Total Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Tradewinds Transatlantic crossing 2015

[scubacruiserx2]

To the OP, that is one very nice video and that boat looks like a floating airplane on water; just outstanding! Against Thanks for sharing your Outstanding Photos and I am praying that your lovely spouse is feeling better day by day.

 

Thank you ! It's greatly appreciated , getting ready for the first day of physical therapy , so we're moving forward ! :) :D

[Issyalex]

Peterhof was my favourite place in StP. Loved the fountains.

[scubacruiserx2]

Peterhof was my favourite place in StP. Loved the fountains.

 

We also love the fountains and the grounds , with lots of walking space . Because we were staying , we did something a little different this time . We had a slow , sit down lunch , which we will share latter . ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

More photos from the main cascade

 

Sampson opens a lion's jaws

 

 

 

 

 

It looked as though the statues had been gilded recently

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wide angle stitch

 

[Coolcruise02]

Great review and wonderful photos!

[perfect match]

Scubacruisersx2, your pictures are awesome, as always. They have given me a totally different impression of SPB than I ever would have imagined.

 

I would love to ride on that hydrofoil! I'd also like to be in a good position to watch it fly over the water on those foils!

 

Peterhof looks beautiful. I enjoyed the video of the fountains.

 

Glad to hear Pat is ready for PT. That's a big step in the process of recovery.

[scubacruiserx2]

Great review and wonderful photos!

 

Thanks , we're happy to share , and we still have some great places to see ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

A few shot s from the other side

 

 

 

 

Some of these are from the early Fall on a breezy day

 

 

 

You can really see the spray flying

 

 

 

 

You may also want to have your photo taken with some actors in period costumes

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

In addition to the fountains of the Grand Cascade are the fountains of the Lower Park including :

 

 

The Sun Fountain

 

 

 

The Mushroom Fountain

 

 

 

The Pyramid Fountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eve Fountain

 

 

 

 

 

The Roman Fountains

 

 

 

 

And the Orangery Fountain : Triton Tearing Open the Jaws of a Sea Monster

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Scubacruisersx2, your pictures are awesome, as always. They have given me a totally different impression of SPB than I ever would have imagined.

 

I would love to ride on that hydrofoil! I'd also like to be in a good position to watch it fly over the water on those foils!

 

Peterhof looks beautiful. I enjoyed the video of the fountains.

 

Glad to hear Pat is ready for PT. That's a big step in the process of recovery.

 

Perhaps SPB is in your future . The other cities on Baltic Cruise were also nice London , Berlin , Stockholm , Copenhagen , Tallinn and Helsinki . But SPB was our favorite .

 

We're really looking forward to next week for suture and PICC line removal and hopefully , no more antibiotics and blood thinner ! :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Also part of the lower park is the Chessboard Hill

 

 

 

It's also called the Dragon Cascade . I wonder why ?

 

 

 

 

Near to the Chessboard Hill is a ladies room . While waiting , I saw two schoolgirls playing in the lower corner of the photo . As I composted the shot , the girl in the pink , turned and mugged for the camera ! It was so nice to she the school children out in the parks and museums instead of being stuck in the classroom .

 

 

 

 

In the Western part of the park is the Marly Palace

 

 

 

 

And the Golden Cascade with it's marble statues . Few tourists will get to see it .

 

 

 

 

Water spout at the top of the cascade .

 

 

[upwarduk]

Perhaps SPB is in your future . The other cities on Baltic Cruise were also nice London , Berlin , Stockholm , Copenhagen , Tallinn and Helsinki . But SPB was our favorite .

 

Please be aware that starting next year, there will be 2 overnights in SPB and Helsinki will be dropped from some itineraries.

London is up to you, either before or after your cruise, as the ship docks in Southampton, which is 11/2 hrs ride away ( on a good traffic day)

It is 66 miles from LHR, which is not in central London, but due west, closer to Windsor.

Edited August 29, 2015 by upwarduk

[scubacruiserx2]

Please be aware that starting next year, there will be 2 overnights in SPB and Helsinki will be dropped from some itineraries.

London is up to you, either before or after your cruise, as the ship docks in Southampton, which is 11/2 hrs ride away ( on a good traffic day)

It is 66 miles from LHR, which is not in central London, but due west, closer to Windsor.

 

Thanks Jackie for this very useful information . I did notice that , as you said , next summer the Silhouette will be offering 3 days and 2 nights in SPB . This of course brings up the idea of a side trip to Moscow on day 2 . We will show a trip to Moscow as the narrative continues to unfold . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

There are several other structures at Peterhof including a hermitage at the west end , near the water

 

 

 

 

 

But perhaps Peter's favorite structure is Monplaisir and it's garden .

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know the name of this building , but I like the horizontal stripes made from black and white rocks .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The Lion Pavilion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some fountains that are hidden and designed to spray at unusual times . They are also called jester fountains

 

 

The Trick Fountains

 

At the end of the eighteenth century two trick fountains - the Firs and the Umbrella - were constructed in the enclosures on either side of the Monplaisir Avenue. Three fountaining fir saplings of metal, painted green, were made in 1784 by the fountain-builders Johann Wilhelm Reiser and Strelnikov. Twelve years later, in 1796, obviously as a result of the influence of the Chinese style introduced by Velten and Vasily Neyelov into Tsarskoye Selo, it was decided to build in Peterhof a trick fountain resembling a Chinese umbrella. The fountain, designed by Brouer, began to operate when visitors sat down on the seats by the stem of the Umbrella: they at once found themselves surrounded by a wall of downward jets, pouring like rain from the edge of the circular awnings. In 1802 another trick fountain was constructed, the Oak Fountain. The gilded oak-tree had been created by Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli in 1735 for the Oak Fountain in the Upper Gardens, and remained there until the 1750s, when Strelnikov used the surviving pieces of the dismantled tree to create a new one, which he painted green. At its foot were placed fountaining metal tulips, and on either side two benches, behind which were hidden nozzled pipes. Scarcely had a visitor sat down on the bench to admire at leisure the gushing tree and tulips than he found himself inside an arcade of water.

 

During the war the trick fountains were destroyed. In 1947 the architect Andrey Oll and his assistants made a design for the re-creation of the Umbrella and the Oak Fountains. In 1949 the four- metre-high Umbrella Fountain was started. Five years later Georgy Simonov carved a finial for it, in the form of acanthus leaves, and also made elbow-rests for the seats and 164 scallops for the fringe, each enclosing a tiny pipe.

 

The ensemble of trick fountains, comprising the Oak, Tulip, and Bench Fountains, was re-created in 1953. A surviving watercolour of 1828 and a draft of the hydraulic engineer Pilsudski were consulted. Several lead branches with leaves were found, and the joints connecting the fountains to the piping were discovered. Pavel Lavrentyev and his sons, Vladimir and Pavel, all of them excellent craftsmen, made the metal trunk, some 500 hollow branches, several thousand leaves, and five tulips. The water fills the hollow trunk from its roots to its crown and runs into the thin branches, from which 500 jets spurt and envelop the entire sapling.

 

In 1958, Alexey Smirnov's team of fountain-builders, using documentary and graphic sources, re-created three steel fir trunks with a realistic bark surface, brass twigs, and tin conifer needles. The metal fir saplings, painted to look like real trees, blend perfectly with their natural setting, and can be recognized as fountains only at a short distance.

 

The trick fountains of the Monplaisir Avenue, those original eighteenth-century water-jokes, are highly popular with the park's visitors of today; they are an endless source of funny situations and general merriment.

 

( Article from Tickets of Russia )

 

 

In this photo , a young man tries stepping on the stone , looking for a hidden trigger stone that turns on the fountain .

 

 

 

You can see the video clip here :

 

 

 

 

 

Another group searching

 

 

 

 

 

There is also a street fountain that comes on at scheduled times

 

 

 

This group had just been soaked , as seen in the video :

 

 

 

 

The fountain comes on at the 30 second mark .

[scubacruiserx2]

We found a nice video about Peterhof :

 

We also found a very nice restaurant at Peterhof

 

 

 

With some interesting offerings on the menu . Elk , Bear Ham , Salo and Caviar . But even with the ruble's devaluation , the black caviar was $ 140 .

 

 

 

 

It was very nice inside and we were the only dinners .

 

 

 

We chose the more budget friendly Moscow borscht (warm) .

 

 

 

 

Followed by by a Porcini and Champignon with sour cream casserole for her

 

 

 

 

And Beef Stroganoff for me

 

 

 

 

I have had many versions of Beef Stroganoff , but this was the best . And at about $ 50 for lunch and drinks , we really enjoyed eating here . But we would save the Salo and rabbit for another time .

[jenseib]

Catching up again. Wow wow wow. That palace is gorgeous and those fountains and statues are just amazing....and so shiney!

 

The dinner looks fabulous too. I am just about to cook something for us that will be no where near as yummy!

[scubacruiserx2]

Catching up again. Wow wow wow. That palace is gorgeous and those fountains and statues are just amazing....and so shiney!

 

The dinner looks fabulous too. I am just about to cook something for us that will be no where near as yummy!

 

So nice to hear from you Jen . We're loving your Alaskan review and photos . One of our favorite things about a cruise or stay is the food ! It's great to try new things and old favorites ( and a nice break from cooking and the dishes ! ) . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

The last section of Peterhof that we will look at , is the upper park

 

 

A trellis in early Fall

 

 

 

 

 

And there is the Neptune statute that has an interesting history involving Germany .

 

http://stpetersburgrussia.ru/Peterhof/peterhof_neptune_fountain

 

 

 

 

If we were to turn around and look behind us , we would see this beautiful church in the distance , the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral .

 

 

 

 

We also saw the Constantine Palace where the G 8 summit was held in 2006 .

 

 

 

The last 2 photos were taken when we went to Peterhof in a car . They cannot be seen from the hydrofoil . ;)

Edited August 31, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[chamima]

Your pictures are beautiful !!!

My father was originally from Russia and the opulence portrayed in the pictures contrasts vividly to me with the poverty he described as his life. It certainly makes the revolution make sense.

[scubacruiserx2]

Your pictures are beautiful !!!

My father was originally from Russia and the opulence portrayed in the pictures contrasts vividly to me with the poverty he described as his life. It certainly makes the revolution make sense.

 

Thank you Karen . It must have been interesting to have heard your father's perspective on Russia . The first Russians that I ever met were coworkers in a factory (night shift) just after I was discharged from the service in 1974 . They shared some interesting stories of life in the USSR . And the true opulence is yet to be revealed as we visit The Hermitage , Catherine's Palace and at our next stop The Faberge Museum . :) :D

Edited August 31, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

This article was in yesterday's Moscow Times .

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Is Immoral and Racist, Russians Say in Poll

By Ivan NechepurenkoAug. 31 2015 20:14 Last edited 20:15

 

Skeeze / Pixabay

Russians' overall attitude toward the U.S. has been broadly negative for 1 1/2 years now, according to polls conducted by independent Levada Center.

Russians believe the United States is an immoral and unequal country where people are not warm to each other or are openly racist, a survey by the state-owned Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) reported on Monday.

 

Analysts interviewed by The Moscow Times said the majority of Russians genuinely see the U.S. as an enemy, an attitude that cannot be completely explained by the influence of state-run media.

 

“On the one hand, people repeat what they are told by television — either because they genuinely believe it, or because they want to be part of the majority,” said Ivan Kurilla, a professor at the European University in St. Petersburg.

 

“On the other, there is a demand in society to construct an enemy that would explain the worsening living conditions and also boost people's self-esteem,” Kurilla said in written comments.

 

The respondents were asked to name things that characterize the U.S. for them: 15 percent said “It is a country of moral decay and widespread crime,” another 15 percent said “It is a country where there is no warmth in people's relations,” and 12 percent said “It is a country with a high standard of living.”

 

A further 11 percent said it is a country “with a wide gap between the rich and poor,” and 9 percent said that racial discrimination is a feature that defines the U.S. for them.

 

The poll was conducted in July among 1,600 respondents with the margin of error not exceeding 3.5 percent.

 

In 1990, the results of the same poll were radically different. Russians saw the U.S. primarily as a country with a high standard of living, where success depended on people's own efforts, and as a country with highly developed science and technology.

 

In a confirmation of changing attitudes, foreign-produced cars with labels saying “Obama is a schmuck” glued on them have become visible on the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities in the past year.

 

“In the 1970s-80s people distrusted the Soviet system and they liked the U.S. as the main alternative to it, but in the 1990s people faced the reality that the U.S. is a self-interested state with its own faults,” said VTsIOM's general director Valery Fyodorov.

 

“Already by the end of the 1990s, following the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, there was a sense of disillusionment about the U.S.,” Fyodorov said in a phone interview.

 

In 1990, the U.S. was seen as an ideal state system that was to be emulated. Everything American was widely regarded as superior to Russian and many Russians dreamt of leaving for the U.S. permanently.

 

With time, these views have shifted dramatically. Russians have become broadly negative toward the U.S. following the 1998 financial default, then after the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and after the 2008 five-day war with Georgia.

 

Russians' overall attitude toward the U.S. has been broadly negative for 1 1/2 years now, according to polls conducted by the independent Levada Center.

 

During both the Georgia and Ukraine crises, Russians saw the U.S. as manipulating local governments or opposition in these countries in order to diminish Russia's influence in the area. The difference is that the Ukraine crisis has been raging for almost two years now.

 

According to Alexei Grazhdankin, Levada Center's deputy director, given that the current downward trend in peoples' attitude toward the U.S. has been steady for so long, Russians have also adopted a negative image of the internal situation in the U.S.

 

“Most Russians want to feel part of a greater whole, so if they see that their country is currently in confrontation with another one, they will unify behind a common cause,” said Grazhdankin.

 

“This gives them a sense of mission in life,” he said in a phone interview.

 

In January, 81 percent of Russians were negative toward the U.S. Since then, this figure has dropped to 70 percent in July, but is still higher than at any point during any other crisis between Russia and the U.S.

 

The polls were conducted among 1,600 people with the margin of error not exceeding 3.4 percent.

 

According to Fyodorov, these attitudes are not derived from television's coverage of the U.S. Russians do not just repeat what the state-run media tells them, he said.

 

“In Soviet times, propaganda couldn't convince people that everything is bad in the U.S., and it cannot do it now” Fyodorov said in a phone interview.

 

“Today, propaganda simply coincides with the public mood,” he said.

 

Vladislav Inozemtsev, director of the Moscow-based Center for Post-Industrial Studies, disagreed. He believes that state propaganda is still the primary reason for negative attitudes toward the U.S.

 

“Apart from propaganda, it reflects people's wishful thinking — instinctively, Russians want to portray the U.S. as weak and pitiful,” Inozemtsev said.

 

“We are not at a real war with the U.S., so people want to feel superior to it at least in symbolic terms,” he said.

 

Contact the author at i.neche

 

 

 

 

 

Most visitors to Russia will only talk to their guides , drivers or other workers in the tourism industry . But because we have stayed and spent time there , we have met many everyday people and had discussions on a number of topics . Because we are the only Americans that a number of Russians have every met , we act almost as diplomats for our country . Thus we try to be respectful and behave while there . But we did hear a number of the same questions and observations from the Russian people in general , on this visit :

 

1. Why do Americans hate Russians ?

 

 

2. Because African-Americans are a majority of the population , why are they only a minority on the cruise ships ?

 

 

3. How do we cope with a such violent , crime filled country ?

 

 

4. Why is religion so unimportant in America ?

[scubacruiserx2]

St. Petersburg’s first Fabergé Museum, a must see, has opened at the Shuvalov Palace, 21 Fontanka Canal, close to the Imperial Anichkov Palace and a 10 minute walk from the Grand Hotel Europe. Access to the museum will be by appointment only this year and to the general public beginning January 2014. It houses the celebrated Fabergé collection of the Link of Times Foundation owned by Russian Entrepreneur Viktor Vekselberg, which, with its over 1500 choice pieces, now easily outranks the comparatively small collection of the Kremlin Armoury Museum. Mr. Vekselberg has assembled the most formidable collection in the world of works by this great Russian master craftsman, best known for his celebrated million dollar Imperial Easter Eggs.

 

The elegant Neo-classical palace on the Fontanka Embankment, built in the late 18th century by Giacomo Quarenghi, formerly owned by the Vorontsov and Naryshkin families, and remodeled in the mid-19th century, stood empty after the 1917 Russian Revolution. It was in a very dilapidated state when its lease was acquired from the City by the Link of Times Foundation seven years ago. The painstakingly restored building features a spectacular marble staircase, an upper floor including offices, a large ballroom, as well as the main exhibition area divided into 12 spacious galleries with an area of 4,700 sq. meters (over 50,000 sq. feet) of exhibition space. These now contain 130 showcases brimming with over 3,000 18th, 19th and early 20th century objects of vertu, porcelain and silver, including approximately 1,500 works of art by Fabergé, not to mention Russian works of art by other competing masters. The rooms, lavishly decorated and furnished with luxurious textiles, are hung with select, mostly Russian, paintings.

 

The collection includes over 200 objects formerly owned by the Forbes family in New York, in particular their nine Imperial and half a dozen non-Imperial eggs, all acquired by Mr. Vekselberg in 2004 for over $100 million. The collection has been vastly increased to cover all areas of Fabergé’s activity—monumental silver, colourful Muscovite enamels, and a multitude of cigarette cases, bell-pushes, frames, clocks and belt buckles in elegant transparent guilloché enamels.

 

An injustice has been corrected. “Egg-less” St. Petersburg, deprived in 1917 of the Imperial family’s extensive Fabergé collections, has come back into its own, making pilgrimages to Moscow for Fabergé fans no longer quite as indispensable.

 

Starting January 15, 2014, Exeter International, a T+L A-List agent and a Russia travel specialist, can arrange tours of the Fabergé collection, with an English-speaking guide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our presentation on the Eclipse , we were really looking forward to this visit . We went after 6 pm and so we didn't need the guide that is required if you visit before 6 .

 

 

The Shuvalov Palace

 

 

 

We were given a book that lists all of the articles on display

 

 

 

 

 

We also rented an audio guide , but rarely used it . Beyond this point is a strict , no photos zone .

 

 

 

On this evening there were more employees than visitors , and they gave us plenty of space and eventually left us alone , only watching us on camera . We felt like Romanov children , on a Christmas morning looking at the most valuable treasures of Russia !!! :) :D

[Gracie115]

This article was in yesterday's Moscow Times .

 

 

 

 

 

U

Most visitors to Russia will only talk to their guides , drivers or other workers in the tourism industry . But because we have stayed and spent time there , we have met many everyday people and had discussions on a number of topics . Because we are the only Americans that a number of Russians have every met , we act almost as diplomats for our country . Thus we try to be respectful and behave while there . But we did hear a number of the same questions and observations from the Russian people in general , on this visit :

 

1. Why do Americans hate Russians ?

 

 

2. Because African-Americans are a majority of the population , why are they only a minority on the cruise ships ?

 

 

3. How do we cope with a such violent , crime filled country ?

 

 

4. Why is religion so unimportant in America ?

 

This was an interesting article and your comment about being "diplomats" for USA significant. Having cruised and had a couple excursions with you, I'm sure you were great diplomats and hopefully turned around a few opinions. However there are comments in the story that ring true.....like #3 above...like the "wide gap between the rich and the poor" .... I think there are many places whose opinion of the USA has become more negative in the last decade or so...right or wrong...it is easy to see how some things are perceived....

 

Anyway, your pictures continue to amaze me...... you are so good at capturing the essence of a place...truly wonderful.....:)

[cl.klink]

This article was in yesterday's Moscow Times .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Is Immoral and Racist, Russians Say in Poll

 

By Ivan NechepurenkoAug. 31 2015 20:14 Last edited 20:15

 

 

 

Skeeze / Pixabay

 

Russians' overall attitude toward the U.S. has been broadly negative for 1 1/2 years now, according to polls conducted by independent Levada Center.

 

Russians believe the United States is an immoral and unequal country where people are not warm to each other or are openly racist, a survey by the state-owned Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) reported on Monday.

 

 

 

Analysts interviewed by The Moscow Times said the majority of Russians genuinely see the U.S. as an enemy, an attitude that cannot be completely explained by the influence of state-run media.

 

 

 

“On the one hand, people repeat what they are told by television — either because they genuinely believe it, or because they want to be part of the majority,” said Ivan Kurilla, a professor at the European University in St. Petersburg.

 

 

 

“On the other, there is a demand in society to construct an enemy that would explain the worsening living conditions and also boost people's self-esteem,” Kurilla said in written comments.

 

 

 

The respondents were asked to name things that characterize the U.S. for them: 15 percent said “It is a country of moral decay and widespread crime,” another 15 percent said “It is a country where there is no warmth in people's relations,” and 12 percent said “It is a country with a high standard of living.”

 

 

 

A further 11 percent said it is a country “with a wide gap between the rich and poor,” and 9 percent said that racial discrimination is a feature that defines the U.S. for them.

 

 

 

The poll was conducted in July among 1,600 respondents with the margin of error not exceeding 3.5 percent.

 

 

 

In 1990, the results of the same poll were radically different. Russians saw the U.S. primarily as a country with a high standard of living, where success depended on people's own efforts, and as a country with highly developed science and technology.

 

 

 

In a confirmation of changing attitudes, foreign-produced cars with labels saying “Obama is a schmuck” glued on them have become visible on the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities in the past year.

 

 

 

“In the 1970s-80s people distrusted the Soviet system and they liked the U.S. as the main alternative to it, but in the 1990s people faced the reality that the U.S. is a self-interested state with its own faults,” said VTsIOM's general director Valery Fyodorov.

 

 

 

“Already by the end of the 1990s, following the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, there was a sense of disillusionment about the U.S.,” Fyodorov said in a phone interview.

 

 

 

In 1990, the U.S. was seen as an ideal state system that was to be emulated. Everything American was widely regarded as superior to Russian and many Russians dreamt of leaving for the U.S. permanently.

 

 

 

With time, these views have shifted dramatically. Russians have become broadly negative toward the U.S. following the 1998 financial default, then after the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and after the 2008 five-day war with Georgia.

 

 

 

Russians' overall attitude toward the U.S. has been broadly negative for 1 1/2 years now, according to polls conducted by the independent Levada Center.

 

 

 

During both the Georgia and Ukraine crises, Russians saw the U.S. as manipulating local governments or opposition in these countries in order to diminish Russia's influence in the area. The difference is that the Ukraine crisis has been raging for almost two years now.

 

 

 

According to Alexei Grazhdankin, Levada Center's deputy director, given that the current downward trend in peoples' attitude toward the U.S. has been steady for so long, Russians have also adopted a negative image of the internal situation in the U.S.

 

 

 

“Most Russians want to feel part of a greater whole, so if they see that their country is currently in confrontation with another one, they will unify behind a common cause,” said Grazhdankin.

 

 

 

“This gives them a sense of mission in life,” he said in a phone interview.

 

 

 

In January, 81 percent of Russians were negative toward the U.S. Since then, this figure has dropped to 70 percent in July, but is still higher than at any point during any other crisis between Russia and the U.S.

 

 

 

The polls were conducted among 1,600 people with the margin of error not exceeding 3.4 percent.

 

 

 

According to Fyodorov, these attitudes are not derived from television's coverage of the U.S. Russians do not just repeat what the state-run media tells them, he said.

 

 

 

“In Soviet times, propaganda couldn't convince people that everything is bad in the U.S., and it cannot do it now” Fyodorov said in a phone interview.

 

 

 

“Today, propaganda simply coincides with the public mood,” he said.

 

 

 

Vladislav Inozemtsev, director of the Moscow-based Center for Post-Industrial Studies, disagreed. He believes that state propaganda is still the primary reason for negative attitudes toward the U.S.

 

 

 

“Apart from propaganda, it reflects people's wishful thinking — instinctively, Russians want to portray the U.S. as weak and pitiful,” Inozemtsev said.

 

 

 

“We are not at a real war with the U.S., so people want to feel superior to it at least in symbolic terms,” he said.

 

 

 

Contact the author at i.neche

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most visitors to Russia will only talk to their guides , drivers or other workers in the tourism industry . But because we have stayed and spent time there , we have met many everyday people and had discussions on a number of topics . Because we are the only Americans that a number of Russians have every met , we act almost as diplomats for our country . Thus we try to be respectful and behave while there . But we did hear a number of the same questions and observations from the Russian people in general , on this visit :

 

 

 

1. Why do Americans hate Russians ?

 

 

 

 

 

2. Because African-Americans are a majority of the population , why are they only a minority on the cruise ships ?

 

 

 

 

 

3. How do we cope with a such violent , crime filled country ?

 

 

 

 

 

4. Why is religion so unimportant in America ?

 

 

Most prejudices start with half truths or distorted versions of s truth. Time spent being genuine together is the only cure - not the arguments we might marshall in response. Good for you.

 

- Joel

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk