Wow!  What a fabulous summer – BUT, boy is it good to be home;-)

OH – wait!  A few more quick trips before the luggage can be put completely away.  Las Vegas was calling for a ‘one night stand’;-)  When the Eagles’ “Hotel California” tour schedule came out AND our favorite C&W artist, Vince Gill, was included –  it was a no brainer that we had to go.  Especially since one of the performances was a mere 5 hours away in Las Vegas!  So, the bags were packed once again and the car was loaded – and we were off for a real treat – –

G’s birthday present last April was tickets to see the Eagles in Las Vegas.

The Hotel California album played in its entirety, with full orchestra for the relevant pieces AND Vince Gill.

Every part of the concert was fantastic!  Especially the fact that they played for about 3 1/2 hours.  Worth every penny!

After arriving back home, there were about 5 days to repack, ‘Ship Sticks’ the golf clubs off to Oregon and catch a plane to Medford.  Here the first four days were spent on the Saltmarsh Ranch of friends Priscilla and Steve – enjoying the ranch and several plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Theater.  The plays included a wonderful, funny “Hairspray” and two new engaging plays with fabulous productions – “Cambodian Rock Band” and “Mother Road”.  Both well worth a viewing if anywhere in your neighborhood in the future (or at the OSF).

Our wonderful hosts, Priscilla and Steve Weaver, for a few days at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

A beautiful setting for the Saltmarsh Ranch.

The view from our guest quarters was colorful and relaxing.

Steve worked long and hard training the new addition to the household, Clara the Labrador retriever.

We lucked into a weekly gathering of musicians playing Celtic tunes in a local coffee shop.

A HUGE thank you to wonderful hosts for the best, quaint little room where one wakes up to piano concertos and a delicious breakfast of fresh farm egg omelets and biscuits;-)

But, as always, the next stop was calling.  So, off to Bandon Dunes and three days of golf on beautiful courses with good friends, Rebecca and Jim.  For the most part, the weather was even good to us.  A little cool and breezy – BUT no rain;-)  If only the golf Gods could do something about our golf;-(

How do Jim & Rebecca keep coming back for more of our atrocious golf?!?

Oceans views from the courses are endless.

The iconic Old Macdonald snag watches E as she successfully negotiates this nasty bunker.

A closer view of the Old Mac ’emblem’.

I wonder how many golf balls are hiding in this grass?

Then, just as our shadows faded away, it was time for Bandon to fade away also and for us to return home one more time.  Where, by the way,  more beautiful places can be found to play golf.  Even with lots of wildlife – –

The heron on the bridge has a gallery.

It is wonderful to have so many great friends to spend time with and enjoy adventures.  The best part is that even after several months or a year apart, we can sit down and carry on conversations as though no time had passed since the last ‘talk’.  And then, even after three or four full days of discussions – new topics keep coming up to share;-)

E & G – Full of Life – and a Happy One!

Finally back on solid ground in Amsterdam – and what a wonderful way to end this journey!  This is a beautiful city that was thoroughly enjoyed and begs us to return;-)

It doesn’t take long, here, to find your way around.  Even though our hotel was a bit north of “Old Town” in what appeared to be a new hip ‘fashion district’, the bus came to the corner to get us to the Central Station, where we could catch anything we wanted – bus, tram, train – to get us anywhere we wanted to go.  So, morning one – with 48 hour transportation pass in hand – we were off to the Museum Quarter.

Our hotel – located in Houthaven (Timber Port). Our view was of barges, tankers and dry-docks.

A beautiful, efficient Central Station.

A walk out the doors of Central Station and there is Amsterdam – just as pictured in one’s mind;-)  Canals everywhere – lined with boats of every nature (including LOTS of houseboats) and the banks lined with buildings from the 1600 and 1700’s leaning against one another for support.  Oh yes – AND BIKES!!!

Walking along the canals is a joy – as this IS Amsterdam.

The Museum Quarter is an exquisite area (literally – as their ‘Rodeo Drive’ is the northern boundary!).  An inviting park – Museumplein – is bordered by the Concert Gebouw at one end and the Rijksmuseum on the other end.  Between are the Van Gogh and Stedelijk Museums.  This park provides a very inviting open space to enjoy the buildings before one enters to enjoy the art;-)

The main concert hall.  Unfortunately nothing to attend during our two evenings;-(

One of the three ‘must see’ items was next up on the itinerary – the Van Gogh Museum.  This was our favorite and not to be missed.  Van Gogh’s nephew was instrumental in creating this museum, which tells the story of the artist’s life through the 200 paintings of his works which are featured.   It is so hard to believe Van Gogh created this body of work by the age of 37 (he killed himself at this age in 1890).  Included works are Sunflowers, The Bedroom, The Potato Eaters – and several butterfly pictures (which just happened to be E’s favs and had to ‘sneak’ the pics).

This morning Van Gogh was our host!

Some of Van Gogh’s butterflies. (This was in the Van Gogh Museum.)

This was Garden with Butterflies in the Rijks (where we could take pics).

Second of the ‘must see’ items is the Rijksmuseum, which was built to house the nation’s great art.  It owns several thousand paintings, including an incomparable collection of 17th century Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.  The museum building itself just went through a renovation to make the experience here even more enjoyable.

The Rijks Museum (with interesting installation outside??)

A nice little garden area (and respite) at the side of the Rijks.

Chess in the Rijks garden.

A bronze Dancing Shiva – considered one of the best in the world!

And – number three on the ‘must see’ list is the Anne Frank House.  Also a favorite of ours and not to be missed,  but an entirely different feel – almost haunting – than the prior museums.  Anne, her family and four others spent a little more than two years in a ‘Secret Annex’ in the upper floors of this building, which had been her father’s business.  While in hiding, the 13 year-old Anne kept a diary chronicling her extraordinary experience.  Her father, the only of her family to survive the concentration camps, returned many years later and was given the writings of Anne’s that had been ‘saved’ by one of the employees who helped hide the family for the two years.  The house as shown creates a feeling of the true bleakness that must have been felt during that time.  A very emotional experience – even now as writing this.

The door to the Anne Frank House. No photos permitted inside.

Moving to a little lighter experience – back out on the canals.  One can get a real feel for Amsterdam on a canal tour, much as it looked in the 1600’s when it was the world’s richest city.  It was an international sea-trading port and the cradle of capitalism.  Wealthy, democratic burghers built a city upon millions of pilings, creating a wonderland of canals lined with trees and townhouses topped with fancy gables.

More views along the canals – Montelbaanstoren (Tower).

Some of the old locks.

Lots of boats, used as houses, line the canals.

‘Drunken Buildings’ – due to settling these buildings lean every which way.

The narrowest building in Amsterdam!!

A few more quick sights in Amsterdam (including a walk through the Red Light District – but no pictures there), and – – – –

St Nicholas Church was beautiful.

Bikes and bikers every where we looked.

Just fun;-)

– – – – – – it was time to have one last drink and say good-bye to our traveling companions, Rheta and Tom – – –

Good-bye drinks with Rheta and Tom high atop the city.

– – – – – and have one last dinner out on ‘our’ pier – – –

– – – – – – and it was time for us to say good-bye to Amsterdam and the wonderful cruise we had through the Baltics.  Loved it all – –

Good-bye Amsterdam.  Loved you!!

So ended our three-week adventure.  Many wonderful sights, great moments with friends and the making of hundreds of memories;-)

E & G feeling VERY fortunate and VERY happy!!

What a difference a day makes. The next port was Oslo – which we LOVED!! One of Europe’s most amenable capitals, it holds two fabulous sights everyone must see. One an outdoor ‘museum’ of sculptures from the early 1900’s and the other a documentation of the Arctic and Antarctic explorations in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s.

Vigeland Park contains a lifetime of work by Norway’s greatest sculptor, Gustav Vigeland. During his youth, Vigeland frequented the studio of August Rodin and admired his naked, restless, intertwined statues. He advanced in his sculptures to capture sturdy humans with the universal themes of the cycle of life – birth, childhood, romance, struggle, child-rearing, growing old and death. In 1921 he made a deal with the city of Oslo – in return for a great studio and state support, he’d spend his creative life beautifying Oslo with this sculpture garden. From 1924 until his death in 1943 he worked on-site designing 192 bronze and granite statue groupings – 600 figures in all. Today this park is loved and respected by all. The park is open to all – free – and there are no police patrolling, no fences and no graffiti!! How amazing is all of that?!?! This is a wonderful sight and no one visiting Oslo should miss it.

A view of the entire park leading through the sculptures to the 50 foot tall monolith of 121 figures.

A 300 foot long bridge contains 58 bronze statues that are a general study of the human body – many dealing with relationships between people. One circular statue in particular is of a man and a woman going round and round. What else is new – right? Perhaps it signifies the eternal attraction, or the on and off again with man and woman?? Directly opposite another circle feels like a prison – man against the world attempting to break free – –

Then there is the wonderful symbol of the park – the Sinnataggen, the hot-headed little boy. It is said that Vigeland gave a boy chocolate and then took it away to get this reaction. Who wouldn’t react like this if chocolate was taken away????

A beautiful rose garden creates a break between sculpture groups.

The Fountain – Six giants hold a fountain, symbolically toiling with the burden of life, as water – the source of life – cascades steadily around them. Twenty tree-of-life groups surround the fountain showing the seasons of life – childhood, young love, adulthood and winter – with the monolith looming over.

Finally one reaches the centerpiece of the park. The monolith, teeming with life, includes 121 figures carved out of a single block of stone. Three stone carvers worked daily for 14 years, cutting Vigeland’s full-size plaster model into the final 50 foot tall piece. It is surrounded by 36 groups of granite statues – again from birth/youth to old age.

Enjoyed this Park immensely!

Stuck between to ‘beauties’ was the interesting Viking Ship Museum. Not often one gets to see two majestic oak Viking ships dating from the 9th and 10th centuries. The first was the Oseberg dating from 834 AD. Less substantial and more ornate in carving, this ship was most likely designed for sailing on calm inland waters during festivals as a royal pleasure craft. The second ship – the Gokstad – however, was a practical working boat capable of sailing the high seas. Dating from 950AD, it is likely explorers such as Eric the Red hopscotched from Norway to Iceland to Greenland to Newfoundland in such a vessel.

The ornate Oseberg

The practical, working ship – Gokstad.

The Fram Museum brought us forward in time to more modern day Vikings and was the second must see in Oslo. The Museum houses two ships – the Gjoa that was the first through the Northwest Passage (1903-1906) and the Fram that explored both the North Pole and later the South Pole.

The Gjoa.

Aboard the Fram.

Yes – an actual windmill on board to provide power.

Christmas Eve dinner aboard the Fram.

A model depicting the Fram breaking through the ice on its journey.

Interesting, but in a totally different way, was the Kon-Tiki Museum. Thor Heyerdahl and his crew used two different ‘boats’ to prove that such vehicles could have crossed the Pacific and the Atlantic to settle areas. He first created the Kon-Tiki in 1947 out of balsa wood, using only premodern tools and techniques, and set sail from Peru. They survived 101 days and 4,300 miles later arrived in Polynesia. He then took on the Atlantic in 1970 on a vessel made of reeds. This journey was 3.000 miles from Morocco to Barbados. As said – interesting and what movies are made of;-)

The Kon-Tiki

The Ra II (Ra I sank partway into its journey!)

Oslo was a winner!! Just a few more fun sights before returning to the ship.

A beautiful day for a beautiful city. Oslo was fabulous – just not enough time.

E & G enjoying every bit of our cruise;-)

Only two ports left and perhaps a bit of fatigue – but the best sight of Gothenburg was this great fortress on the way in!!

Please don’t fire up those cannons on the left;-)

After a walk up the Avenyn – billed as the loveliest (?) and busiest (definitely) street in Gothenburg – the Gotaplatsen (billed as the square which is the cultural hub of Gothenburg) was in front of us. This square is flanked by the Gothenburg’s Konstmuseum, the concert hall and the municipal theater. Perhaps too many OLD city centers had been on the agenda – but this was a snooze;-(.

So – we did what is always done when nothing else appeals – looked for a place to lunch. It was noticed that every restaurant and sidewalk cafe up the Avenyn had been filled with ‘sports fans’ with their jerseys on. Finding the Stage Door restaurant just off the Gotaplatsen – the same was true here. LOTS of sports fans. It was learned that this particular Saturday was the opening hockey game of the season. AND, the Gothenburg Indians (???) were playing their arch rivals from Stockholm. Imagine the ferver for hockey – as we WERE in Sweden!! And – the Indians so reminded E of Gramps’ favorite Cleveland Indians (although a different sport). Even as Americans, we joined right in the anticipation and celebration – –

Go Indians!!

There was ONE afternoon without an excursion, which gave time for a cooking class. It will come as no surprise to most that we opted for an Italian class cooking pasta. After three wonderful dishes, including the making of fresh pasta, we waddled out of the class;-). Just a note – we have these recipes and would love to prepare them for anyone interested!! (Side note – our instructing Chef worked for Julia Child for 16 years as her Executive Assistant.)

This sauce included mushrooms, cream and spicy sausage;-). (AND a little wine!)

Chef was supervising my fettuccine.

Another great couple of days. Only one day in port left.

A VERY full E & G;-)

It was a pretty grey day when the Oceania bus set out for the Schwerin Palace and our excursion of the day (most on the ship set out for a three hour bus/train trip to Berlin).

The Palace is situated on an island amid a charming landscape of lakes and parks just on the edge of town. This magnificent residence was built in the mid-19th century as a renovation and extension of the original palace structure which had existed for over 1000 years. Today this beautiful structure houses a museum as well as the state assembly for this state of Germany.

A beautiful sight to drive up to.

The Orangery with its colonnaded courtyard.

Please – come in!

In the cute little village of Schwerin.

It was a short – but beautiful – day for us.

E & G on to Gothenburg, Sweden

A very interesting stop.

One of the Baltic Sea’s seaports since the Middle Ages, Gdansk was originally fortified by the Teutonic Knights. Fast forward to the aftermath of WWI when it became the center of German shipbuilding following Hitler’s rise to power. In fact, the city’s residents were the first to witness the beginning of WWII as the Nazi’s invaded and occupied Gdansk on September 1, 1939 to protect their interests. Caught between the German and Russian powers, the “Long Street” and all its buildings were turned to rubble. While these buildings have all been meticulously reconstructed – the fact remains that all the buildings are new and most are only facades, looking a bit Disneylandish;-(

One enters the Old Town via the Green Gate, actually built as a residence for visiting kings and now houses Lech Walesa’s office.

Come on in.

The riverfront embankment of the Motlawa River that flows to the Baltic Sea.

Once inside the Green Gate, The Long Market opens up in front of you with the Main Town Hall tower beckoning. This is also the first glimpse of the reconstructed facades;-(. But look beyond those and one sees lots of shops and restaurants!

The centerpiece of the square just ahead is the statue of Neptune, God of the Sea. A fitting symbol for a city that dominates the maritime life of Poland.

Towering over Neptune is that imposing Town Hall Tower. Not only does it have that wonderful clock telling all when it is time to return to ones ship, it also has this fantastic sun dial – with the proper time!!

Stunning!

As one wanders the streets of Old Town, St. Mary’s appears. It is one of the largest brick churches in the world – built from 1343 to 1502 as a Catholic Church, became Lutheran and back to Catholic after WWII.

A beautiful High Altar with a ‘replaced’ stained-glass window from 1980.

While we went back out into the real world, the ‘important people’ of the day did not want to see mundane items like down drains. So – they were decorated to please – –

Name your animal – they were all up here;-)

Unfortunately, as we left Gdansk there was only time for a quick drive by Solidarity Square to see the memorial and gate in front of the shipyard that perhaps began the fall of communism.

And so ended our very quick visit to Gdansk —

Good night Gdansk.

Back at sea and more adventures.

E & G looking forward to another tomorrow;-)

Stockholm – What a fabulous day for an interesting and educational visit with fortuitous sightings;-)

Sweden’s capital is one-third water, one-third parks and one-third city spread across 14 islands with 57 bridges and very distinct neighborhoods. It is built on an archipelago of islands making the journey into the city quite beautiful – –

Some islands only the size of the house that sits on it!

In the 1500’s, Stockholm became a political center when Gustav Vasa established the monarchy. A century later, King Gustavus Adolphus made it an influential European capital. This “Lion of the North” prepared to establish his empire by creating a great navy to dominate the whole of the Baltic Sea. He ordered a great ship – The Vasa – to be built with two fearsome decks of cannons that included 72 guns! It also had 500 carved wooden statues – including a 10 foot lion on the magnificent prow – draping the ship painted in bright colors to symbolize the King’s power. Because the ship was built tall and narrow with lots of weight high on the ship – it only sailed a few 100 feet and then sank on its maiden voyage in 1628;-(. 333 years later it was found on the sea bottom, salvaged in 1961 and is in the process of being totally restored. This is one of the most fascinating exhibits to see – –

The actual salvaged Vasa (98% original) with a model in the foreground as it originally appeared.

The model with original detail and coloration.

Loved this Lion on the prow. Just beautifully carved.

The model with painted sculptures as they would have appeared.

The model of the stern of the Vasa.

The actual stern of the Vasa which will appear as above after all restoration is complete!

The crest and initials GARS (Gustavus Adolphus Regeant of Sweden) identify the ship as the Vasa.

A model depicting life on the ship.

This is one of the most fascinating exhibits. Not only is the entire ship enclosed in this building created to protect it, the various exhibits describing the salvage process, reconstruction, etc. are educational and intriguing. One could spend much more time here than we had.

In order to see any additional parts of Stockholm, we had to hightail it over to Gamla Stan – or Old Town. This area of the city is a charming maze of alleys and cobblestone streets, as well as one of those fabulous old squares. The Great Square of Stortorget is the hub of Gamla Stan dominated by the Old Stock Exchange, which now houses the Nobel Museum. It is also filled with many restaurants where one can people watch while enjoying Swedish meatballs – as we did;-)

Unfortunately, time passes much too quickly for us. Feeling that there just wasn’t time to do justice to the Nobel Museum, we headed to the bus pick-up. That’s when the fortuitous sighting occurred. There was a great deal of pomp and circumstance around the Royal Palace – the official residence of Sweden’s King and Queen. (The 18th century Italian Baroque edifice contains 608 rooms and took 60+ years to complete.). Turns out the King, Queen and Crown Princess were to be escorted in their carriages by the Royal Guard from the Royal Palace to the Parliament Building to open Parliament! How lucky were we?!?!?

The Crown Princess.

The Royal Palace.

The Parliament Building.

There was not enough time in Stockholm – which means another trip will have to be had. But, what time we had there was unbelievable;-)!!!

An awestruck E & G

One can step back in time as you explore the winding cobblestone streets, medieval towers and old city walls of Tallinn – a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Tower of St. Olaf’s Church (on the right) dominates the skyline. Hard to believe – but in the late 1500’s this was the tallest building in the world!! The 19th century Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevski Cathedral, with its onion domes, is another skyline highlight.

A wonderful view of Lower Town Old Town Tallinn

The entry to Old Town is guarded by Fat Margaret Tower just as it was in Medieval times. Besides being a defensive outpost, the tower was made big just to impress anyone coming to town from the harbor. The relief above the gate dates from the 16th century.

Come on in!

Impressive walls protecting the city! Some of the original 46 towers.

This Old Town is full of beautifully carved, fanciful facades, many dating from the 1400-1500’s – –

Built in 1440, this was used as a German merchants’ club.

Church of the Holy Ghost is a wonderful little medieval church sporting an outdoor clock from 1633. The interior is quite simple – especially when compared to what we saw in St. Petersburg!!

Such a simple ‘pulpit’ without all the gold.

The Town Hall Square was fabulous! It, of course, served as a marketplace through the centuries and is the focal point of the Old Town. Once, it held criminals chained to pillories for public humiliation or knights showing off in chivalrous tournaments. Today the square is full of cafes and provided a wonderful spot for us to have lunch and watch the world go by;-)

The Town Hall opened in 1404 so the city’s burgomasters would have a suitable place to meet. It dominates the square.

Town Hall.

Uh Oh – A well known ‘criminal’ chained for public humiliation!!!

The Upper Town is dominated by Toompea Castle and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. The pink Toompea Castle is an 18th century Russian addition to the medieval Castle. Today, it is the Estonian Parliament building. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral – which faces Parliament across the square – was built in 1900.

Estonian Parliament

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Another wonderful church in the Upper Town is St. Mary’s Church – known as the Dome Church. It is an example of simple Northern European Gothic built in the 13th century during Danish rule. One can climb the 140 steps up the tower for fabulous views of the Upper and Lower Towns.

Yes – we climbed all 140 TINY steps to the top of the Tower!!

The sights and sounds of this little, old Medieval town were wonderful – –

Tallinn was a bright spot in our itinerary. Loved the day here.

E & G smiling;-)

What awaited the next morning was – LINES!! It was Sunday morning, more ships were in port and everyone was going to the Hermitage;-(.

REALLY!!!!

But – all was worth the wait. The Hermitage Museum complex contains a staggering three million pieces of artwork housed in a series of imperial buildings on Palace Square. The most prominent is the eggshell blue Winter Palace built in 1754-1762 by Peter the Great’s daughter, Elizabeth. This was the czar’s official city residence, built by Italian architects in the Elizabethan Baroque style, named for the czarina who popularized it. The entire palace is designed to impress, astonish and humble visitors with the power of the Romanov dynasty. And it did!

Extravagant gilded decorations cover the walls, alabaster statues watch over visitors and the Greek gods relax in the clouds above. The double-headed Romanov eagle is a common symbol everywhere – indicating the ability to look ahead and behind to protect.

Peter the Great Room (Small Throne).

There are actually two throne rooms in the Palace. The ‘Small Throne’ room (above) is to pay homage to Peter the Great and the walls are emblazoned with the double-headed Romanov eagle. The St. George Room – or Large Throne Room – was created in the 1840’s as the setting for official ceremonies and receptions. The magnificent parquet floor is made from 16 types of wood and the design is a mirror image of the gilded ceiling.

The War Gallery of 1812 displays more than 300 portraits of the generals who helped to expel Napoleon from Russia in 1812.

In 1762, Catherine the Great commissioned the Small Hermitage be built, as there was not enough room in the Winter Palace to display all the art she had collected. The Pavilion Hall was a connector, decorated in the French Renaissance style with MUCH gold – –

One more dance in another Grand Hall;-)

When the Small Hermitage would no longer hold the artwork collected, the Old and New Hermitages were constructed. Once through the rooms of the Winter Palace, one begins to see the magnificent art collections. With over 3 million pieces, we didn’t put a dent in what was to be seen.

An early Leonardo da Vinci – Benoit’s Madonna (1475-78)

Raphael Loggia and Majolica Room – A long narrow hallway (200 feet long, 13 feet wide) decorated with colorful paintings is a replica of one of the painter Raphael’s – the Vatican Loggia in Rome – which Catherine the Great had replicated in the 1780’s.

And so, a very brief visit to the Hermitage ended as did our stay in St. Petersburg. For all the comments received prior to our visit – we did not find the city a bleak gray with unfriendly, unhappy people. There was a very European-ish city with tremendous sights to see (and we did not see anywhere close to all we would have liked to). The new Gas company headquarters just across from the piers did amuse us;-). And – we found the new football (soccer) stadium built for the 2018 FIFA championships an advertisement for St. Petersburg. That is not to say there weren’t crumbling apartment buildings all around – as there were. But, so are there projects in NY blocks from Fifth and Park Avenues.

A new edifice for the Gas company headquarters.

The stadium built for FIFA 2018.

The storm clouds parted and we were on our way to Tallinn, Estonia – –

A rainbow has been over our shoulder. Another opportunity to check one off of the Bucket List – happily. St. Petersburg was a sight to see.

Moving on – E & G

So – Peter the Great began the city of St. Petersburg at the Fortress of Peter and Paul and extended into the ‘suburbs’ with Catherine Palace and a little palace at Peterhof referred to as Russia’s Versailles. Continuing to be impressed with the French, Peter built this magnificent 18th century palace set amongst beautiful fountains and parklands in the style of Versailles.

Peterhof sits along the Gulf of Finland west of the city atop a hill that tapers down to the water. The drive up to the palace is impressive – but nothing like the view out the back looking over the 150 fountains contained on the grounds. The pictures speak for themselves – –

Welcome!

This is only the front!!

Once again, there is more gold and artwork than you can imagine exists —

It appears there are hundreds of rooms.

For some reason the men’s beds were always smaller than the women’s?? So – this was Peter’s with his ‘throne’ just to the left (you, of course, know what ‘throne’ this was!!)

And now to the really beautiful part. The ‘backyard’ with the sweeping waterway to the Gulf of Finland. There is quite a ceremony that goes with the turning on of the fountains – all at once at 11AM daily. There are no pumps – all is done hydraulically with a complex system partially created by Peter, who was something of a scientist.

Our happy little group;-)

Needless to say, after the somewhat miserable rain of the first day, we were all ecstatic about this beautiful day to explore the magnificent grounds of Peterhof;-). Can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

E & G thoroughly enjoying St. Petersburg