Day 6 -- Helsinki to Saint Petersburg with sightseeing.
The first four hours were covered in forest, with occasional lumber collections.
Our first view coming into some apartments on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg.
Not a Soviet missile, this is a huge skyscraper that is headquarters for an oil and gas company.
The new soccer stadium they built for the 2018 World Cup. The good news about them hosting the
World Cup is that they improved the signage in English and Chinese, which helped us.
On the way in, our tour guide taught us the Cyrillic alphabet, which turns out to be a phonetic
alphabet. Once you know enough of the characters, you can see that this just spells out McDonalds
phonetically.
We start is Peter and Paul's Fortress.
Here is the main cathedral.
They were setting up for a live opera performance in the square.
Through the main roads in the fortress...
...to a docking area.
Out across the Neva River are some old-time ships along with their modern counterparts.
Coming back out of the gateway to the docks.
Across the park area behind the church.
Every once in a while, we have to take this picture to remember where we were.
This is a statue of Peter I (Peter the Great), founder of Saint Petersburg. The citizens were shocked
when this status was unveiled with the unnaturally small head.
Inside Peter and Paul Cathedral with our local tour guide.
The tombs of some previous leaders including the Romanovs.
Most of the tombs are white, except for these semiprecious stone ones for Alexander II and his wife Maria
Alexandrovna.
Museum cat.
Toward the main altar.
The lower right with all of the extra medals is the tomb of Peter I (Peter the Great).
Continuing to build the stage for the live opera. We got to watch them doing a cue-to-cue rehearsal.
The Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood. Unfortunately for the picture, the main spire
is undergoing restoration.
Driving down Nevsky Prospekt past the Kazan Cathedral, which is shaped like the Vatican.
Time for another canal cruise.
This one had tables to sit at...
...and they served us sparkling wine and vodka.
Quick! What is this building? I can't remember.
Low clearance taking the river boat under the bridges. If you are on the upper level,
keep your head down as we go under the bridges.
Every building is historic as you go down the canal.
The Trinity Church.
The St. Nicholas Cathedral.
The Saint Petersburg opera house.
So low you can reach up and touch it.
St. Isaac's Cathedral.
