Russia……… a country that has always fascinated us, but that we could neither could nor wanted to visit on our own. This nation, unfortunately, is still not ready for "do-it-yourself" trips: there are no equipped rest areas for campers, let alone campsites, there's still too much bureaucracy at the borders, you lose hours and hours, the signs are in Cyrillic and only rarely did we see anything written in English, the police can stop you for nothing and if you don't pay the bribe – sometimes a bottle of wine is enough – they make things very difficult for you with considerable loss of time, very few people speak English, and for now they aren't interested in tourism.
For this trip we had already signed up four years earlier with CC La Granda, which was one of the first camper clubs to organise trips to this destination; unfortunately at the last moment I realised my passport was about to expire and I didn't have time to renew it. This year, after many postponements, we made up our minds: we turned to the agency we had been with in Libya, Girocamper; the cost was fairly high at € 3,460, departure and arrival Tarvisio, duration 30 days. After sending the deposit and then the balance in June, 15 days before departure the agency informed us that, having not reached the minimum number of participants, the tour would not take place, but redirected us to the Russian correspondent (sanpietroburgo.it) which, gathering all the various fragments from other clubs or agencies, managed to complete the necessary number to make the trip.
Instead of Tarvisio, the departure will be at Terespol on the Polish/Belarusian border and the end will be Narva on the Russian/Estonian border; only on this stretch will we be followed and assisted by guides: an Italian speaking Russian and a Belarusian speaking Italian and Russian, all at the price of € 1,750, practically half. We accepted immediately; the itinerary before and after Russia we'll do on our own, visiting anyway the places listed in the Girocamper programme.
I have divided this trip by countries, the Slovakia, with Poland partly on the way out and Częstochowa on the way back, Belarus, Russia divided into Moscow, the Golden Ring, St Petersburg, the Residences, and finally Estonia
Day 117 Jul 2006
195/4337 - Saint Petersburg - P. Sanpietroburgo.it - rain/cold
9:30 a.m. departure by bus Program: - Museum of wooden constructions: very beautiful and interesting, old wooden houses moved and rebuilt as in a village, at departure Alessia counts us: we're all here, departure, after a while the phone rings for no. 11, no. 10 had been left behind, the bus turns around and picks up two people. - Visit to the Kremlin with the Cathedral of Saint Sophia - Lunch in one of the towers transformed into a characteristic and very beautiful restaurant, unfortunately the food was not up to par: water in opened bottles, the first course passable, the second a mix of overcooked stewed meat, a sign that it was made up of leftovers from the previous day. On returning to the parking lot after a short rest, departure again at 3:00 p.m. bound for St.
Petersburg, again on the M10 highway, at times good but for the most part in disrepair, diesel refueling at a Ukoil station closed for maintenance, I was at the limit of my reserve, no. 6 offers me a 5-liter can of diesel, Ugo has the journey continue until the entrance to the city where we can finally refuel, entry into the city very chaotic also because of the G8 summit, already over but with the delegations leaving. We reach the agency's parking lot, a nice shady spot but not very clean, water refill with a long hose but with my connection, hooking up the electricity and the possibility of drainage, gray water in the grass and gray water in a manhole. The agency offers us vodka and canapés with red caviar as a welcome, Ugo updates us on the program for the following days. 11:30 p.m., it's still light, everyone off to bed.
Blue bus in Saint Petersburg converted into public toilets, red hose at hydrant
Day 218 Jul 2006
0/4337 - Saint Petersburg - P. sanpietroburgo.it - Rain/sun
It rained all night, this morning early we lit the stove because of the great humidity. Program: - Visit to the Hermitage, this alone repays us for the trip, it is a very interesting and rewarding visit, I took about a hundred shots, the guide, Katia, was very good, unfortunately the visit lasting three hours weighed heavily on my legs and by the end I couldn't take any more. At the end, lunch at a small restaurant nearby, the usual little salad, the soup and a second course with rice and mushrooms. Bus tour of the city and return to the parking lot. This evening Alessia came to settle the accounts for everything we had bought: souvenirs, extras at dinners or lunches, customs taxes etc. she was very precise in her calculations, however we noticed that what we bought at their little market costs much more than in the nearby supermarket, same product same quality.
Advice: Don't listen to the escort and buy things wherever you think best.
Granite walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the Neva under heavy clouds
Day 319 Jul 2006
0/4337 - Saint Petersburg - P. sanpietroburgo.it - sun/rain
Departure by bus at 9:30 a.m. Program: - Catherine's residence, outside St. Petersburg about 20 km away: sumptuous palace, with its famous amber room, not to be missed. Lunch in the former stables - In Petrodvorets 40 km from St. Petersburg on the shore of the Baltic, the summer residence of Peter the Great, only part of the park with its marvelous fountains is visited, very beautiful and characteristic, Katia is always thorough and precise in her explanations.
Boats on the Neva river in Saint Petersburg, cranes and cruise ship under clouds
Day 420 Jul 2006
0/4337 - Saint Petersburg - P. sanpietroburgo.it - sun
Departure at 10 a.m. by bus Program: - Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul with its cathedral, very beautiful - St. Isaac's Cathedral imposing and very beautiful. Packed dinner on the bus, if desired one could go to the gardens adjacent to the cathedral, but there weren't many benches and they were all occupied, we preferred this solution because we were tired of eating the usual things that aren't always to our liking. Advice: choose to have dinner or lunch each time and don't accept the package deal - Boat excursion between rivers and canals. We cross on foot the park in front of the cathedral and at the pier we wait almost an hour because our boat has broken down and we have to wait for another one that has to return, seen from the river and the canals, the city is more suggestive. Tired, but happy, we return by bus to the parking lot.
Dancers in red folk costumes and headscarves performing on a lit stage
Day 521 Jul 2006
0/4337 - Saint Petersburg - P. sanpietroburgo.it
Today is a free day, several take collective taxi no. 169 to the center to visit the famous Arbat street and see the Kremlin square again and other destinations, we prefer to stay at the parking lot, big cleaning of the camper…….. it needed it. Just outside the parking lot we refueled at a nice supermarket, among other things buying milk, we will later find that it was yogurt. Martina, one of the girls from the organization, asks me to pay for two bottles of vodka picked up yesterday, I, in good faith, pay not knowing that Tina had paid for them at pickup, a small argument, Martina doesn't want to give me the money back…….. she will ask Alessia to confirm that the payment was made, we notice with each passing day the agency's poor organization. As it is the last day of the official tour, it is decided that everyone will have dinner together: some make pasta with sauce, no.
10 makes pasta and beans, I made two pies that were very much appreciated by the group, even though the portions were small. It was a very cheerful evening and many bottles were emptied, several were quite merry, everyone off to bed, tomorrow the return journey begins.
Campers having lunch among parked motorhomes, a woman serving bowls
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