Prologue

Jan and I have been planning this trip to Russia and "the Waterways of the Tsars" for over a year.  In preparation, one or both of us have read Ascher, Abraham: Russia. A short History; Nordbye, Masha: Moscow, St. Petersburg & The Golden Ring; King, Anna: Culture Smart, Russia; and Stakhnevich, Julia: Learning Russian.  Our goal was to get a fair grounding in the history and culture of the places we will visit.

Based on what we've read, heard from friends who have visited Russia and picked up from the video snippets emailed by Viking River Cruises, we think we are in for a wonderful experience.  At the same time, remembering the grim portrayals of Russia delivered during the days of the Cold War, one wonders, what will it really be like?  We are eager to find out.

We leave this evening about 6 p.m. (already 2 a.m. in St. Petersburg), flying via Lufthansa to Frankfurt and then on to St. Petersburg, arriving there about 1:30 p.m.  If all goes as planned, some reports should be coming your way by tomorrow afternoon.

Russia Cruise About to Begin

The Viking River Cruise of the Russian waterways between St. Petersburg and Moscow for Jan and me is about to begin.  My goal is to use this blog to keep a record of the journey and provide a running commentary of our discoveries.  I hope you will enjoy it.  More to come...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Twelve

The call of the open road was answered big time on the second day of our return to New Jersey. The route took us from the Joliet hotel to Interstate 355 to Interstate 80 on which we stayed for the duration of the day. since the driving was uneventful, this gives me opportunity to reflect on some of the related pieces of auto travel.


First, I commend Holiday Inn Express lodgings. I've found them to be clean, comfortable, no-frills places to stay, do business, sleep, eat a simple breakfast and move on. The lodgings are usually close to a range of restaurant choices for the evening meal and even provide some vetted recommendations. The high-speed Internet access is always free (unlike some of the more expensive places which charge for getting online). Breakfast is included -- sort of a modified continental buffet style with entrees such as biscuits and gravy or omlettes with sausage or bacon. Some have the new pancake maker wherein you push a button and out rolls pancakes baked on the heated conveyer belt. Juice, toast, bagels, cinnamon rolls, yougurt and cereals with coffee and juice are also available. My only regret is that the coffee is universally not very good.

Not every Holiday Inn Express is perfect. Some seem to have hand-me-down furnishings, which, though comfortable, look a little tired. We found the Joliet place to be woefully short of electrical outlets, so we had to unplug some of the lamps in order to plug in the computers. However, some of the newest lodgings are outstanding. On this trip, the Austinville, OH and the Du Bois, PA hotels were great; Roseville, MN and DeForest, WI were okay.

Second, I commend the Verizon MiFi portable hotspot. This little gadget makes it possible to take care of urgent business even while on the road or in locations where wireless broad band or even dialup is not available. I was able to handle two requests for website updates in the car on Interstate 80 while Jan did the driving. While at the fishing lake I was able to take care of several requests and post to this blog with no landline or wireless available. My next car is going to have a 120 volt AC outlet so that I can keep my laptop charged while on the road, extending the range of my "office" even farther afield.

And third, I commend Starbucks. I know some people rave about Dunkin Donuts' coffee, but there is no comparision in my book. It is such a pleasure to sip a grande cappuccino anytime during the day, as a pick-me-up when the driving gets tedious. The only regret for this trip is that Interstate 80 through Pennsylvania is a Starbucks desert. Some enterprising folk need to recognize a great business opportunity there.

Having given my commendations, this will be the last chapter of the Minnesota Trip 2011. I'm writing this at home, having made the last dash from Du Bois, PA to High Bridge in some heavy rains left by Tropical Storm Lee. we are safe and looking for more travels ahead. And I will keep you posted.

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Eleven

Our return to New Jersey started with waffles and good conversation with my sister and brother-in-law. Politics and religion are supposed to be topics to avoid in polite company, but within the our family circle they are respected subjects that bring us closer to understanding where each is coming from. We saw eye-to-eye about Minnesota presidential hopefuls and agreed to disagree about same-sex marriages.


On the road again, we took the Great River Road along the Mississippi River from Red Wing, MN to La Crosse, WI. It was a gorgeous day with cool temperatures prompting fog to rise from the valleys and warm waters of the river especially where it broadens into Lake Pepin. The river flows through a wide valley formed eons ago when a pre-historic glacier melted and sent water coursing toward the Gulf of Mexico. In the Minnesota section, hills were carved into bluffs facing the river -- which make great vantage points from which to do sight-seeing.

Along the river road are too many points of interest to be seen in one trip. Previously we've looked at the Lock and Dam #5, one of the structures built by the Army Corps of Engineers to make the Mississippi navigable for commerce and leisure. One of the intriguing places I'd like to see next time is the Bunnell House, located just below Winona, MN. Built by a fur-trader named Willard Bunnell on property granted by his friend Chief Wapasha, the house is a pristine example of Rural Gothic Architecture from the 19th century.

From the Mississippi Valley we crossed the fertile farmlands of Wisconsin and entered Illinois. We decided to stay further to the south in Joliet, IL, to avoid the heavy traffic around Chicago. And tomorrow we continue heading to New Jersey.

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Ten

On August 8, 1902, the editor of the Dakota County Tribune wrote "The Minnesota State Fair is a great educational institution. The visitor who really sees it and does not add largely to his store of knowledge thereby is not quick of comprehension and he and not the school is at fault. The fair is a great school, and like other good schools it has its hour of recreation, its lapse from labor to rest from study to amusement..."

Our last day the Minnesota State Fair was themed as "History Day", and we were willing to soak up a lot of the fair history was well as general Minnesota history. On the fair grounds is the "Heritage Square" with replicas of a blacksmith's shop, a restored prairie homestead, and a restored newspaper office. It was in that building where we found an actual working Linotype machine, still capable of setting text in lines of leaded type. Watching it work and comparing it to computer word processing made very real how far the communication industry has come in the last 100 years, yet admiring how advanced was the Linotype over news publications typeset by hand.

After our history immersion we took in more of the livestock exhibits, including the judging of beef cattle. On the way to the judging arena, Jan found a friendly horse stabled nearby. Later we watched the Western horse judging -- more accurately the judging of horses ridden in the Western style -- jogging and loping as opposed to trotting and cantering, for example. One competition class had 42 entrants -- women's cloverleaf -- where the rider and horse at full gallop looped around three barrels set about 100 feet apart. The winning horse and rider accomplished this in slightly more than 15 seconds.

We left the fairgrounds happily tired, appreciating once more what a terrific event is the Minnesota State Fair. Our next stop is my sister and brother-in-law's home as the first stage of our return. Tomorrow we hit the open road, again the appreciate the beauty of this great country of ours.

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Nine

Did you know that a red-tail hawk has talons strong enough to crush a rabbit's skull? Did you know that to make a bonsai plant grow one has to prune the tap root? Did you know there are at least 52 different languages that can name something like what we call a pierogi? And did you know that when riding a trotting show horse, that to post correctly, the rider rises from the saddle when the horse's right leg goes forward and settles back when the left leg goes forward?

Neither did I. But I learned all this at the Minnesota State Fair.

One of the less emphasized aspects of the Minnesota State Fair is that it has a strong educational emphasis. Yes, food and entertainment are what bring the majority of the folks to the fair, but there is in fact an overwhelming amount of stuff one can learn by attending demonstrations or observing the displays created by the 4-H Club or Future Farmers of America or any number of passionate clubs that just want to share what their members know.

Today we watched a demonstration of North American raptors -- hawks, falcons, buzzards and owls -- given by the founder of a foundation that rescues these creatures from accidents or being wounded by shooters. The gist of his message is that raptors have a place in the order of creation and should be respected.

We also watched a demonstration of the art of bonsai and watched as the expert transformed a small shrub into a sculpted miniature creation. We viewed a display that showed how "green" construction methods could make a home easier to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. We took in the fine arts exhibition where an artist had sculpted a giant pierogi and mounted it on a stele engraved with 52 words from other languages all meaning about the same thing.

In the evening we attended a horse show and watched how horses and riders, entered into the various competitions, are judged. Included were the fine points of how "posting" is to be done as a horse is trotting. While I may never be in such a competition, it is fun to know what to watch for as others try.

In addition to ingesting knowledge, we also ingested more fair food -- cheese curds, honey-flavored ice cream, apple cider, French crepes and gelato. One can't learn on an empty stomach!

Tomorrow will be our last day at the fair, and there is still more to see and learn. And I'll keep you posted...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Eight

The Minnesota State Fairgrounds are located in the city of St. Paul, on state-owned property that includes the St. Paul division of the University of Minnesota. During 50 weeks of the year, the area looks pretty normal with streets and avenues dotted with ghostly buildings of various shapes. But come Fair time, the buildings come to life, with exhibitors and vendors and a surging mass of humanity.


We plunged into that mass of humanity for a second day, finding the familiar Java Joint for a morning cappuccino, then a look through the poultry building before sampling the battered cheese curds. Then it was more exhibits, some root beer, exhibits, then gelato and a Pronto Pup, then more exhibits. Grazing is not solely the domain of cattle.

The highlight of the day was the grandstand performance of the Prairie Home Companion show with Garrison Keillor which we shared with my daughter, Alissa and her husband, Al. It was another feel-good time, with the humor that gently pokes fun at things Minnesotan. Keillor has a knack of blending a wistful look at the golden days of yesteryear with a sense of optimism for the future.

Day Nine will take us back to the Fair to see more of what we missed yesterday. The pilgrimage continues...