The Araura, The Winter Palace and Kronstadt

St Petersburg got a bit of a mixed reaction from us. What was fun was that in one of the talks from a History Proffesor on board called Dr Schindler the starting point was an introduction to Peter the Great. However Rusia needed us to have Visas and as we did not have them (neither did anyone else) we would have to go ashore on organised excursions with Cunard rather than wonder about visiting what we wanted to.

So we chose the trips we wanted and hoped they would give us a good feel for the City. In particular I wanted to see the Cruiser Araura, the ship that fired the blank shot that started the Russian revolution. The river cruise was billed to go past the cruiser so I assumed that was as close as I would get.

So we were not in control of where we were going or when and although the City was beautiful and very much as I expected it, the missis had an image of red square and all its eastern architectural glory complete with onion domes in her head that St Petersburg does not match.

The City was built in 1703 on land captured from Sweden in the Great Northern War and the architects were brought from Amsterdam so the city has a very western european feel. Very much in keeping with Tsar Peters own western outlook.

Another frustration for me is that we had no internet acccess for much of the time on our boat, when I finally got access 3 days later in Germany I found that friend of the blog Aleksey had offered to meet us and give us a tour of his home city, I was absolutely gutted, what a shame I was too late to take him up on this wonderful offer. Next time Aleksey!

So day one I find that the cruise in fact goes nowhere near the Araura at all and we can just about see its funnels if we squint over the tops of some trees. Again gutted.

Day two and we are on a coach being dropped at strategic points in the centre of St Petersberg, our last stop just off Nevsky Prospect is for 3 hours of shopping and sight seeing. a quick discussion with the missis sees me given permission for an adventure and I leg it towards the river. Probably a mile and a half away and on the opposite bank of the river I have half an idea where the Araura is moored, I have no local currency, no bank card and not much of a clue, armed with nothing but my tablet for pictures and an apple I set off like Livingstone into the unknown. half an hour later I am staring up at the Araura, what awonderful ship.

Built in 1900 she served in the Russo-Japanese war then in the Baltic in World War one before, on the 26th of October 1917 firing the shot that started the Russian Revolution. In World War II her guns were removed to eb used in the last defence of Leningrad as St Petersberg was then known.

It is a wonderfully well kept ship, unfortunately for me I of course had no way of paying for a ticket to get on board and the que to get on was far longer than I was goign to get before the coach departed so I had to eb satisfied with a little photography, again maybe next time.

As I arrived there was a naval crew on board, not sure what they were up to but I got a shot as they marched past me.

Legging back across the river and further downstream I had tiem for a breif looa t Peter The Greats Satue and soem shots of the winter palace, scene of the opening moments of the Russian Revolution. Before fighting my way through the crowds back down Nevsky Prospekt to meet the missis and catch the coach.

As we sailed out of St Petersberg I couldnt help feeling I had barely scratch urface of this city, I hope to have the chance to visit again.

Sittign in the bar as we sailed away I noticed we were passing an island with what looked like fortifications, realising this must be the naval base at Kronstadt, home of the revolutionary sailors and scene of a bloody battle in a counter revolution when the sailors decided the Bolsheviks were betraying the revolution I had to get some pictures.

Apologies for the quality I nicked the missis's phone to get these.

 In the first picture you can just make out docks and some ships, a fair number in this first area were clearly decomitioned and rotting but also clearly military vessels.

Below is one of the bastions that float in the gulf of Finland, I ahve seena  documentary of these beign stormed by the red army once the gulf had frozen over and the army re-captured Kronstadt.

 Above we see more docks with modern naval vessels and below more fortifications. These days Kronstadt has a road bridge over to it, Finland is only a mile away, the survivors of the storming of Kronstadt escaped across the ice and into Finlands forests, the prisoners were mainly executed.

So that was St Petersberg, another beautiful City with a little adventure in the middle.

The last of these will be Helsinki where we visited the linked island fortresses of Suemellina, I wont post anything about our last port in Rostok as I dont see anything that would interest most gamers.

Coule more posts before then, I have the completed second unit of Swedish Life Guard of Horse and a playtest of War of the three Kings to share, so keep watching and thanks for reading.