There is a cyclone boiling in this part of the world, but so far we have escaped its ravages and rains. This morning here in Temple Bay in Mahabalipuram we heard that it had moved further south, and would reach landfall later on this afternoon. Here the weather is beautiful, not too hot yet, and with specks of blue sky scattered here and there. Early this morning four of us walked to the beach in hopes of seeing sunrise, but the clouds disrupted our viewing. But walking barefoot along the sand was gorgeous nonetheless! I love to swim in the ocean and lakes, but here, with the cyclone's being so near, our ocean is a hungry and angry one, a beast that would easily capture a swimmer and never let her go. Today we had to ... read more

After travelling for ten days already, this is our last night in Sri Lanka; we have been so busy exploring this island nation that I have not had time, nor the will, to write. This little country with its beautiful name, Sri Lanka has both terribly congested cities and gorgeously beautiful landscapes that take your breath away. Colombo has little beauty; it is another overcrowded Asian city with modern signing on shops crammed next to each other on dirty city streets, plus it has the distinctive disadvantage of also having internationally known name brand stores, places I never want to shop in any country. How these expensive stores survive in poor countries is beyond understanding, but perhaps people feel that by having these expensive monstrosities their country can also partake in western culture, or at least ... read more

This morning we will take a ferry across the Gulf of Finland to end this tour where it began, in Helsinki, Finland. Right now we are in gorgeous Tallinn, Estonia, the last of the three capital cities of the Baltic States. Heading in to this trip, fifteen days sounded like almost enough time to explore this part of the world, but, as usual, and of course, it is not. I especially need to go back to Lithuania, to see more of that little country and to try to find the town that is named after my family (or vice versa). My last name was made up by my father; unfortunately he - or someone else - chose a confusing to spell, abrupt name that sounds as if we are German, but we are not German at ... read more

Yesterday we left Belarus, crossing the border back into the more familiar European Union. We were told that this crossing could be lengthy and difficult, taking up to five hours or more, with again perhaps a border crossing guard asking to go through all our luggage. And this was heading into the EU! But, understandably, those crossing from the EU into Belarus are most carefully checked, and given that once inside the EU one can drive for thousands of miles without ever seeing another checked border point, we prepared to wait and try to gracefully accept whatever happened. The first stop, leaving Belarus, went very quickly and uneventfully. Happy with that part, we reboarded the bus and slowly processed to entering the EU station. What was surprising to see throughout this crossing was the very long ... read more

St. Petersburg is the cultural capital of Russia. What gems it holds for its people and for us visitors! This tour has crammed in so many activities, museums, palaces, magnificent royal residences that I will definitely look to travel with Trafalgar again. To name only a few: we've been to the Hermitage, St. Isaac's Cathedral, summer and winter residences, everywhere that is listed as a highlight or as a must-see. On our last morning in St. Petersburg, before boarding the high speed train to Moscow, we took a boat cruise on the canals to get another perspective on the "Venice of the North." One very funny thing that happened while we were cruising was as our boat was ready to pass under one of the many canal bridges we saw a man standing in the middle ... read more