Baltics (4 of 7) - St. Petersburg, Russia

Another bus tour was our first guided excursion to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. This is a massive (2nd largest in the world) and historic museum. The main building was known as the Winter Palace and was decorated very opulently by the Empress Catherine the Great. Our guide was able to point out to us the 'most important' pieces since we were only given a few hours to explore the entire space.

Here is the Military Gallery which originally contained 332 portraits of Generals who fought in the War of 1812. 

Throughout the rooms of the Winter Palace were plenty of opulent ceilings the designs of which were reflected in the intricate patterns of the wood floors. Often there were mosaic tile patterns on the floors.

Even the large marble vases and tabletops were done using mosaics. Due to the reflective surfaces, it was difficult to show the detail without showing windows and my handy smartphone.

One tabletop, in particular, caught my eye as it emulated the 'Pollock Polygons' hexagon project I did this year with my 5th-graders.

"Madonna Litta" by Leonardo da Vinci was on view behind protective glass much like the Mona Lisa that we saw on display at the Louvre in May 2011. The Internet also credits painter, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio as the 2nd artist of this Madonna painting. I could show many more paintings, including several by Rembrandt, but I wouldn't be able to downselect.

On our way, our guide pointed out "The Bronze Horseman" located in Senate Square and dedicated to Peter the Great.

In Monument Palace Square opposite the Winter Palace is the Alexander Column dedicated to Alexander I.

Another must-see is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. We were early to our second excursion to see the ballet, so we were able to stroll through a souvenir market on the way to capture a photo of this opulent church. Like many of the buildings we saw it too was under renovation.

Inside the Mariinsky Theatre, we watched the two-act ballet, Giselle. Our guide led us to believe that we were going to be seeing Swan Lake. His joke didn't resonate with some of his English-speaking passengers.

The most impressive decoration was over the stage and on the ceiling.

My photos certainly don't do the artwork justice, though I think I captured the chandelier pretty well.

We saw the city lit up at night, then went on another boat tour the 2nd day. The bridges were also well-decorated.

Baltics (3 of 7) - Helsinki, Finland

As we were only at the port in Helsinki for half a day, we chose to walk around the city ourselves. We visited the Senate Square containing the statue of Russian Tsar Alexander II and the Helsinki Cathedral (a.k.a. the Rock Church). What I find amusing is how many statues are photographed with a bird perched atop them (even on the Internet).

The steps leading up to the Rock Church is a popular place for people to hang out. It reminds me of the Spanish Steps in Rome with its Trinità dei Monti church at the top. Alas, there was no fountain below, only a monument to the Tsar.

We also managed to hop onto a boat for a water tour. The City Hall was located directly across from an open-air market next to where our boat docked.  My only other photo of Finnish architecture is of the Uspenski Cathedral.

We found a very familiar pizzeria -- Via Tribunali -- like to one back home in the Georgetown area of Seattle. We heard from the staff that people ordering pizza online often confuse the two venues.

Unfortunately, there was no time for art museums. Next time we'll explore museums or maybe relax in a sauna! We would love to see more of Finland.

Baltics (5 of 7) - Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is a city with the quaint gothic architecture of a medieval village. Like many of the Baltic cities we visited, the buildings are colorful and ornate. Old Town was a short walk from our cruise ship, but we chose to hire a taxi for a quick tour of the city.

Here's a closeup of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral we chose for our first destination. it was built in the late 19th century in Russian Revival style when Estonia was still part of the Russian Empire.

Toompea Castle (left) now houses Parliament.

St. Olaf's Church (right) is one of more than ten in the city of Tallinn. And finally, St. Mary's Cathedral (below).

In one of the touristy souvenir shops adjacent to a lookout point with breathtaking views of the city, I found this little gem. I don't mean to get all political in this blog, so please forgive me.  Throughout our trip, we would see matryoshka (nesting) dolls in every gift shop and on our boat. Here is a chess set where some of the pieces are famous 

U.S. Presidents and Soviet Leaders. It's hilarious that they are mere pawns in the game.

Truly you can find Art in historic buildings and appreciate the precious Architecture that has been so long preserved for us to see. I would have liked to visit an art or natural history museum, but again there wasn't time. Instead, I appreciated the beauty of the Old Town part of this city.

Baltics (6 of 7) - Berlin, Germany

Our cruise ship arrived in Warnemünde (Rostock), Germany, and we had booked an excursion to Berlin. This meant 3 hours on a train each way and an all-day bus tour.

While the bus driver and guide let us off the bus for ten minutes at a time to take photos, some attractions had to be snapped from inside the bus.

Here's a picture of Checkpoint Charlie, the entrance to the American sector of Berlin, from inside the bus. Notice the KFC and McDonald's signs. The Western and Eastern halves of Berlin are represented by a photo of a U.S. Army soldier on one side and a German soldier on the other. 

As we drove around the guide pointed out where the wall had been and there were remnants scattered about. We traveled to several historic sites and the guide pointed out buildings that had been restored to their original glory or modernized to build up the new Berlin. 

We got out at Gendarmenmarkt square to photograph the French and German churches and the Friedrich Schiller Monument in front of today's concert hall (once the Royal Theater).

Another square, called the Bebelplatz, is known as the site of one of the many Nazi book burning ceremonies held in 1933 in some German university cities. This is a very somber place. It is flanked by the State Opera House and Humboldt University.

Remember the book burning scene in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"?

We were disappointed that we did not get off the bus to explore the Holocaust Memorial.

The art museum was also not part of our excursion.

One of the highlights of the tour was visiting the Allied Museum. As you approach the entrance you are greeted by a statue of a sky blue bear known as 'Candy Bear' created by artist Dagmar Weiss. The Allies would drop supplies over East Berlin including candy for the children using handkerchief parachutes.

There was another piece of the wall that had been painted on the Westside. The Berlin sculpture (right) was created in 1985 using a broken chain to symbolize the disconnection of East and West Berlin following the creation of the wall in 1961. The wall was finally torn down in 1989.

We also finally got off the bus to see the famous Brandenburg Gate, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans the Elder in the style of German neo-classicism and commissioned by Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. It is an iconic symbol of German history and stands as a symbol of unity and peace for its people.

As we stepped off the bus onto the sidewalk leading to the back side of the gate, we encountered this famous plaque, quoting President Ronald Reagan, designed by artist Helga Lieser. To me, it looks like a photographic negative. It was unveiled 19 September 2012 to commemorate Reagan's 1987 speech, which was given 2 years before the wall was taken down. Apparently, there's another plaque (with text only) somewhere else in the city.

Baltics (7 of 7) - Oslo, Norway

I finally got to return to Norway over 20 years after going there on two 2-week-long business trips. Since my business had been much farther North in the country, I only got to take a couple of weekend trips to Oslo. This time we decided to visit the Gustav Vigeland Installation at Frogner Park and the Edvard Munch Museum. While waiting for our taxi, we sat here in this well-decorated area of a sidewalk, another obvious art installation.

The sculpture park was amazing! Upon entering the park you pass through black iron gates. Off in the distance, stairs lead to a giant granite monolith. 

Beyond a large expanse of lawn, there is a bridge flanked on both sides by many bronze figures with the typical greenish patina. Most of the figures were posed in strange positions.

It was fun watching people trying to emulate them for photographs.

This creepy looking baby (right), entitled "Angry Boy", was curiously flanked by a couple embracing as if they were his distraught parents.

There were 212 works constructed out of bronze, granite, and wrought iron. Even the gates (left) had intricate figures outlined in iron. It turns out that this bumpy granite artwork (right) is made up of 121 figures climbing on top of each other trying to reach the top.

The much-anticipated Munch museum was everything I'd hoped for. My daughter and I had been to the Munch exhibition at SFMOMA on a trip to San Francisco to see Tom Petty in 2017. Oslo is where Munch's "The Scream" is on display. People (even my daughter) were posing with it as if they were from the movie, "Home Alone".

There was a huge wall containing posters from past Munch exhibitions. What a historic journey of recognition!

I  enjoyed this one (left) because its subjects (workers) were captured in both painting and sculpture.

On our way out of Oslo, we spotted an old lighthouse in the Oslofjord (a waterway). Turns out it's called Dyna Fyr (est 1875), now a restaurant that may be booked for private parties of 20-30 people. It reminded me of Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, where, at Fort Worden State Park, you will find the lighthouse at Point Wilson and Alexander's Castle (an 1883 landmark).