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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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The
White Nights of Summer by Bill Lindsley We were already tired when we arrived in Moscow, but had to agree that the sights were worth seeing, as our coach took us on a detour before arriving at our home for the next two weeks. Standing in front of the ship were three musicians who played for us as we walked up the gangway. From that point on, we really enjoyed our tour. Every evening, the musicians played in the bar and always radiated goodwill. In fact, all the staff on the boat were eager to please us and always had smiles on their faces. During our time on the ship, breakfast was served at 7 o'clock; we often started our day's touring at 8 o'clock; and, on most days, the ship stopped to allow us to go ashore and see the area, either by walking or taking a coach. Because of the light nights, we often went to bed as late as midnight so, over the two weeks, we were somewhat short of sleep. Because we were so tired after our journey, we only just noticed a fierce thunderstorm which raged in the middle of our first night. The next day, a Sunday, we were told that about a third of the trees in Central Moscow had been blown down and many houses had had their roofs blown off in a hurricane. The damage was enormous! Many electricity and telephone lines were down and others were holding up the trunks of the trees which had fallen. It was quite a disaster area and we were all horrified. Damage to the Kremlin and in Red Square resulted in all access for tourists being closed because of the danger. By the time we went ashore to investigate around nine o' clock in the morning, many people were already working to clear up the mess. There were men with power saws cutting up the most dangerous tree trunks and others were clearing up branches which were blocking roads. Lots of women were also helping, gathering the smaller pieces into piles ready to be picked up by the lorries which were already on the job. It seemed to us that the whole population had rallied round to put things right. By lunchtime, we could see that soldiers were also working and the whole city was a hive of activity. It showed a degree of community spirit which impressed us all greatly. On the second day, we were all able to go into Red Square and see the sights. The opulence of some of the palaces made me realise the inequality which existed under the Romanovs and the other rulers. While the lived in fantastic luxury, the poor were often starving. Whilst I am certainly not a political person, it made me much more sympathetic to the communistic ideals and, when talking to my fellow passengers, it became clear that many of us were having the same thoughts. That being said, it was fascinating to see all the marvellous architecture throughout our tour. By the time we reached St Petersburg, having seen many wonderful buildings and visited several theatres where we saw performances by some very capable folk groups, we thought that nothing would surprise us. But St Petersburg was the jewel in the crown. It is a fantastic city and the people are so very friendly. I wanted to buy some beer and vodka at a kiosk and had difficulty in deciding just what I wanted. Some of the local youths offered me advice as to what they thought I should buy. I spoke no Russian and they spoke no English, but we communicated and I have to say that we had a few laughs on the way. The vodka which I eventually purchased was very good indeed and I have happy memories of our interchange. It is sad to think that, ten years ago, we would have been prepared to drop nuclear bombs on each other. Among the passengers, who were a mixture of American and British, there was a great deal of interest in the taking of photographs of the St Petersburg sunset, which took place about half an hour before midnight. It never really got dark while we were there and these summer nights are known as the "White Nights". While we were there, the rouble took second place to the dollar in many tourist areas. On board our ship, we were expected to pay in dollars and, in many places, the prices were only given in dollars. Sterling was not acceptable in most cases and roubles were only taken if we insisted that we paid in the legal currency of the country. Why do we English worry about the Euro when there is an international currency already? During our
holiday we were always treated in a friendly fashion, no matter whom we
met (and we did meet lots of people), and I like to think that the Russians
found us reasonably friendly in return. there is a lot of poverty and
some people are suffering badly, but let us hope that their situation
will improve as time goes by. Altogether, I found the trip a memorable
experience. |