On the Train to St. Petersburg: Sharing Some Difficult Memories
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 imagined it to be, a Finnish outpost on the Russian border – bleak and barren, 1950s dull, with a hint of pulp and paper mill in the air. Someone in Helsinki had asked us why we were going to Kouvola – I now understand why. All in Stride: A Travel Day The train is about 15 […] The post On the Train to St. Petersburg: Sharing Some Difficult Memories appeared first on fol ..read more
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Sunday in Russia: A Romantic Seurat Painting
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 men smartly dressed, the women with their lipstick just so, walking or sitting on park benches holding hands, some drinking beer, others possibly some cold vodka. Several are picnicking, some are playing volleyball, all seem to be enjoying the fact that summer has arrived, for today at least. 40 Minutes to Pavlovsk and Tsarskoe Selo We too are having a […] The po ..read more
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The Beautiful Light of St. Petersburg, Russia
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 bus to St. Isaac’s Cathedral for a day of last minute sightseeing. On our first visit to St. Isaacs we didn’t have the opportunity to spend any real time inside the church-turned-museum, so today we head back for a second look. It is known as one of the most beautiful churches in Europe, and it truly is. Ornate […] The post The Beautiful Light of St. Petersburg ..read more
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Paying the Price for Beautiful Weather in St. Petersburg
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 city itself. Our starting point is the Fortress of Peter and Paul, strategically set on an island with a commanding position over the Neva. Inside the fortress is the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, whose spire is visible from all over St. Petersburg, and which serves as the necropolis for the Russian imperial family. We have gotten […] The post Paying the Price for Beau ..read more
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A Night at the Hermitage
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 America’s  Zuiderdam was securely docked for our overnight in St. Petersburg. Situated on the Gulf of Finland, where the Neva River empties into the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great (1672 – 1725) in 1703, replacing Moscow as Russia’s capital city. Among its many opulent palaces, churches and museums, perhaps the […] Th ..read more
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At the Hermitage: a Full Day of Art and Culture
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 the tsars until the Revolution, which has since been part of the Museum. The post At the Hermitage: a Full Day of Art and Culture appeared first on followsummer ..read more
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Arriving Home After Six Months of Followsummer.com
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 Wellington and Perth Counties and is uneventful other than the usual end of work day traffic on the 401. We arrive to a beautiful late spring dinner of BBQ’d trout with rosti potatoes and fresh asparagus prepared by John’s sister Liz. Lots of fun, laughs and wine. Too Short a Time Our time in Stratford is all too short. We […] The post Arriving Home After Six Months of Foll ..read more
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Peterhof: The 2nd Summer Palace of Peter the Great
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
6M ago
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 tsars) to show that the Swedes, who had controlled the Neva delta for hundreds of years, and who had thus denied Russia a port on the Baltic, had been truly vanquished from this part of the world. Arriving Like the Tsars We take a hydrofoil from the Palace Embankment across the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof – a […] The post Peterhof: The 2nd Summer Palace of Peter the Great ..read more
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Arriving Home After Six Months of Followsummer.com
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
2y ago
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 Wellington and Perth Counties and is uneventful other than the usual end of work day traffic on the 401. We arrive to a beautiful late spring dinner of BBQ’d trout with rosti potatoes and fresh asparagus prepared by John’s sister Liz. Lots of fun, laughs and wine. Too Short a Time Our time in Stratford is all too short. We […] The post Arriving Home After Six Months of Foll ..read more
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Peterhof: The 2nd Summer Palace of Peter the Great
followsummer » Russia
by Gregory George
2y ago
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 tsars) to show that the Swedes, who had controlled the Neva delta for hundreds of years, and who had thus denied Russia a port on the Baltic, had been truly vanquished from this part of the world. Arriving Like the Tsars We take a hydrofoil from the Palace Embankment across the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof – a […] The post Peterhof: The 2nd Summer Palace of Peter the Great ..read more
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