As we made our way around the city on the tour bus, I couldn't help thinking about my grandfather. If he hadn't been willing to take a gamble, been brave, a pioneer of sorts, my life would have been very, very different. He decided to leave Russia in the late 1890's. I clearly remember him telling me the story about why he decided to leave and how difficult it was for him to part from his wife and three children for a year while he made enough money to pay their passage to the United States...
St. Petersburg is filled with monuments and palaces and churches that speak to its long, rich and varied historical periods. The museums are filled with priceless art that once belonged to the Czars. The palaces of these long ago rulers like Peter the Great and Catherine are truly amazing sites to behold. Surrounding them is the new city of St. Petersburg, which like Oslo, Aarhus and Tallinn is bursting with new construction everywhere. The soccer stadium which had just been started two years ago for the World Cup when we were here two years ago, is practically complete. Much more land has been reclaimed from the Bay of Finland and luxury high rise apartment buildings are creating a new skyline.
Many photos in gallery
