Summer Palace

Summer Palace - St. Petersburg Thought for the Day: I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as a cause for withdrawing from a friend. Thomas Jefferson

Hotel Astoria, St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, Russia  I found the Hotel Astoria very  interesting.  The bright red awnings caught my eye, and then I noticed the main streets on both sides leading to domed buildings topped with spires.  It took less than a minute to capture the scene on my camera, but several hours of post-processing to create …

Russian Reflection

There wasn't much free time to explore St. Petersburg on foot.  But, one time the bus stopped 3-4 blocks from our destination; I felt liberated to see things on my own terms. I caught this beautiful reflection of an old building in the window of a rare modern steel and glass office building.  The old …

Modern St. Petersburg

An overpass near the cruise ship terminal provides a quick peek of the new St. Petersburg, Russia.  The gull-wing structures in the foreground are light poles for the new eight-lane highway built to handle heavy traffic for the 2018 World Cup. Russia is the host country for the 2018 World Cup and St. Petersburg is …