To kickoff 2020, I'm adding intriguing visuals from my trip around the world, my 43 Postcards Project from my lifetime of travels. So far, my quest has taken me to places familiar and others remote, in 43 countries and counting, from the deep Pacific to the deserts of the Middle East to the snow-crusted landscapes of the Arctic Circle. Here, I'll share a handful or two of snapshots from each country I visit, as I saw them. Enjoy the views.
Okay, so where am I?
My quest to build content for my Kontinental Hockey League book intensifies, this time in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Maybe you don't know Saint Petersburg. Maybe you think it's a city in Florida. Maybe you don't care. I do because the once capital city of Russia rapidly became one of my favorite cities on the world. I'll devote a full column this month to the wonders it holds but in the meantime, a fast overview of its history. The city is not named for Tsar Peter the Great, aka Peter the I, but Saint Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. Still, Peter the Tsar, who ruled Russia from 1682 until his death in 1725, is the city’s true father. Blessed with being nearly seven feet tall and also being very good at winning wars, Russia became a European powerhouse under his reign. After his victory against the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War opened up the Baltic region, he founded Saint Petersburg in 1703 as a new, modern, westward-looking capital of the Russian Empire, a frontier town designed in the image of European cities, to integrate Russia into Europe. It is also the home city of President Vladimir Putin, who worked first for the Leningrad branch of the KGB and later in the mayor’s office, but Peter will always be number one here.
Before I get to the meat of this column (the visuals), I want to give a special hats off to Firebird Tours as they delivered opportunity after opportunity to get up close with Saint Petersburg and the people of Russia. Seems to me that I can no more book a trip without them as I can travel without my trusty camera to capture life, personalities, and cityscapes we seldom knew existed. Take a peek at my 16 favorites from a handful of days in the city that was the imperial capital for two centuries.
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Okay, so where am I?
My quest to build content for my Kontinental Hockey League book intensifies, this time in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Maybe you don't know Saint Petersburg. Maybe you think it's a city in Florida. Maybe you don't care. I do because the once capital city of Russia rapidly became one of my favorite cities on the world. I'll devote a full column this month to the wonders it holds but in the meantime, a fast overview of its history. The city is not named for Tsar Peter the Great, aka Peter the I, but Saint Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. Still, Peter the Tsar, who ruled Russia from 1682 until his death in 1725, is the city’s true father. Blessed with being nearly seven feet tall and also being very good at winning wars, Russia became a European powerhouse under his reign. After his victory against the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War opened up the Baltic region, he founded Saint Petersburg in 1703 as a new, modern, westward-looking capital of the Russian Empire, a frontier town designed in the image of European cities, to integrate Russia into Europe. It is also the home city of President Vladimir Putin, who worked first for the Leningrad branch of the KGB and later in the mayor’s office, but Peter will always be number one here.
Before I get to the meat of this column (the visuals), I want to give a special hats off to Firebird Tours as they delivered opportunity after opportunity to get up close with Saint Petersburg and the people of Russia. Seems to me that I can no more book a trip without them as I can travel without my trusty camera to capture life, personalities, and cityscapes we seldom knew existed. Take a peek at my 16 favorites from a handful of days in the city that was the imperial capital for two centuries.
