Moscow, Russia–A city that people love to hate. It’s big, crowded and confusing, and people speak Russian there (eye roll). It is often appears near the top of lists of the world’s “unfriendliest cities” and this year it was the…
NEW Lonely Planet Guidebooks
Somerville, Mass – The NEW Lonely Planet guidebooks to Moscow and Russia are here, as is the first edition of the brand new Pocket Moscow & St Petersburg guide. This is the culmination of the first half of my summer…
Exploring Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don, Russia – Set along its storied namesake river, Rostov-on-Don is a geographic crossroads, standing at the historical border between Asian and European cultures and acting as a modern gateway between the Northern Caucasus and the Black Sea coast. It’s…
Sochi: Russia’s Black Sea Playground
Sochi, Russia – Prior to its 2014 debut on the world stage, Sochi was celebrated in Russia for its sunny skies and balmy temperatures, which attracted privileged Party members to seaside sanatoria. Even Comrade Stalin had a vacation home near…
Ravintola Savoy
Helsinki, Finland – View from the rooftop terrace at the Ravintola Savoy in Helsinki, where we are celebrating our last day in Finland. Kippis! This restaurant is another Alvar Aalto masterpiece and it’s a beaut. Most impressively, we brought our…
Sammallahdenmäki
Rauma, Finland – Did you get the title of this post? Sammallahdenmäki. Easy, right? It is a Bronze Age burial site in the midst of the Finnish forest. And if you’re not sure when the Bronze Age is… oh, it’s…
Villa Mairea
Pori, Finland – Alvar and Aino Aalto designed the spectacular Villa Mairea for Harry and Marie Gullichsen, of the industrialist philanthropist Ahlström family. (This should definitely be part of the Alvar Aalto Tour of Finland, if one had unlimited time.)…
Adventure Island
Naantali, Finland – The adventure continues… on Adventure Island. Väski is a destination of zip lines, obstacle courses, rock climbing, archery and more.
Bonk Museum
Uusikaupunki, Finland – Bonk Museum is clever, but definitely one of the oddest museums I have been to. It details the history of the fictitious Finnish company, Bonk Inc, from its early days producing the hallucinogen Garum from anchovy relish,…
Vanha Rauma
Rauma, Finland – Vanha Rauma, or Rauma Old Town, is a sweet collection of wooden houses clustered around an old town square. There are actually more than 600 wooden structures here, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, earning this…