Explore More - 2019

Monet, van Gogh,

Monet, van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin and da Vinci. The visit was followed by dinner and a performance of the ballet Swan Lake. It was after 11 PM when we arrived back on board, but Viking was ready with a substantial snack buffet, including wine and beer, just as they offer with all lunches and dinners. WE ENJOYED A LIVELY COSSACK FOLK SONG AND DANCE PERFORMANCE WITH VODKA Throughout our stay in St. Petersburg we were dazzled by the opulence of Russia’s rulers and their penchant for architectural extravagance: the Winter Palace; the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace; the “Royal Village” at Pushkin; and the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Peterhof Palace. After four eye-popping days in St. Petersburg, it felt as if we had been guided around just about every well-known church, monument and museum there is—including the Peter and Paul Fortress. This is the original epicenter of the city, and many former tsars are now laid to rest in the Peter and Paul Cathedral including the relatively recently reinterred remains of the last tsar, Nicholas II, and his family, who were assassinated in 1918. Another highlight was the private viewing of the Peter Carl Fabergé collection, among which are nine exquisite imperial Easter eggs. To cap off our final day in this remarkable city, we enjoyed a loud and lively Cossack folk song and dance performance with a drop of vodka (naturally). We were continually informed about every aspect of Russian life, the country’s complex history and detailed facts about all the places we visited. Before dinner each evening there was a full briefing about what to expect the following day, which was very informative. Plus, the ship’s newsletter, the Viking Daily, was delivered to our room. By Clockwise, from above: Kizhi Island by Lake Onega; hand-painted matryoshka nesting dolls; the Hermitage Museum facade; soldiers in Red Square; Moscow Metro station; the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg contrast, the next few days were a tranquil meander along the Neva River, across the 136-milelong Lake Ladoga (Europe’s largest), with its 700 islands, and along the 139-mile Svir River toward Lake Onega. However, first we stopped briefly at Mandrogy, a small, restored 18th-century settlement that is home to artisans creating all manner of traditional crafts. Here you can buy genuine handcrafted souvenirs or even create your own by painting matryoshka nesting dolls. If that is not for you, there are 2,800 vodkas to try, followed by a visit to a banya, a traditional Russian sauna. Back on board we headed to Kizhi, a tiny island in Lake Onega. During the centuries, generations of families lived and worked on this island in wooden cottages. Their lives were tough in summer and even tougher in winter. Today Kizhi is an open air museum dedicated to dozens of 15th- to 20th-century wooden structures. The most remarkable is the 22-dome Transfiguration Church and the nine-dome Church of the Intercession, which are UNESCO 108 VIKING.COM EXPLORE MORE 2019

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