Momboisse Family Adventures Baltic Sea- Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Norwegian Sun docked at Vasilyevski Island, St. Petersburg. From the aft of our ship we could view the city skyline made up of rows of tall cement buildings with very little character. These are the "modern" buildings of St. Petersburg, built in Soviet style.

Not wanting to deal with Visa's is Russia we booked two tours through NCL for the next two days. Today's tour, Puskin & The Hermitage, would drive us though St. Petersburg then 15 miles south to Puskin, the location of Tsarskoe Selo, returning to the city and the Hermitage Museum.

The most time consuming part of visiting Russia is getting through Passport Control. This must be passed in order to enter or exit Russia. The agents are no nonsense as they study every wrinkle of our faces before stamping our Passports. Don't smile, don't talk, don't move (unless motioned to), and DO NOT take pictures.

Look up anywhere in St. Petersburg (inside or out) and you will find a camera. Rest easy you are safe here. Someone IS watching and probably listening.

The city was founded in 1703 by Tsar/Emperor Peter the Great (more on him later in this post). In 1712 the city became the capital of Russia, and remained so for more than two hundred years (1712- 1728, 1732 - 1918). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).