ballistic. It was far more entertaining than an in-flight movie.

I arrived at Cologne at 20:16, only one minute late. I had another couple of hours to fill before my overnight sleeper to Warsaw, which I filled with a visit to the cathedral. It’s a gothic style building that would dwarf Durham cathedral. The building was started in 1240, and with various interruptions, was not completed until 1880. It’s been designated a Unesco World Heritage site and described as "exceptional work of human creative genius", which I wouldn’t argue with as it definitely has the ‘X’ factor. The Cathedral contains the ‘Shrine of the Magi’, which is a large gold sarcophagus that reputedly hold the remains and clothing of the 3 wise men and is the largest reliquary in the western world. Quite stunning, even to a heathen non-believer like me.

Just waiting for my overnight train to Warsaw now and looking forward to some sleep, so I hope that there’s nobody on the wrong train this time.

Apologies for not posting earlier - technical problems. Shall bring things up to date this evening.