Off to St Petersburg, Russia

I secretly suspect that the reason Leanna came to visit the Professor and me in Helsinki is because we are so close to Russia. Leanna served on a mission in L'viv, Ukraine for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She speaks Ukrainian and therefore understands and speaks a little Russian. I think since serving in Ukraine, she has longed for an opportunity to visit Russia. And here we are living in Helsinki just across the Gulf of Finland from St Petersburg.

Her visit here gave both of us a great chance to take the ferry to St. Petersburg while the Professor flew to Zurich for some meetings. The cost of getting a visa to visit Russia for even a day or two is around $120. Since Earl was attending a conference for several days in St Petersburg, he applied for a visa and got one. However, at that time we thought it was just too expensive for me to get a visa and travel with him by train. Leanna's visit gave me the perfect opportunity to go by ferry and visit St Petersburg for part of a day. If you take the ferry and spend less than 24 hours in St Petersburg, you are not required to have a visa.

On Saturday night the three of us boarded the Princess Maria of the St Peterline. We brought our own picnic dinner and Leanna and I spent the evening trying to keep Turk safe from all of the heights he tried to scale. Sunday morning we took a bus to the Cathedral of St. Isaac. We knew that it was going to be somewhat chilly, but we were totally unprepared for the wind that hit us as soon as we walked down the steps from the ship. It was the first time this fall that I regreted not wearing "long johns." We spent a lot of our time outdoors tucking the blanket around Turk and pulling his scarf up so that it would cover his nose and his ears. His hat kept slipping up leaving the tips of his ears bare. And so did mine.






We were in the city so early on Sunday that there were still no lights on at the cathedral. As we struggled against the wind, we decided that the best way to spend the day was inside the Hermitage.

We did take a few minutes to explore and find the Church on Spilled Blood despite the freezing wind. Even though this building is a church, it is the stuff upon which dreams and fantasy can be founded. The colors are vibrant. The shapes feel as if they are straight out of 1001 Nights. Although the church is sometimes referred to as "Saviour on Blood," it was constructed as a memorial to Alexander II on the site of his assassination. The name of the church refers to Alexander's shed blood. This is the same tsar that Helsinki revered and erected a statue to in Senate Square.

There is no doubt that much of the pleasure that we derived from our time in the Hermitage came from all of the older Russian women who were in charge of each of the rooms full of art. Every one of them came to talk to Turk and Leanna. They wanted to know how old he was. One wanted to know where his shoes were because she was sure that his feet must be cold with only soaks on. One showed us an elevator to use that was behind some closed doors. All of them were kind and so pleased with our charming little companion.

When we finally left the museum and went in search of lunch, Turk was so pleased to get out of his stroller and have a little freedom. Leanna said that there were a few dishes that she wanted to eat. Naturally we started with Borsch. Then we ordered Varenyky filled with mashed potatoes and onion and blini. I tried some stroganoff. In other words, none of us came away hungry.

There is one thing for certain. Without Leanna and Turk, I would never have made it to St Petersburg. Left to my own resources, I would have lived in Helsinki for almost a year and never had the opportunity to visit this corner of Russia. Thank you, Leanna, for coming to visit and bringing a tiny ray of sunshine named Turk with you. And for taking me to St Petersburg.

Please also see blog titled Notes from the Professor about his trip to St. Petersburg.