EuroChristmas: Christmas and Boxing Day
25 and 26 December 2015
Helsinki, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia
On Christmas Day, we slept in a bit (well, I did—Rick was up
early) and had breakfast at the Hilton. The food spread was great, and we hung
out a bit before my parents came down to meet us. We ate a bit more, then
exchanged small gifts to celebrate the holiday.
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| the breakfast spread at the Hilton |
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| the juice machine is operated by an iPad :) |
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| love the design of the hotel--wood, copper, fur, navy canvas. lots of texture |
One of the things my dad really wanted to see was the
Olympic Stadium from the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki. Rick and I walked
through the city’s equivalent of Central Park, and admired the scenery.
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| isn't this just the perfect, stereotypical haunted house? |
The stadium will be undergoing renovations until 2019, and
actually just closed on December 23rd. Great timing right? We took a
bunch of photos outside, then Rick managed to find an open gate, so we were able
to go inside the stadium as well. The track and the grass are in great shape, though
they are beginning to rip out the seats. Dad even ran a lap around the track J
Despite the cold, a lot of people were out walking and
exercising in the park. We saw lots of dogs (some wearing jackets and sweaters)
and I assume everyone was taking advantage of the few short hours of sunlight.
Seasonal depression is a real thing here, with so many hours of darkness.
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| this little buddy had a sweater and a jacket on :) |
We got back to the hotel, packed our bags, and hopped into a
mini bus to head down to the ferry terminal.
A bit of background about the Russian leg of our journey—Dad
has always wanted to go to St. Petersburg to visit the Hermitage Museum. When
we were deciding what to do for winter break this year, we told him we could
help make that dream trip a reality! In order to travel to Russia without a
visa (which can only be obtained at a Russian Consulate and costs $150), we had
to book travel on a “cruise ship.” The St. Peter Line ferry travels from
Helsinki to St. Petersburg, and qualifies as a cruise, which allows Americans
to be in Russia for up to 72 hours, visa free. We will spend one night on the
boat going to Russia, and one night back to Finland on the return trip.
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| our boat, docked in Helsinki |
We boarded the boat and explored a bit. We had a few drinks
in one of the bars, and then went to the ship’s Italian restaurant for dinner.
The food was not bad, considering!
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| Rick in our cabin |
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| the ship's casino |
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| tug boats helping get us out of the port |
The weather was windy, and we could all feel a lot of motion
on the boat. Dinner helped, but sleep made a big difference.
In the morning (26 December), we met for breakfast and had a
plan to be ready to go right away when the boat docked…….and then it turned out
we were delayed. Apparently, the water level in the St. Petersburg port was too
high for us to dock. There was not a whole lot of information, but our planned
9:30am arrival was definitely not going to happen. Information was vague
throughout the day, so we spent our time posted up in the main lobby area where
the exits would be. We had even rolled our luggage out, in order to be very,
very ready, whenever the boat arrived. Time was passed playing iPhone games,
reading, and napping.
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| our view out of the window for most of the day |
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| veggie pizza from the boat's concession stand |
Finally, we arrived in St. Petersburg, around 5pm. It took a
while to get the boat moored, and then we spent more time waiting to go through
passport control. We had to take the St. Peter Line’s bus into the city, and by
the time we got to our hotel, it was 9pm—a 12-hour delay! (insert clever
Gilligan’s Island joke here)
Luckily, Rick worked hard to reorganize the tours we had
booked for our time in Russia, and everything seemed to work out for the best.
I am, as always, grateful for his level head, in-depth research, and patience—we
were all a bit worried about how the delay would affect our plans, and he
handled it!
After checking in to the Radisson Blu, right on Nevsky
Prospeckt (the main street in St. Petersburg), we went to a small English pub
for beers, and then an Italian spot for a late dinner. We were all looking
forward to the museum the next day!
More to come!
--E&R
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