We had a 6:30am flight so we got up and left the hotel at 4:30am! It was the only time we had seen some real night time skies in Russia. It didn'…

This morning was spent at the world famous Hermitage museum. It is a must-see for anyone who comes to St Petersburg, and of course there were lar…

Before we got to St Petersburg, we were warned by our tour director about pick pockets on Nevsky Prospect, the main shopping and tourist street in …

A five-star hotel in St Petersburg, the hotel Astoria is centrally located, actually right across from the St Issac's Cathedral on the south bank o…

The Great Palace started by Peter the Great is outside of St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland. I recommend taking the hydrofoil there from St Pete…

Our agenda today was to go to Peterhof, Peter the Great's Palace west of St Petersburg along the Gulf of Finland. We took the bus to ge…

We are in St Petersburg! Russia's window on the west, the city built by Peter the Great in 1703 on a cluster of islands and mashland. A…

Our last day in Moscow. I took a little walk along the Moscow River across from the Kremlin, took some photos (to be uploaded...). There were a cou…

A five star hotel at a great location, if you get the corner room with view both north and west, then it would be even better (we did not!). From…

The 19 year old German pilot landed his Cessna on the bridge right in front of our hotel window back in 1987. He then taxied to Red Square. H…

How many people have seen a photo or a painting of some place and had the image stuck in his head and wanted to go there? Ever since I …

I almost didn't want to go there, but really glad I did. If you are in Moscow, do visit this museum where they had impressive royal carriages…

A short flight on Lithuanian airline and we were in Moscow. It was very interesting to see all the Soviet built apartment complexes from the air. T…

This morning we had a walking tour of old town Vilnius tour. Starting from the hotel, we saw the Town Hall, and the renovation happening in the…

The Amber Museum and Gallery in old town Vilnius has an amber store on the ground floor, and the museum in the basement. The place was not big,…

The museum of genocide victims (also known as the KGB museum) was opened in 1992 in what used to be the headquarters of the KGB in Vilnius. The m…

Vilnius is another UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has a legacy of history going back to the medieval age. Supposed to have very interesting…

We had dinner in the Radisson hotel's winter garden like restaurant, which was right by the street. So get a window seat and you can people watch…

Today we first went to visit some Art Nouveau style buildings in Riga. These were not in old town, but in the newer part of Riga. These…

Great location. Only about 1 block from Dome Square, with easy walking distanace to all of old own Riga.The hotel rooms were more comfortably siz…

Today our tip took us from Estonia to Latvia via Parnu, where we are to have a beachfront BBQ. Parnu is supposed to be a prime resort area for …

We got up early today to sunny skies and moderate temperatures. We took the Superseacat ferry across the Baltic Sea to Tallinn. The journe…

The best hotel in old town Tallinn we were told. The room we stayed at was on the small side, on the top floor with slanted ceiling right under t…

Gloria's is a restaurant which has a long history. Even during Soviet times, it was the best restaurant which served the high rank officials and is…

During our morning bus city tour, we visited several different areas of Helsinki, stopped at the Senate Square with the green domed Helsi…

A very nice restaurant in downtown Helsinki. It's in the basement, with windows high on the wall where you can see people walk by. (more…

The last time I was here was in 1996. I wonder if it's much different (or if I remembered much from 10 years ago, other than the cathedra…

The hotel Kamp is supposed to be the best hotel in Helsinki. It is centrally located, within walking distance to the train station, Senate Squa…