Russian Federation
September 8, 2011
Thursday
Dear Family and Friends,
The sun made a brief appearance this afternoon. Mostly though, the sky is gray and the drizzle incessant. The air is humid and chilly.
Nonetheless, I make my patented strolls around this surprising city, up and down Nevsky Prospekt, a busy eight lane boulevard lined with smart shops, bistros and restaurants and pastel stone buildings. It really is lovely here.
Saint Petersburg
Russia
September 9, 2011
Dear Friends,
Irina, my Russian friend in Miami, recommended I visit Petrodvorets outside Saint Petersburg. So I rode the Metro (subway) for twenty minutes and then hopped a mini-van for a thirty minute ride west of the city.
Peter the Great (1682 – 1725) built a home here on the shores of the Gulf of Finland to oversee the construction of his naval base. Eventually the area was developed with gracious white palaces, sculpted gardens, a series of dancing fountains and energetic cascades.
Saint Petersburg
Russia
Saturday
September 9, 2011
At the Hermitage Museum I was approached by a charming woman who offered to be my personal guide. Since she quoted an exorbitant fee, I simply explained, “I just follow my nose.”
I noticed that everyone raced through the entrance lobby and headed for the magnificent grand stairway leading up to the main galleries. What a shame. They rushed through the arcade filled with enormous Greek sculptures. And in one corner, in a very unpretentious location, I found a huge urn with bas relief sculptures depicting a “party” and the inevitable outcome of too much of a good thing.
Saint Petersburg
Russia
September 11, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
I met Rainer at the B & B in Saint Petersburg. Rainer works for an insurance company in Germany and is here on a four day holiday. In his early forties, he is single and adventurous. He has traveled the world from Bonn to Bangkok to Burkina Faso.
We decided on two trips together – one out of town and one local.
Novgorod
Russia
September 13, 2011
What a surprise! Flapjacks! Yes, Flapjacks!
The word “Flapjacks” printed, oh so neatly, on one of those little white cards on the breakfast buffet table. I haven’t seen or heard the word “flapjacks” in many, many years. Have you?
The traditional buffet breakfast at the Hotel Volkhov: cereals, omelet, rice, macaroni and vegetables, fish stew, boiled eggs, tempting cakes, fresh fruit, tea (black and green), brewed coffee and flapjacks, or pancakes.
Moscow
Russian Federation
September 16, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
Eight years ago, on a bus ride from the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin to Bangkok, I met Galina and her teenage daughter Christina. Galina spoke no English, but Christina spoke a little. I learned they lived in Moscow and were headed for the Russian embassy in Bangkok. Galina’s husband was an officer in the Russian Navy.
