As with our other recent trips, now that we’re safely at
home and engaged in the battle of jet lag (it is a draw at the moment), we
wanted to share some final thoughts about the trip.
First, the food. There was a lot of it.
But, given our Eastern European heritage, a
lot of it was familiar. The bread. The
soups. The meat with sauce. The smoked
fish. The fried potatoes. And then there were the other
dishes—sometimes not as familiar—but just as delicious—the salads, the caviar,
the meringue desserts. And, the ice
cream. Particularly in the Baltic
States—where many dairy cows are raised, somewhat reminiscent of Wisconsin—ice
cream stands were ubiquitous and the flavors were wonderful.
Of course, then there were the donuts. Frankly, the donut search was more for fun
than for flavor. We tasted varieties in Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki (munkki), St. Petersburg (pyshki), and Moscow (ponchiki); the St.
Petersburg ones were way ahead of the pack. This was the donut-only store where the line
was literally out the door and three donuts were served in an order. Even though we had a reservation at the
extraordinary Dome restaurant an hour later, Wendy couldn’t help but gobble
down this particular donut in its entirety (which rarely happens). So by the
end of our journey, Wayne had lost 5 pounds and the jury is out (or rather the
scale is hidden) on how many pounds Wendy had gained. Worth it.
And the sights...…
Vilnius Cathedral
Ponary Forest Monument outside Vilnius
Near KGB Museum, Vilnius
Dome Square, Riga
Ruins of the Great Choral Synagogue: Memorial to the Righteous, Riga
Path from Upper Town to Lower Town, Tallinn
Helsinki Cathedral
Peterhof, St. Petersburg
Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg
General Staff Building, St. Petersburg
Chapel in Catherine's Palace, St. Petersburg
St. Basil's Church, Moscow
Cubs Fans at St. Basil's
Mosaic of Lenin on the ceiling of Moscow Metro Station
Mural dedicated to Ukrainian History, Moscow Metro
What about other, more pithy thoughts on the trip? We always learn so much about culture and
history on these trips—particularly when we are visiting a part of the world we
haven’t had much exposure to. In the
Baltics, we felt that we received a good overview of these countries’ histories
from medieval times through the present—the good, the bad, and the ugly. That
simply was not the case once we entered Russia.
Granted, the name of this itinerary was “Russian Glories, Baltic
Treasures.” And that was the focus in Russia—the glories of the empire in the
day. We had a very deep exposure to the
tsars, their (reconstructed) palaces, their wealth, their art collections,
their culture.
We barely skimmed the surface on history after the Revolution
(which was in 1917), except for questions we specifically asked our private guide on the last day. We did have a
speaker in Moscow who addressed the current economy and answered a plethora of
questions on current politics, demographics, economics, and beyond. One of these dealt with the claim that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. He said that "this story has been overblown" and that he "hasn't seen any concrete proof". But he did give the impression that it could be true. He also remarked that the U.S. had done the same sort of thing when Clinton was president. We are well aware of the news coverage from the States on Putin
and his regime. And, coincidentally, the
books Wendy read on the plane back (Daniel Silva’s The Other Wife and Bill Clinton/Jim Patterson’s The President is Missing—no spoilers here), included plot lines
about the Russian current day government’s scruples (as opposed to rubles) and
present-day espionage strategies. But, we would have liked more attention
paid to the 75 year arc of Communism in Mother Russia and government in the
current day. Some posited that Russia is
not proud of its “current state” so that was not presented. Russian friends
substantiated, after the trip, that all is not well in Mother Russia (and
indeed, they carry very negative views of the land of their birth to this day.)
We left very curious and wanting to know more.
Do we have a strong appetite to return? Not
necessarily. Was this a trip that we
will remember forever? Absolutely.
We have several destinations on our bucket list but no
decision has been made about our next journey yet. Watch this space.
In the meantime, дo свиданья (do svedanya – goodbye). Thanks for joining us.
Love,
w&w
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