WARSAW

Getting out of Moscow was very easy – everything from security to border control was efficient and matter-of-fact. Nothing fancy – just a job done well, right down to the body scan image we watched as it came to screen. Flight to Warsaw took two and a bit hours as we passed into a new time zone, gaining an hour along the way.

Not a good start to Warsaw. We had a thermal hoodie stolen from on top of our luggage which was right in front of us on the trolley. As soon as attention was diverted to getting transport directions the said item went astray. We had purchased tickets to catch the 175 bus into the city but just as before we were about to board a leg ‘snap’ meant a reconsideration of how to get into the city. So the taxi became number one option – a trip costing 31 Polish Zloty, about US$9.50. A very comfortable option. However, things were about to get more difficult: (a) it rained and (b) the reception desk for our apartments (Platinum) had changed location to about 250m away: it felt like a long way in the rain but having checked in we had to make our way back, 250m where we started from. Stupid arrangements! But we finally made it  - and went to sleep waking up the next day after a solid 14 hours. The early start and the hectic schedule of the previous two weeks had finally caught up and we had the chance to sleep it off.

Warsaw's Palace of Culture - another of Stalin's Wedding Cakes

After eating breakfast out the first morning we walked to the Soviet styled tower near to Central railway station [buying rail tickets to Krakow along the way – and even that was a bit cumbersome as the woman didn’t understand we wanted tickets for two days away; however, with some help from a passerby the matter was sorted but there was a longish queue behind us by the time we had finished] and caught a ‘hop on – hop off’ bus tour which (a) didn’t go where we thought it should have gone and (b) didn’t go to a couple of stops because of some reconstruction. So it was a bit of a time waster  - not to mention the 120 ZL!

Modern Warsaw Architecture

   

Street Art in Old Town Waesaw

The modern skyline Warsaw, 2015

Finally, however, we got into the Old City and walked through the reconstructed streets and buildings, many of which, having been bombarded or blown up by German troops during WW2 have been reconstructed on the basis of paintings by artists over the years up to 1939. And it seems that they have been doing a great job in rebuilding a city that was flattened both physically and emotionally.

   

Monuments to the Memory of the Warsaw Uprising and Jewish Dead

But Warsaw is still rising despite an ageing population and where there are still more dead than living. Museums abound but churches abound even more. This is a very Catholic city where churches dominate the horizon along with the multitude of statues and memorials to …. well, just about everyone and everything.  The Memorial to those who perished in eastern camps in Russia, the memorial to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the square where Pope John Paul II celebrated his first Mass in Poland after becoming Pope and where his memorial Mass was held after her died in 2005 – these are among several monuments to recognise the struggles and achievements of the Polish people. These are all moving in their own way. Walking the streets through both the old and new towns brought us back to our apartment block just near to the remaining wall part from the Polish ghettos of WW2.

St Pope Jean-Paul II - proudly remembered by many

The next day we went to Mass; it was a Sunday and this was the most crowded Mass we have been to anywhere along the way. But the people were mainly elderly. [Perhaps the younger people were out participating in the ‘2015 Business House Run’ that we stumbled across just prior to its starting and which was being led by thumping music as part of the pre-run warm up.] A walk from the church took us back to the Old Town and to a very quiet main street – we were there at about 9.45am, too early for a Polish Sunday but we managed to find a coffee shop, had a bite to eat and then waited for the [free Sunday] entry to the Castle Palace Museum. This was one of the almost 100% destroyed buildings – if not from the German bombing raids of 1939, then from being blown up by retreating losers in 1944! More walking through the churches of the main street – around a wedding, a photo shoot of models in old cars, a movie/advertisement clip being filmed – to more monuments, to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier [and who were those guys dressed in old style regiment dress walking the street with ‘weapons at the ready’] and to the church with Chopin’s heart encased as a memorial in one of the church pillars; to the Synagogue quietly sitting under a leafy roof in fringe-suburban new town…..

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Victory Square

Warsaw - the Old Town

  

Warsaw is a city on the rise – still! New architecture sits alongside the old. The past and the present are one and there is absolutely no way a local [or a tourist for that matter] can be allowed to forget the tragedies that this city has battled through – not just once! And tomorrow we’re off to Krakow – a once former capital city of this former communist country – and now fiercely looking western and upwards.

'Girl in a Hat' and 'The Scholar at the Lectern'
Both works of Rembrandt in the Royal Castle, Warsaw

MOSCOW

One should be very careful of taking too much from news bulletins and bytes from TV clips. Almost invariably they paint a drab picture of Moscow and Muskovites. Sure, it is a city built on marshes [from where the name Moscow is drawn] but the image is very misleading. This is a city of vibrancy and colour and people going about their daily lives with as much vigour and engaging levels of social interaction as any other city. People are laughing; they joke; they engage with English speaking people as much as they can; they DO NOT ignore you because you speak English and thy mightn't - despite the common mis-beliefs. People aren't interested in war and armaments and conquest and military might - they just want peace and a fun world where they can relate as families. Which part of the world is really any different.

The boys were friendly and keen to pose

All the postering of discord and fragile peace - that is the game being played by politicians all around the world in almost every country and does not represent what the people are like. Moscow [and Russia for that matter] is very welcoming and obliging. It is a definite must see/experience for anyone who can make that a reality. People should not be put off by press and media images.

From the art of the underground metro stations where there is no dirt; no litter; no graffiti as in London and Paris and other big undergrounds; if officialdom is helping to maintain these conditions on a regular basis it is not in your face and it is definitely not scary.

The Glitz of the Moscow Metro

 Millions of people will use this metro system every day and mixed up in the hustle of daily life are these images of significant episodes of Russian history adorning the walls and ceilings of the underground.

Even the Kremlin and Red Square exposed in international media as grey places of military muscle are far from that. The colour again of the buildings both around Red Square and inside the Kremlin [which means fortress] walls make the whole environment alive and fun. Lenin must be rolling over in his Red Square tomb as it looks out onto the commercial centre of consumerism in the 'Gum' shopping centre immediately across from where the tomb is located.

Gum Shopping Precinct

On Guard in Red Square

            

There is some sentiment here that sooner or later his tomb will be moved maybe to where the other former President are entombed elsewhere in Moscow city. Apparently there is always scaffolding up in Red Square as it hosts party celebrations for Moscow's 837th birthday this weekend coming and at other times cultural events and concerts. Concerts are popular because they are big revenue gatherers for the Government.

Christ the Saviour Church

Preparation, Red Square for 837 birthday celebrations

                                 

The Church of Christ the Saviour is one of the most impressive structures we have seen. A Russian orthodox church it was made famous recently by Pussy Riot - the girl punk band that was arrested for performing anti-Putin songs on the doorstep.

All around the city are the Stalin [wedding] cakes - buildings initiated by Stalin and now the homes of Hotels [eg Radisson] and apartment blocks. They leave a defining image on the Moscow skyline. But like any huge city [of in excess of 12,000,000 people] traffic becomes a huge problem;

    

Radisson - Stalin's Wedding cake - by day and night

congestion in the Russian rush hour is like any western city; but perhaps scariest of all are the three laned open roads with a common middle lane used by vehicles to overtake in both directions; drivers really need to be on the alert but in allour travels here we have seen only one small nose-tail collision [other signs on the sides of the highways suggest more frequent serious results!].

      

Inside and outside the Kremlin

The road to Zagorsk and the Russian Orthodox Church of  St Sergius proved to be a real highlight; the experience of ongoing service at the re-burial place of the former founding monk of the Monastery and the art that adorned the walls was simply awesome.

   

Buildings and Guard - both at attention

Moscow is certainly a place to come back to. It is clearly different from Mother Russia, the rural embodiment of the down-to-earth Russian ethic; and as commercial centre and capital it is different from the slower pace of Saint Petersburg; it is in essence, a country within a country.

    

Rural Russia - Dacha's in the Heartland outside of Moscow

  

SAINT PETERSBURG

This place is AWESOME. It oozes Russian and Soviet history on every street. Our first stop was the Fortress of Saint Peter and Paul – dark in the late afternoon rain but strategically placed on the dark and brooding Neva River.

Inside the Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul

The Tomb of Alexander the Great

And here are housed the tombs of the Czars –  Nicholas, Peter the Great, Catherine and their children amongst others. The Venice of the North, the Window to the West, Saint Petersburg to Leningrad and more recently back to St Petersburg:- this has been known by a number of names from its early history to the history under Stalin to a more liberal western connection. But it remains the same: stoic and resilient.

Palace Square and Alexander's
Column

Monument to Nicholas I

The Museum of the Seige on Leningrad of 900 days during 1941 – 1943 is a salient reminder of the harshness and the resilience that the people here have had to endure. The canal trip was interesting: open deck boat but raining and driving rain at that – so difficult to get outside. Open windows  - good for some camera shots – until the boat turned and the rain drove in that way. But all was relieved by samples of champagne and vodka, to help wash down Finnish chocolate provided by the tour director. This was a prelude to the Stolle pies we were given to taste a couple of days later: salmon, berry and cabbage – interesting array but the berry pies were delicious.

There are palaces everywhere - one of which we went to last night to see a Russian folklore dance/music show. Mixed up with all that secular history is the history of Christianity - Russian orthodox version. And its not just religion thats in your face but the art and gilt - and loads of it. The Orthodox Church of the Resurrection of Christ – the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood with its ornate finery attracting attention from all around. And the inside of the church was no exception.  The Church of St Isaac – another Russian Orthodox Church and again the artistry of the interior was a mass of colour.

Managed to get to a Mass in English this morning before setting off to do our own exploring. The rest of the group went elsewhere. We have had two gloriously fine days here although there was a chilly wind today but they say there are only 60 fine days a year and we've been lucky enough to have had two of them.

St Basil's Cathedral
The Saviour on the Spilt Blood

The day we arrived it rained - grey and cold but perfect since then. We have been able to find our way around trying to read Russian syrillic script and have learned enough (good morning and thank you are enough to bring smiles to faces especially young people who have more English than the older people) to know where we are going. However most of our travel has been with a guide. If you are prepared to make a very basic effort to recognise the Russian alphabet you can see a number of similarities with English. Coming into Russia via the Finnish border was slow - but according to our tour director. Jenn, it was much faster than normal. No-one seemed to want to get things going at customs. We waited in a concrete grey hall with 4 customs entry points. Eventually a woman came out and opened one gate and about 20 mins later another arrived to set up a second entry point. Guess there were about 80 of us just waiting.

The Venice of the North

St Isaac's Cathedral

                      

Anyway we got through and tomorrow we're heading to a place called Novrogod - didnt mean much but apparently it was the first capital of Russia. So quite important historically. Really enjoying our Russian experience. Would love to bring a field trip here but.....don't think too many of our kids would be into the history component. Managed to sneak in a bit of relaxation today so hopefully will feel a bit less tired when we head towards Moscow in a couple of days time.

Memorial to the Living and the Dead from the Siege of Leningrad

SCANDINAVIA

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Arrived in Copenhagen to a low 20ish degrees  - extremely pleasant after the heat of the Middle East. We met the rest of our group in the evening – 48 others on what for us looked like a very crowded Trafalgar Tour. It didn’t take long to work out that Trafalgar is not yet our kind of touring, although Guide Jenn has been very pleasant and co-ordinated mass evacuations and arrival very professionally. Our hotel in Copenhagen overlooked the canal on the afternoon of the Copenhagen ironman.

                                           

Views from the hotel room: Triathlon Course and sunrise....Copenhagen

The heat intensified a bit [but still very pleasant] and it was great to see so many people out sunning themselves and cheering on the athletes as they ran past our hotel on the canal walkways. The afternoon was started with our orientation walk into the shopping area of the old city where a visit to the only Lego shop in Copenhagen captured our fancy. We constructed our own Lego men and then bought three! Our first morning took us on a tour of the old part of Copenhagen and rather than take the optional extra of a trip to the ‘Danish Riviera’ we decided to stay in the city and visit more slowly, the places we had basically bussed past in the morning. And so we got to see the Little Mermaid and  the castle in the garden [Rosenborg] as well as the Round Tower which gave us our high views of a very flat Copenhagen in the Vesterbro District.

       

Round Towers, Mermaids and Palace Guards, Copenhagen

It was great to wander around and visit the city, which a two hour bus trip was never going to allow. We sneaked in as much as we could before the rain came [again!] in the afternoon but after a slow walk [we were actually lost for a while] back to our hotel by way of familiar landmarks of Tivoli Gardens and City Hall, and the re-emergence of the sunshine, we wandered back into the city for a Pizza and beer dinner. Lovely!! It was interesting to be sitting under the gas heaters even at this time of the Danish summer.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

The trip to Stockholm was long – a bus ride of around 10 hours by the time we got held up in road works approaching Stockholm city. It was almost straight to dinner in the hotel [a quality hotel meal and well-worth waiting for] but that was day 1 – travel and dinner, and much of it in rain or cloud. The next morning dawned grey but it was mild, again around 18 and we again headed off to do an orientation bus tour of the city.

              

Early morning view of Stockholm    The Vasa having been raised from its watery grave

This was followed by a visit to City Hall and the Vasa Museum which housed a sunken ship [sunk in 1628 on her maiden voyage – rather like the Titanic] and which was excavated from the mud in Stockholm 300 years later in near pristine condition. An amazing sight and well worth seeing. An early sailing on the overnight ferry to Helsinki meant we had to board the boat at about 3.30pm and we set sail [so to speak] for Helsinki at exactly 4.45pm on schedule.

Changing the Guard at the Royal palace - about lunchtime!

 It was an amazing crossing experience. It seemed like there was a shopping street on the boat – heaps of entertainment; sunshine to sit ion for the early part of the evening and a chance for a Finnish beer as we sailed past island after island in Sweden’s archipelago. Cruising is great – but not good for the belly line, especially when, in a two hour window there is free food and alcohol. And a lovely meal as well. Post dinner saw a visit to ‘mainstreet’ to get rid of our Swedish Krona before a view on deck and an early retirement about 9.30.

                   

Looking around the inner city streets of old Stockholm -with a reminder!

The cruise was VERY comfortable and we only experienced a bit of pitch and little roll around the early hours of the morning. While there was no chance of a Titanic we got to the vessel’s bow and had great views of the surrounding area as we headed into the morning sun and the myriad of islands that make up the Finnish archipelago.

HELSINKI, FINLAND

After leaving the ship we were whisked around  Helsinki [ not really that much to see] but we thoroughly enjoyed the ‘feel’ of the city as it basked in a highly unusual 20 sunshine.

Easy and comfortable overnight travel between Stockholm and Helsinki

Finns by this time have usually kissed summer goodbye but today was very pleasant. We were taken to the Olympic Stadium [Helsinki hosted the 1952 Olympics, the first post-WW2 Olympic event] and they still seem to eke it out. At around lunch time we were dropped off in the Central Market area [as it turned out only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel] where we mucked in with locals and visitors alike for a market lunch.

     

Churches old and modern are standout features on Helsinki's Urban landscape

Hope it doesn’t have negative consequences!! A visit to the Lutheran Church and a perch on the steps in the sunshine filled in the early afternoon. Later in the afternoon, having checked kin to the hotel we wandered back to the Harbour and bought a 90 minute harbour cruise to explore the islands of the inner city in a more leisurely and intimate style. Perhaps we like the place so much because it is coastal [as are both Stockholm and Copenhagen] and it was nice to experience the sunshine and last rays if summer warmth, before the dark days of winter begin to approach.

                                      

                   

         Helsinki's Central Market on the waterfront        Monument to Johan Sibelius, Finnish composer

Sun up is still around 6.30 and sunset not until about 8.45 but the days are definitely getting shorter.  It won’t be too long before the ice rinks come out and the Baltic freezes over – at least around here in Helsinki.