Explore More - 2017

106 VIKINGCRUISES.COM |

106 VIKINGCRUISES.COM | EXPLORE MORE 2017

RUSSIA RIVER CRUISE FROM RUSSIA with love David Short has traveled with Viking several times and his most recent journey took him to Russia to discover how this magnificent country has changed since his last visit in 1969 Just outside Leningrad on a hot day in May 1969, during the cold war, my friend and I found ourselves being berated by an armed and very angry security official. He had stopped us for driving our car on the wrong, unauthorized road. After a lot of gesticulating and shouting, we were made to clean our car with a dry cloth and ordered to keep to our authorized route. This time, on a Viking river cruise, we found that Russia was a lot more agreeable. From the moment we arrived in what is now St. Petersburg, we were superbly attended to by the most engaging guides and staff right up until we were dropped off at the airport in Moscow 13 days later. It turned out that we had embarked on not just a sightseeing cruise but a journey of discovery into the heart, mind and soul of Russia. We were free to explore St. Petersburg and Moscow, plus several small towns and villages in between them, and even to meet Russians at home. There was also an opportunity to visit a kommunalka—a communal Opposite: A typically ornate statue at Peterhof Palace Below: Canal in St. Petersburg with the Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood in the distance apartment for several families. We travelers were a mixed and international bunch. We were keen to ask our hosts all manner of questions. Some of us were very well informed and eagerly explored various topics, including political issues. And our Russian hosts didn’t avoid any questions. The ship was a very comfortable base for the duration of our journey as well as our gentle transportation along idyllic rivers, lakes and canals between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Our first day in St. Petersburg began EXPLORE MORE 2017 | VIKINGCRUISES.COM 107