On the Train to St. Petersburg: Sharing Some Difficult Memories
It is a relatively calm and stress-free morning as we head to St. Petersburg. The weather still seemingly against us – a cool, wet, north wind is blowing as we head to the station for our train ride into Russia. Kouvola is as I...
Sunday in Russia: A Romantic Seurat Painting
Sunday in Russia is like a romantic Seurat painting: everyone is out in the parks and by the canals and the rivers, enjoying the warm sunny weather on their one day liberated from work. Families eating ice cream, and couples, the...
The Beautiful Light of St. Petersburg, Russia
It is our last day in St. Petersburg, and the light is beautiful. Our train is not until 4:30 and we have officially finished with our guide Nico so we pack and organize ourselves, check out of the hotel and grab the number 22...
Paying the Price for Beautiful Weather in St. Petersburg
After a day of beautiful weather, we pay the price today: it pours with rain almost the entire day. Having visited (or not) the palaces on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, today we turn our attention to sights not yet seen in the...
A Night at the Hermitage
Darkness had descended on the magical city of St. Petersburg and a soft rain was falling as we set off for an exclusive evening tour of the Hermitage Museum, ten kilometres from the vast sea port where our cruise ship, Holland...
At the Hermitage: a Full Day of Art and Culture
The Hermitage Museum occupies five buildings on its main site (and three satellites here in St. Petersburg, as well as in a few major cities around the world). The main building is the Winter Palace, the St. Petersburg home of...
Arriving Home After Six Months of Followsummer.com
Sunday, June 6th, 2004: Toronto, Stratford, Ontario N 43° W 080° Southwestern Ontario is lush and green from a cool and wet spring. Our rush hour drive home from the airport takes us through the gentle rolling hills of both...
Peterhof: The 2nd Summer Palace of Peter the Great
Saturday, July 3rd, 2004: St. Petersburg, Russia We are off to Peterhof today. The 2nd summer palace of Peter the Great, it was built on the site of a former Swedish fortress (as were most of the great country palaces of the...