for your VINformation: lost@sea

St. Petersburg:

There’s a rumor in St. Petersburg…

The first time I visited Colombia, South America, I imagined piles of cocaine on every street corner and roving bands of bandits with machine guns looking to kidnap Americans for fun and profit. What I experienced couldn’t have been further. I found a welcoming country itching to rid itself of it’s bad reputation; a warm, friendly population looking to show me their county in the best possible light.

Visiting St. Petersburg, the “Venice of the North” was as eye-opening. I only knew what I was taught in school grade school or saw on the evening news. Growing up during the cold war under the threat of nuclear annihilation you can imagine, what I knew wasn’t pleasant; the rest I learned from the animated film Anastasia.

St. Petersburg is the most western city of Russia and among cities of the world with over one million people, the northernmost. The Historic Center of town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world.

Smartly, the powers-that-be made St. Petersburg an overnight. The Boat would dock at one of the seven berths of the ultramodern, brand-new port Marine Facade around 7:00 AM and didn’t pull out until 7:00 PM the next day. Every minute was necessary. It’s impossible to see a city with 280 former royal palaces and over 8,000 architectural monuments in just one day. Now, Jew and Gentile Readers, St. Petersburg has seen some very difficult times; revolutions, blockades, sieges, civil war, world wars, poverty, Communism, but you wouldn’t know of it’s past hardships from visiting it now. Most of the city has been restored to former imperial glory. The city boasts 221 museums, 2,000 libraries, over 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and exhibition halls, 62 cinemas and around 80 other cultural establishments.

It’s a city easy to fall in love with and I fell hard.

You see, I was very lucky. When visiting Russia on a cruise ship, without a Russian Visa, as a passenger, you’re not allowed to venture out on your own. You must take an escorted tour. When you’re a member of the crew, that’s not the case. I was issued a Seaman’s Book which allowed me on and off The Boat at will. Admittedly, at first, I was cautious, escorting shore excursions. I did “Imperial St. Petersburg,” “Royal St. Petersburg,” “The Hermitage at Night,” “St. Catharine’s Palace” and the “Gala Night of Singing,”

Symbol of St. Petersburg

I started exploring the Russian canal city on my own when I’d run out of excursions to escort…

While the underground isn’t nearly as extensive as New York City’s or London’s, it got me to where I wanted to go on the cheap. Once I got past the language barrier, read: had the port agent write down, in Russian, the names of the places I wanted to visit, I’d grab a cab. It might’ve cost a few Rubles more, but piece of mind knows no price.

Dealing with Russian Rubles makes you feel as if you’ve got money, when exchanged for Euros, that is, less so when the exchange takes place with Dollars, but the extra zero added to every denomination, gives the illusion of being flush. The exchange rate was about 5 to 1 (dollars) and 3 to 1 (euros).

I found the Russian nightlife to be quite…what’s the right word? Exciting? No. Interesting? No. Eventful? No. I guess, I’d call it, “a sure thing.” Yes, a sure thing…I had…to put it politely…relations…with Ivan, Dimitri and Nicolai. I met my Russian collection at Central Station, the biggest gay club in St. Petersburg; four floors of dancing, dining and karaoke.  Surprisingly, St. Petersburg has a large gay and lesbian community. By large, I mean…

One of the complaints I heard my crew-mates voice was that the people of St. Petersburg were angry. I didn’t find that at all. They might’ve been covered in a hard candy shell, but once you licked that, they’re all soft and gooey inside, just like New Yorkers. A smile goes a long way in a country that spends most of it’s days either frozen over or in continual daylight.

I have to admit, I was surprised Russia got under my skin so deeply. I really can’t explain it. The climate, the people the energy, I…liked it…I liked it all. The time I spent there made me want to spend more time there. Over the course of the seven voyages, we spent a total of two weeks in St. Petersburg. It wasn’t enough time. I have friends who live there, a Seaman’s Book and the desire to visit again. Perhaps that’s enough. One day, Russia will be mine again.

Next Week: Helsinki, Finland

Tallinn:

Estonia, to be frank, I’d never heard of this former Soviet Republic before visiting. It wasn’t until I mentioned I was there on a Facebook status that I was told, “You know Estonia, it’s where Brandon Frasier’s caveman character was from in Encino Man…” Oh, that’s Estonia!

Lots of nooks and crannies in Tallinn...

After visiting “Old Town,” twice, spending $40.00 on a hot dog pizza and climbing the steps of the castle, Tallinn simply became “the mall” port. The Viru Shopping Center was located in “New Town” where the three things necessary for a productive port day – The Revel Café (free, fast internet), Zara (the best one in Europe) and a Grocery Store (the only one in all the land where one could get cream for coffee) were located.

It was one of those port days I’d decided to upgrade Keiko’s operating system to Lion. After a little internet research, I discovered there was a state of the art internet cafe in town. I got the address, a map and started to search. I got to the address, it was a book store. I went into the book store and asked. I was told it moved. I went to the new address and it was a cosmetics store. I went into the cosmetics store and asked. I was told it moved. I went to the new, new address and it was a tourist information center. I went into to tourist information center and asked. I was told it closed. Two years ago. The tourist information center told me where I could find internet and when I arrived at that address, it was a coffee shop with one terminal which wasn’t working. By that time my feet were killing me, I’d seen the entire towns, both Old and New and was starving. I happened upon a pizza place with internet. Three terminals! I sat myself down ordered a Mexican pizza, a hard cider and plugged in for the next four hours apparently at the only working terminal. I wasn’t leaving until my computer had finished it’s update. The locals weren’t happy with me, but I held my ground, I had a mission to accomplish.

The final time we ported in Tallinn, I stayed on The Boat and sent someone to the store for cream….

Next Week: St. Petersburg, Russia

Warnemunde:

Warnemunde is cute, lighthouse filled, beach-town in Northern Germany; a quaint resort town, akin to Cape Cod.

A piece of the wall...

It’s close to Berlin – if you consider two plus hours by train close. I do, when the port day is fourteen hours long. I visited Berlin three times as an escort on passenger shore excursions: The Top Ten Tour, The Must See Tour and the Concentration Camp Tour. I only wish I had taken some time in Berlin on my own…it wasn’t until I went on my Impromptu European Holiday that I realized – remembered? – that I really enjoy traveling on my own. I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed Saint Petersburg (see below) so much. No one else seemed to appreciated it as much as I did so I was forced to strike out on my own, but I digress…Berlin was a hustling, bustling city filled with history, not unlike my own beloved NYC. Of course, it’s history goes much further back.

Checkpoint Charlie was one of the highlight of my visits, for only five Euro I got the top six (United States, Germany, France, England, Italy and USSR) checkpoint stamps stamped into my passport – next to Easter Island, they’re my favorites. I overheard this snip-it of a conversation between a father and his six or seven year old daughter there, “…they call it Checkpoint Charlie ‘cause the guard who worked here, his name was Charlie…” Her face read that she believed him, I wonder how many more lies she’s going to be told in her lifetime?

The four times I didn’t go to Berlin, I got into – you guessed it – a routine. McDonald’s, The Train Bar and the bowling alley, America Bowling. I think there might’ve even be a day or two I didn’t bother doing anything except go to Micky-D’s to pick up a Big Mac Super Value Meal and head right back to The Boat.

I’d like to take a return trip to Germany. Perhaps take a few weeks and train it all over the country; Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Bonn, Berlin. Yes, I can certainly see myself doing that.

Next Week: Tallinn, Estonia

Copenhagen:

With my crew identification card, I was granted use of the hop on/hop off double-decker tour buses. I used it as public transportation as I could never figure out the bus system. It took longer to get around, but it was a lot cheaper than taking cabs. It saved me a few Kroners. The first day, I didn’t know about the free buses and I walked forty-five minutes into town I walked walk past the Little Mermaid Statue, through a large park and right to the start of the major shopping district, I realized, I didn’t need to do that walk more than once.

The Little Mermaid

Copenhagen was expensive.

Very expensive.

Shopping wasn’t on my list of things to do….

The hop on/hop off took care of sight-seeing as well, that is, if you plugged-in the headphones. None of The Boat’s shore excursions interested me and while I wasn’t impressed with the city itself – it’s very expensive, it’s worth repeating – I did love it’s people, they had a great energy about them. I spent most of my downtime at Oscar’s Café Bar – yes, after the initial newness of a place wore off, café-ing was the order of business and finding a regular spot was always number one on the agenda, don’t judge.

Oscar’s is a gay place just off the main shopping street. Populated with pretty people, both young and old. The Carlsberg was cold and the servers were hot. Of course, forty bucks a day for brunch does add up.

On the way back to the ship I’d always stop at China Box. The only affordable purchase in all of Denmark. China Box, a simple storefront Chinese take-out joint; two, three or four items served with fried rice or noodles for roughly five dollars American. It brought me home – read: NYC – the minute I’d open the Styrofoam container filled with the MSG-y goodness.

Next Week: Warnemunde, Germany