ME AND MY DRINKS

                                         Tales on Me

One day in St Petersburg, Russia I had a really nasty cold and bronchitis so passed on a city event and stayed on the boat.

I hadn’t had a Coke in nearly three weeks and it just sounded good to me. The people at reception were busy with keys and so forth as people were getting ready to leave the boat, so my buddy couldn’t request that they send a Coke to my cabin. I tried to figure out how to call reception, but managed to bungle it and gave up in frustration.

Since the library was directly across the hall from our cabin I wondered if anyone might be there. Still in my nightgown, unshowered, and  hair tousled I opened the door about 12 inches and spied a fellow, I’d not remembered seeing before, sitting reading a magazine. With my head and one shoulder out the door I said, “Would you do me a favor?”

He answered, “If I can.”

“Would you please go down to reception and ask them to send a glass of ice and a Coke Light to my cabin?”

Bless his heart he did, and about 15 minutes later there was a knock on my door. That Coke tasted soooo good.

It wasn’t until later in the day when I related the story to my travel companion that it occurred to me, “I wonder what that poor fellow thought my favor might be?”

      

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After a full day of sightseeing near Arenal in Costa Rica, it started to rain just as we were returning to our lovely tropical hotel. We headed up to the bar and pool before dinner. The girls were attracted to the pool, but my daughter and I headed to the bar/lounge area. It was my daughter’s 46^th birthday and I told her I’d buy her a drink. 

Not being much of a drinker I had a difficult time deciding what to drink. After some time mulling over the menu the bartender approached me asking, “Can I help you chose a cocktail?”

“I guess I do need some help deciding.” He sounded convincing when he suggested a fruit drink called Sex on the Beach in Manoa.

It was refreshing and I enjoyed it while visiting with a young couple from the trip  as well as keeping an eye on the girls in the pool.

When home I got a lot of mileage out of that little experience when I answered the question, “How was your trip?” with, “Oh it was fun. I had sex on the beach on this trip to Costa Rica!”

ANIMAL PARADES FOR CHARITY

Cow Parade

The popular and fairly common charity fund-raiser of displaying various animals, putting them on display and later auctioning them off has taken place in many cities. But the first cow parade took place in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998 and I was fortunate to be there.

          When the city walking tour of Zurich ended we strolled down the famous Bahnhofstrasse, a wide boulevard that runs from the train station for about 1½  kilometers to the edge of Lake Zurich. The wide sidewalks allow for lots of window shopping in the many high priced specialty shops. Sidewalk cafes are nestled between the shops and dining tables spill outside onto the sidewalk.

          Suddenly I spotted my first cow and alerted my friend to stop and wait. I needed to take a picture. By the time we reached the lake I had used a whole roll of film on the silly life-size cows.  For those who don’t know each animal has a sponsor, and each is decorated by a different artist.  Animals are often displayed for three months before being auctioned off.

          I have since run into many such events. I spotted my next cow exiting the Portland, Oregon airport in 2002. I saw horses in Vienna and many other animals including flamingos, hippos, and guitars in other places. It is always fun!

ST ISAAC'S CATHEDRAL

            St. Petersberg's Glorious Church

            The present St. Isaac’s Cathedral, austerely regal by day and ominously imposing by night is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world. The dome of the largest church in St. Petersberg, covered with 100 kg of pure gold, dominates the city’s skyline. A Frenchman spent his entire life, 40 years (1818-1858),on the project and  died one month after its completion. Finnish granite pillars, a 30,000-ton edifice, gray marble exterior, red granite colonnades, gold covered domes, and bronze statues make for a stunning structure that can accommodate 14,000 people. The cost to build the cathedral was ten times that of the winter palace.

            The first wooden church burned. The second church, also wooden, was built at the present site of the Peter the Great statue. Water undermined that church and it fell to ruins. Catherine the great commissioned the third and present church to be built on its present site. However, she died when the church was only half finished, and her son, in revenge, never finished the church. A total of 24.000 pillars support the church.

            The church was an active one until 1932 when it became a museum. In contradiction to Russian Orthodoxy St Isaac’s contains 600 golden sculptures. Built with three aisles, the golden chandeliers hold many, probably hundreds, candle lights. The large main columns are joined with an arch. The icons on the iconostasis are actually mosaics as weather destroyed the painted icons before they were even completed.

            The marble columns are not covered with frescoes, as seen in some churches. A large mosaic is in the center of the marble floor while the rest of the floor is done in marble stripes. Immediately on each side of the iconostasis alter door is a lapis column, then three large malachite columns extend out on each side of the lapis ones.

            Acoustics are perfect in the church. All outside doors are large and heavy with the heavily carved relief door weighing ten ton. The church is so named because Peter the Great was born on May 30 which is the day of St. Isaac. The interior with its 14 varieties of marble, generous touches of jasper, malachite, gilded stucco and many frescoes and murals is the main attraction. The lovely stain glass windows and carved white marble iconostasis are also worthy of special note.

            One can almost say that if you’ve seen one Russian Orthodox Church you’ve seen them all as they follow a definite décor theme. St Isaac’s is an exception and was truly mind boggling and exceptionally beautiful---a definite must-see for any visitor to this fascinating city.

HISTORIC LANDMARKS

                      The Catherine Palace and Peter and Paul Fortress

             The elegant Catherine Palace, built in 1718 for Peter the Great’s wife, is a monument to Russian art and culture. The summer palace of the czars is located just outside the city. Construction began in 1744 and after years of embellishment and reconstruction it reached its current Baroque grandeur of elegant blue, white and gold perfection.

            The Catherine Palace facade is the longest in all of Europe, stretching more than 1,000 feet in a fantastic profusion of columns, windows, pilasters and statues. Originally the ornaments of the palace were gilded, which must have been a brilliant contrast against sapphire blue walls. Very expensive to maintain and difficult to keep looking fresh and clean, later Catherine II ordered the gilt palace ornaments to be painted over in a bronze color.

            There are two fronts to the palace; one faces the garden and the other is an enormous parade ground enclosed in a one-story arc of baroque buildings and gilded railings. After Peter and Catherine’s deaths, the palace passed to their lively, blue-eyed daughter, Elizabeth, who lived in the palace during the reigns of her half-brother Peter II and her cousin, Anna. Elizabeth had the palace enlarged and later the famous Italian Architect Rastrelli took on the task of the famous palace facades that are seen today.

            Catherine II made a Neo-Classical style addition, which she preferred over the flamboyant Baroque style, to the far wing of the palace.

The weather was very damp and dreary while I was in St. Petersburg and I managed to pick up a nasty cold. Unfortunately I felt pretty awful the day we made this visit so my notes are shorter than usual.

The Peter and Paul Fortress, built in 1703, is situated on a small island in the Neva River delta. The historical treasure  has been a prison, fortress and now is the burial site of Russian czars. Originally built to defend against the Swedes, Peter the Great laid the first stone.

The city developed on both sides of the fortress but eventually the site across the river is the one that was sustained. From the Admiralty on the south embankment the main streets radiate like wheel spokes. Canals and other streets cross the spokes and run parallel to the main channel of the Neva.

Across the Neva  River, the distinctive gold spire shines over what was a major shipbuilding and naval center. The city’s major streets fan out from this point. The 12-meter thick walls support 300 pieces of artillery. The fortress even had a functioning mint at one time. The courtyard is cobbled.

            Nearby stands the Dutch-style Peter and Paul Cathedral, a shrine to the Romanoff dynasty. Its belfry supports a stunning needle-like golden spire, which can be seen from most any spot in the city. The golden angel holding a cross is the city symbol. The bells ring four times a day. The baroque interior with its carved iconostasis is breath taking. It took 40 serfs seven years to carve the linden wood under the gold leaf. Inside are the Romanoff monarch sarcophagi, and the one with a bust on top identifies Peter the Great.