St Petersburg on foot - 28 July 2008

A city tour of St Petersburg was the morning's scheduled entertainment with an optional canal tour or visit to another palace in the afternoon. The city tour primarily consisted of a bunch of photo opportunities without enough time to actually stop and visit anything. St Petersburg was founded in 1703 and was the first European planned city; with long straight streets and canals laid out in an area that was originally swampy marshlands. There are 44 islands connected by hundreds of bridges across the 60 rivers and canals.

It became the de facto capital after Peter the Great moved there and the government and officials had to follow. With the Romanovs falling from grace, the German sounding name was changed to Petrograd until the communist era when it became Leningrad and finally, with a popular vote of over 80%, reverted to the original St Petersburg after the fall of the Soviets. Architecturally, the city is not a world-beater with many buildings that were destroyed in WWII having been replaced by ghastly "Soviet issue" structures.

Nevertheless we eschewed the optional tours and decided to explore the city on foot, returning first to the Church of the Spilt Blood. Built in 1907 over the spot where Alexander II was assassinated, it fell into disrepair after it was decommissioned by the Soviets and turned into, variously, a potato warehouse and set storage for the theatre. Now a museum rather than a church, it has recently been restored, a process which took longer and cost more than it did the first time around and is now absolutely stunningly beautiful, both inside and out. Apart from the marble patterned floor, every other internal surface is covered with mosaic tile Biblical images.

The church is on the banks of one of the canals so we followed canals though the city to the other main tourist church/museum, St Isaacs. This is the fourth highest domed structure in the world and, again, richly decorated throughout - although in a much more reserved style than the first church. For an extra 150 roubles one can climb to the outside of the dome. The number 201 is painted on the bottom step and every 10 steps thereafter the number encouragingly decreases until finally you get to step 0 only to find that they lied as at this point you leave the spiral tower and move outside to climb another 50 steps to the colonnade. Because St Petersburg was built on a swamp the maximum elevation is 3m above sea level which means that there is nothing to interrupt the panoramic view from the colonnade.

Leaving the city we joined the commuter throng on the Metro where they could learn a thing or two from London Underground in terms of signs for finding the line you want and then recognising the stations along the way. In spite of their best efforts to confuse us, we made it back to the river port in good time for our 7 pm sailing and the Captain's champagne reception.

St Petersburg - 27 July 2008

The included tour for the morning was to the Hermitage Museum in central St Petersburg. The current museum curator claims it would take 18 years to see all the exhibits, and although we covered some 6 km of corridors in our visit we only had two hours to snatch a few highlights. Since some parts of the Hermitage were originally a palace, the rooms themselves are treasures regardless of whether they have contents or not. Other "plainer" rooms hold art works. There is a large collection of Rembrandts and an impressive French impressionists and post-impressionists section. Surprisingly, there is only one Carravagio in Russia and it is not a particularly good example of Carravagio's amazing use of light and shade. Two paintings by Da Vinci and another Madonna & Child by Raffaello were originally on wood, but this was not an appropriate backing for the Russian climate so they have had the wood removed from the rear of the paint and then replaced with canvas, all without destroying the masterpiece; absolutely amazing.

Quite incredibly, a 100 rouble permit allows visitors to take pictures throughout, the only restriction being no flash in the art gallery; a restriction disobeyed by many, and certainly not enforced by the babushkas sitting in each room, so the Matisse that was the feature of the Russian exhibition in the Royal Academy in London recently was uncrowded and able to photographed; quite the opposite from when we last saw it. The Hermitage is the largest museum in the world and certainly has an impressive art collection.

A chandelier in one of the first rooms we visited weight 2.5 tonnes and when it was candlelit, the best candles money could buy would only last 40 minutes before the guests had to be moved out of the room, the chandelier lowered and the candles replaced.

There was a choice of three afternoon excursions and we chose Pushkin (or Catherine's) Palace. Almost completely destroyed by a fire lit by the retreating Nazis in WWII it is slowly being restored to its former glory with about half of the 55 impressive reception rooms restored so far. Catherine intended to out-do every other royal in Europe and her golden corridor of 15 or so rooms is certainly mind bogglingly impressive opening, as they do in a continuous sequence of door after door after door. The main hall was one of the first restored and is now due for re-gilding with another 4 kg of gold leaf.


The jewel in the crown, and the only place where photos are not permitted, is the Amber Room. The original panels were spirited away by the Nazis and although seen in German hands in another Russian town shortly thereafter have been "lost", whether on the bottom of the Baltic or into a private collection somewhere is unknown.

Russian cruise - 26 July 2008

One of the current sources of civic pride is St Petersburg is the new ring road motorway around three sides of the city. We were proudly introduced to this as we rode it from the airport to the river port to embark on the MS Bunin. However, not to far along I noticed that all the vehicles in the right-hand lane were actually reversing against the flow of traffic. Just then the guide noticed and commented and then the driver decided that there was good reason for this strange behaviour (a traffic jam ahead) and decided to join the movement. So, our first new experience in Russia was reversing along the motorway to the off-ramp we had just passed.

Taking an alternate route it was not too long before we arrived at the Neva River port where 5 river cruise ships were docked and we were shepherded aboard the Ivan Bunin and assigned our cabins.

Birds of a different feather - 20 July 2008

With an MG Saloons Day as an excuse we headed north to Lamport House, had a look at their cars while they looked at ours and then wended our way back home via Holdenby House and the back routes, byways and little villages of Buckinghamshire.


Holdenby House was, at the time of building, the biggest home in England. To see it now you need to visit Northampton where a whole street of houses was built from the recycled stone after 7/8 of it was demolished.

The kitchen wing (since extended somewhat) and two arches left standing in a field near the house are all that remains of the place where Charles I was ‘imprisoned’ and it was through the arches that the Parliamentarians came to deliver the news of his death warrant and to take him away.


Charles and his father, James I, used to visit the House to indulge in falconry and that option is still open today in the form of corporate experience days at the falconry based here. We were treated to a falconry display on the front lawn; an entirely different sort of aerial acrobatics to yesterday.

From there it was a leisurely trip home, enjoying the summer scenery of roadside wild flowers and fields of ripening grain as we dawdled through Buckinghamshire’s delightful villages

Farnborough Air Show - 19 July 2008

Two years ago we got rained and frozen out of the Farnborough Air Show and since this year was the 60th Anniversary year we decided we would try again.

Because it was the anniversary year we were treated to an extended flying display that included nearly 30 minutes of the Red Arrows – always a treat. Other acrobatic displays were the Blades Extra team, the Aerostars YAK-50 team, the Indian Air Force Helicopter team, the Swift Acrobatic team with their gliders and one other team.

A huge favourite with the crowd was the second public flight, since 1992, of the Vulcan B2 bomber XH558, the only one of its type now flying. Even though there were nearly two hours of display still to come after the Vulcan landed, there were many comments around us along the lines of, “Well that’s what we came to see – lets go.” and many did at this point.

Honouring the past in other ways were a Spitfire, a Vickers Vimy, a Hawker Sea Hawk and a display of 8 WWI aircraft taking part in a mock dog-fight. Throw in a dash of the unusual, the Bell Augusta Tilt-rotor; the roar of the jet fighters including the new Eurofighter Typhoon; and the plain crazy, an Alenia C-27 transport plane doing a loop; and a great day was had.

The Two Towers - 13 July 2008

On the headland at Walton-on-Naze in Essex, is a tower built in 1720, as a navigational aid for shipping. It was recently bought a local resident and, after 284 years, first opened to the public in 2004. The climb to the top involves 111 steps, and the reward is art works displayed at each level on the way up, and a great view from the top.

From the tower, we did a 3-mile circular walk around the Naze headland. It is a beautiful remote feeling spot, with golden sand on the beaches. The builder of the tower was sensibly far-sighted, as, under the waves, 9 miles out to sea is the site of the original Walton township. The cliffs have eroded over the years, leaving the tower uncomfortably close to the sea.

The second tower of the day is also privately owned, Layer Marney Tower. This was originally intended as a rival to Hampton Court Palace, but, due to the early deaths of the first and second Lord Marneys, only part of the complex was built. The tower (this time only 101 steps) is the only part open of the main building to the public, and it gave a real sense of stepping back in time. Built in the 16th century, it is a total Tudor experience. The gardens are so tranquil, church just across the garden to one side, great hall and barn, both close to the tower. It certainly didn't feel like only 50 miles from London.

Before returning, we visited the nearby picturesque town of Coggeshall where one can find Paycockes; the preserved town house of a wealthy Tudor merchant, complete with another lovely garden. Nearby, in this must-see town, is the Grange Barn. Built in the 12th or 13th century it is the oldest and one of the best of its type left in Europe. It is amazing to think of it as a huge storehouse of produce. As we drove home we passed an enormous supermarket chain distribution centre warehouse, presumably the modern-day equivalent.

National treasures - 12 July 2008

As Kiwis from the other side of the globe, it is amazing how much of what we learnt in history is tangible and preserved in the UK.

A one-hour drive from London takes you to Stratfield Saye, the country home of the Duke of Wellington, purchased with funds given by a grateful nation to a national hero and national treasure.

Wellington originally had plans for a grand palace, not unlike Blenheim Palace, from the designs on display, but he eventually decided to make the existing dwelling on the property more comfortable. The result is a homely house, still very similar to the way it was when the Duke came down from London, and still lived in by his descendants.

His favourite charger, Copenhagen, survived all the battles with Wellington and lived to the ripe old age of 28. The horse was buried with full military honours and, so the story goes, the enormous oak tree growing on the grave, grew from an acorn tossed in the grave by his housekeeper. This was one of many stories told by the elderly tour guide, who made the tour extremely interesting with anecdotes from the lives of the family.

Following in the footsteps of Wellington's and his three sons, we went to Eton, in time for a guided tour of the school. It was interesting to hear the history of the school, and have a look around the original school, including the first classroom - one of the two earliest existing classrooms in England - the cloisters and chapel. Eton was set-up by King Henry 6th, as was Kings College in Cambridge. As the alma mater of 18 British Prime Ministers Eton must rank as a national treasure.

We then followed a very pleasant figure-of-eight walk, which crossed the River Thames to Windsor, with a walk past the castle walls and up the Long Walk Walk as well as a short walk along the shortest street in England; Queen Charlotte St – 51’ 10”. The number of tourists drawn here by the Castle and spending their tourist pounds makes Windsor our third national treasure for the day.