The Hermitage - St. Petersburg

We arrived in the middle of the night...how apropos for a spy novel. How would snoopy begin...."It was a dark Moscow night." Of course it is not night here at this time of year....in St. Peterburg - formally Lenningrad. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here! The local people call these the white-white days.....meaning that it is never truly dark. The sun dropped below the sea at 11:30 but even at 2:00 a.m. it was twilight. Then at about 3:30 the sun rose above the the sea again.

It was a beautiful sunny day, another rarity, according to our guide. She is a student at Pushkin University in languages. She says that there are only 60 sunny days a year here, and we should be thankful that we are here on such a day as this one. Such a warm day was apparently a rarity for St. Petersburg. The guide said that this was St. Petersburg's summer --- referring to this one day as the whole of summer. Many people are out on the banks of the rivers sunning themselves. I took a sweater, never knowing what to expect in these northern climes, but I did not need it today --- I actually got a bit too warm.
We passed through customs without incident. We had to present our passports, a form that the Russian government required, and our ticket to whatever event we were to attend to prove we were going where we said we were. The woman who took the passport was all business -- no smile, But then Kathy told me that in Russia it is considered inappropriate to smile when first meeting. That the local people sometimes consider it a false friendliness.

One we boarded the bus the tour guides began immediately to tell us about the city. The port is brand new and will not be finished for another two to three years. It is being built on reclaimed land and extends out a great distance from the city proper. The intent is to create this port for tourist traffic leaving the old port for freighters and the like. This would make leaving the ship and pushing a wheelchair utterly impossible. A Royal Caribbean ship is directly behind us and others are moored in front of us as well, so leaving the port in haste would be impossible. We are, I suppose in some sort of queue, poised to step onto the dance floor at just the right moment. We passed through another checkpoint at the entrance of the port, and then were on Russian soil!

The first thing we passed by was an apartment building that would have conformed to my preconceived notions of a communist country (gray--utilitarian) but soon we were passing buildings that were built most likely in the 19th century. While they were in somewhat poor condition in some ways, they were outstanding in others. The windows all seem to need a good wash, but there is not much litter on the ground. The streets were broad thoroughfares with lots of new cars competing for space with our bus.

We were issued receivers and earphones and divided into groups of 15 people. Many of the folks on this ship were older with limited mobility. That made the Hermitage a great challenge. In the morning sun the spires of many buildings glint golden against the blue of the sky. The city itself looks golden in the distance (later I learned that yellow is the favorite color of St. Petersburg). There are the characteristic onion domes that we think of when we think of Russia. They are the spires of the Cathedral on the Spilled Blood where Alexander the II was killed. Even though he freed the serfs -- it was not enough. Landless surfs are unhappy serfs! His son decided to erect a Cathedral on the spot where he was killed. The guide used the word "terrorist" to describe his murderers. (and we think of terrorists as a uniquely American problem -- how silly we are) This beautiful cathedral is the only church in St. Petersburg with the traditional onion domes. Peter wanted this city (which he named after his patron saint - Peter) to be the Venice of the north and he eschewed the traditional Russian architecture! Katherine the Great, as we know was German and did not fancy the traditional Russian architecture either. This explains the palaces which have Italian designers, architects and and style!

We arrived at the Hermitage and the square in St. Petersburg where the Russian Revolution began in 1918. The squire is directly in front of the Hermitage with a stunning column in its center commemorating a victory over the (the Swedes -- I think -- I will have to check my facts later since Internet connections are poor). I had planned to use the Internet to educate myself about some of these locations --since carrying books was unappealing for obvious reasons ---but we have had such expensive and poor access that I cannot recommend this method to anyone -- bring the Rick Steve's guides with you).

The moment you enter the Hermitage you will feel the presence of the structure. It is a rabbits warren --- like the Louvre -- unfortunately we didn't get a map and we are not able to do anything but stay with the tour. Ordinarily, I would not have hesitated to tell the leader that I would meet the tour at a particular point at a particular time, but this is different the little babushka ladies seated in each room to keep you for destroying anything speak no English--and it would be difficult to find someone to help you ---- and if you got lost-----there are the stories about staying in Russia that make you just fearful enough to stay with the guide, and sometimes the crowds are so fierce that you must be rude to keep up with your guide. We entered the Hermitage together and immediately climbed a great staircase. We turned to look back on an ornately decorated hall. Apparently this was the staircase used by ambassadors from many countries, and it made an impressive display of Russian wealth and power.

Having said all of that -- I cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the Hermitage! The floors we walked over need protection from so many feet, but they were incredible. Mirror images of the ceilings above which had raised gilt designs. The floors have the same intricate patterns in beautiful woods - so elegantly done that they almost look as though they were painted. The columns in the rooms are either stunning marble, granite or they too have gold leaf on them. This palace would rival Versailles if it were fully restored and kept up as nicely. A woman behind me was desperate. She had paid the fee to use her camera in the Hermitage and now didn't know how to turn off her flash, and of course there is no use of camera without turning off the flash. I took the camera and found the setting for which she seemed very grateful. Turned out it was a brand new camera and when I asked if she had the booklet that went with it -- she said no.....I can't figure things out without directions ---- I even brought the booklet on my new little computer!!

Once in the gallery there were many pieces from the earliest times in the form of Icons and other religious art works. These interested me, but of course for modern eyes works in two dimension are not fulfilling. The paintings I would choose to spend time with are, of course Rembrandt, the Impressionists and the Dutch painters! There was a vast collection of immense vases. Some appeared to be of malachite. Our guide pointed out that these are not made of solid Malacite, rather the craftsmen employed the traditional Russian mosaic art and cut pieces of the stone matching the pattern so perfectly that it is difficult to see them as anything but whole pieces. Other urns were made of granite and are probably actually massive pieces.

Next we walked through many galleries and down a number of flights of stairs to the Gold Room to keep our appointment there. Apparently many visitors find this to be the most impressive part of the Hermitage. The fact that we were taken in 15 at a time -- signed in and out---and the gold is behind glass -- humidity and temperature controlled all speak to this!!! It was also interesting that we had a special tour guide who spoke only Russian guide us through the exhibit and our guide then interpreted what she said. I asked the guide why she just didn't do the talk since it would have gone much faster --- she laughed and said --- the presentation is always different depending on the Russian guide.
We then retraced our steps through gallery after gallery and picked up where we left off. There are outstanding collections of ceramics and some statues.

When we reached the gallery of Rembrandt the room was really crowded, and I couldn't enjoy the Prodigal --too many people in front of it, and we were too hurried for me to take the time to get up close enough to survey it completely. I can only imagine what joy it would have been to pull one of the red velvet covered stools or chairs into position and at an uncrowded time to sit in front of it and see fully the play of light on canvas. It is so much larger than I had thought...as much larger, in fact, than the Mona Lisa was smaller than expected. There are several of his self-portraits here as well, and the painting of the old man in the red robe -- that if I remember correctly he used an elderly rabbi as model. Heart-broken I am wrenched away from Rembrandt and we moved into the Impressionism - to modern section of the gallery. We were give 20 minutes here to view the worlds largest collection of Matisse --- and to see a number of works I am totally unfamiliar with.

Then down the stairs and out to a shopping spot and finally back to the bus. I was quite dehydrated (we couldn't take our water with us into the museum) and most weary by the time we got back to the ship at 6:00 p.m. I hurried to get a bit to eat before we headed out at 7:15 to see the Folkloric Program. As we headed back out through the customs we did not need so much documentation. They simply looked at out stamped passports and waived us on. Many of our shipmates were dressed for an evening of ballet or opera....but we chose the more casual program. (partly because we have no formal clothes --- partly because it suits our temperament to be comfortable after such a grueling day.
I was so sleepy that I nodded off on the bus. The guide for this presentation was not only knowledgeable, but also was very helpful getting the wheelchair taken care of and accommodating Kathy. She said it was the law that wheel chairs should be accommodated and apologized for the fact that we did not take Kathy into the Hermitage. If only she had been there to help us navigate! We arrived in front of a large hall. Certainly it was pre-capitalist since there was no air conditioning and the stage lights were on a pole on the main floor, perched in a way that would have been unacceptable because of potential injury and lawsuit in the U.S. My expectations for this performance were low as I assumed that these would be second tier performers at best. What a stunning surprise awaited us.

The costumes were studding, the dancing was superb, the singing was reminiscent of sacred harp singing with open fifth harmonies. They sang with deep conviction. Each piece was cleverly tied to the next with sight gags, and humor....the leader of the group was a diminutive fellow (he was the choreographer it turned out) who has a passion for Russian folk music traditions and is trying to revive this throughout Russia. He has dreams, and his troop responded to the warmth of the audience by dancing and singing their hearts out. They came back for more than one curtain call! Each curtain call brought forth more complex and daring dance moves -- as if they save this greatest material only for those who showed true appreciation. It was an exhilarating end to a tiring day, and I found that I was so charged --- it took a bit of time to unwind once we got back aboard. However, when I hit the sack, I was asleep upon the instant!

Now for the problems with St. Petersburg--things to avoid next time.
1) Because the Hermitage is actually 5 buildings, and because the guides feel compelled for us to visit it all --- we constantly move -- this means no time to spend with favorite paintings.
2) Crowds --- since the museum is only open from 10-5 p.m. everyone is in the building at the same time---so often my favorite paintings are covered up with people--- This is true for the Prodigal Son --- It is much larger than I expected, and there was a huge crowd around it --- I could not get far enough away to see it and the crowd obliterated much of the painting --
3) PEOPLE ARE BREATHING ALL OVER THE PAINTINGS -- THERE IS NO CONTROL OF HUMIDITY OR TEMPERATURE --- THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN LETTING IN THE AIR POLLUTION TO DAMAGE THE PAINTINGS --- They can get right up and touch them --- the little babouska ladies often are asleep! I am stressed by this --- thinking we should have UNESCO declare this a world site and then raise the money to not only put these paintings in the atmosphere they need. Heck, even a donation box for this purpose would probably bring in a great deal of money --- I an many other lovers of art would contribute!!!
4)The tour guides think that the Gold Room is the most important treasure in the building ---- this is evidenced by the amount of time we spent there --- the fact that we had to be taken in 15 at a time -- signed in and out---and the gold is behind glass -- humidity and temperature controlled!!! It was also interesting that a Russian spoke Russian about the exhibit and the guide then interpreted. I asked the guide why she just didn't do the talk since it would have gone much faster --- she laughed and said --- the presentation is always different depending on the Russian guide. I got the idea that what she meant perhaps to some degree questioned the validity of the presentation by the little Russian lady guide.
5) The guide speaks very good English, but she is not an Art historian -- unlike the countries where the guides must go to school for three years and take a test before they become guides -- the only requirement of these guides is that they speak English. She does the best she can, but I am thinking --- I probably in some parts of the museum could have presented better information about the art ---than she did.....sad .......I am wishing for guides of the calibre we had in Egypt and Greece!!! I must remember not to compare. Russia has only been at the tourist business for about 20 years!
6) The other problem with the Hermitage tour is that we march back and forth through the building, up and down the same stairs several times --- rather than having a direct tour -- I imagine this is to keep us moving and also to adjust to the numbers of other tours that are in the building at the same time --- but in terms of time usage -- and for those folks who are really struggling to walk it is frustrating. In fact, there should be times where people sit and hear the discussion before we go into a gallery -- The Turkish guide was particularly good at this --- finding a shady spot and a place to sit -- then telling everyone what to expect next -- then walking us through the hot sunny ruin to the next spot of shade!! Genius!!!
6)NEEDED--Elevators and proper access for the disabled (Kathy tells me I should be calling it Disabled access -- not handicapped access---I find this somewhat peevish --- since we keep going through all these PC corrections --- i.e. colored, negro, black, now African American--I ask what could possibly be wrong with handicapped -- it seems less than disabled to me.....she says it is the origin of the word handicapped --- which comes from hand to cap as in begging.....I say how many people would even know that reference --- but ah well --- I will try to change long held habits and called it disabled access from now on!!!)