The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor. June 19, 2009, Friday, Helsinki, Finland. The Midsummer’s Night Festival is a big deal celebration of the longest day of the year. Long days of Finnish summers are quite a contrast to the two months of “polar nights” found during winter. The latitude here in Helsinki is about that of Nome, Alaska, so winters are dark and hard to take. Stores close down at noon Friday and remain closed Saturday and Sunday. Everyone heads to the country… to their cottage, bungalow, w [View Full Entry]

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Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. - Benjamin Disraeli June 17, 2009, Wednesday, Tallinn City Camping, Tallinn, Estonia, to the ferry to Rastila Camping, Helsinki, Finland. We found our way down into the city of Tallinn and out to the docks to the Silja Ferry. The ride on the boat to Helsinki was just two hours. Driving off the ferry in a new city and being directed off the pier… things get confusing…which way to turn? This is the time to trust our GPS, and “Matilda” cam [View Full Entry]

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain June 30 We are in the middle of the Norway Fjords In fact one we took a boat ride on is a World Heritage Site This is the first campground that had Internet Today is also the first day it has rained so we will send a few Blogs June 15, 2009, Monday, Vosu [View Full Entry]

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I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. - Robert Louis Stevenson June 13, 2009, Saturday, Laagna Campground, Narva , Estonia, to the Gulf of Finland and Valaste Falls to Saka Cliff Hotel and Spa/Campground. Estonia… and it is time to catch our breath and reorganize. The currency is now the Kroon, about US$ 1 equals 10 Eeks. After cleaning up, and getting some Kroons we headed to the food store and the Info Center. We decided to visit the cliffs along the Gulf of Finland. In spite [View Full Entry]

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The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. - Lao Tzu June 11, 2009, Thursday a free day, St. Petersburg, Russia. Off on the Metro, we found the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. This is the spot Alexander II the Emperor of Russia, was mortally wounded. This memorial was erected between 1883 and 1907. Mosaics cover a vast area of the outer and inner walls. Kel is not a fan of churches, but this one got her attention, it is magnificent, 7,000 square meters of mosaics!! How many tiny pieces of colored tiles intricately placed to [View Full Entry]

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The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust June 9, 2009, Tuesday, St. Petersburg, Russia. Our bus was waiting at 10 AM and we were off to the State Hermitage. This is the second largest art collection in the world, after the Louve in Paris. The enormous collection (over three million items) amounts to a history of Western European art history. We (the four Americans) had our own English guide and she was wonderful. It was a rainy day as we scurried right past the long line of tourists [View Full Entry]

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More photos from St Peterburg [View Full Entry]

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Not all those who wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien June 7, 2009, Sunday, Novgorod to Tsarakoe Selo (Pushkin), to St. Petersburg, Russia, 170 km. As we started to leave Novgorod, there was yet another flat tire! Pushkin: The vast baroque structure of Catherine the Great’s Palace was created between 1744 and 1796. After being devastated by the Germans, it has been carefully and accurately rebuilt. The original magnificent Amber Room was created from engraved amber panels given to Peter the Great in 1716. (Amber was more precious than d [View Full Entry]

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Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. - Anatole France June 5, 2009, Friday, Sergiev Posad to the Region Tver Russia. 370 long, long kms. Today is a driving day, as we finish the tour of the Golden Ring” and begin our trek toward St. Petersburg. A word about Language. During our travels, there have been times when the languages of various countries have baffled us, but at least we recognized the letters. The Russian language is based on the Cyrillic Alphabet, not the Roman, so our lack of understa [View Full Entry]

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We are send more photos of YOU NEED TO DO A WEB SEARCH TO FIND OUT MORE Now comes the WOW! The town of Sergiev Posad which tributes St. Sergiev as founder of the local Trinity Monastery and patron saint of all of Russia, among the most important and active in Russia---it exudes ORTHODOXY. It is so impressive! Bearded priests bustle about; babushka ladies fill bottles of holy water, crowds of believers light candles to St. Sergiev. This mystical place is a window into the age-old belief system, the Russian Orthodox Church. It was evening when we arrived, but we managed [View Full Entry]

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