Impressive. Massive. Those are the words that kept coming to mind as we toured St. Petersburg. The buildings are big; the palaces are big and gilded to the hilt. The extravagance of the royals past is amazing. Comparisons abound – the Venice of the north, Amsterdam of the north, Versailles of the north. They are all valid, but St. Petersburg is BIGGER than the rest. As Jim noted, a true historian or art lover should visit the city in the off-season to really be able to take in the art and history. The crowds were definitely a downside, and while pushing and shoving a few times outside a site I wondered if it would be worth the effort. (It was.)
We’ve made note of the fantastic weather we’ve had (which continues today), but I was actually pleased our second day in SPb was drizzly and overcast – we got to see the city in its normal state. And it didn’t interfere with our touring since it was mostly indoors that day. Highlights for me were the gardens of Peterhof, the ballroom of Catherine’s Palace, which I think was more impressive than Versailles (though it has been a while since I’ve been there), the grand stairway of the Winter Palace and the impromptu concert in the Yussupov Palace. Outside of the normal ‘touring’ experiences, we also had a great time during our night out on the town, and during the sail-away, when we waved goodbye to locals on shore – which included one guy yelling ‘jump’ and a couple making out in a car.
After two days of intense touring, it was nice to have the easy town of Tallinn, Estonia, as our next stop. Everyone we talked to said they slept in that day since we didn’t dock until noon. Jim and I had a pleasant day strolling the old town, though we did still visit three churches. I lit a candle in the largest, which was built by Alexander Nevsky.
As we do this cruise thing for a third time, I’m finding that I enjoy visiting the larger cities better than the cute little towns, which are overwhelmed with ‘boat people’ when the cruise ships arrive. We’ll see what Visby, Sweden, is like today. Then it’s on to our last stop, Copenhagen.
It's What We Do 
Now I really am anxious to talk with you and see your photos – this trip sounds magnificent. I told Ms. Oksana about your impressions and she was so pleased.Does this make you want to go back and see it again??
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