A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 81 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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But the views are still so very nice. The variety! And as you say, the modern businesses... it's kinda cool.
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That wasn't a smart move by the driver smking in the van, like it's his own personal vehicle! We have Thomas Cook currency exchange outlets here in the states and always found in most airports. Amazing photos of The Kremlin!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
You'd think tour companies would have rules about drivers smoking in their vehicles. But then again, I think smoking rates in Russia must be some of the highest around. I would have been upset about that though as I do find the smell so awful.
I think they did have rules, that was the worst thing. We mentioned it to our guide and I know she said something and Elena, our guide in St. Petersburg, was disgusted when we told her the next day...
ugh, so sorry about the smoking driver. Unacceptable.
We have many ugly 1950-60 buildings as well. Midcentury modern as it's called here is frankly ugly and boring imho. I don't like many houses built during that time either. I love victorians or colonials...houses with character!
Me too! What happened to building things with character during that period of time? I appreciate a lot of countries were recovering from the war, but even so...
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More wonderful pictures of your tour of Moscow. The Kremlin is quite impressive. How very rude for your driver to be smoking in the van. Its so disgusting!!
More wonderful pictures of your tour of Moscow. The Kremlin is quite impressive. How very rude for your driver to be smoking in the van. Its so disgusting!!
Surprise! As I have some spare time this morning, I figured I'd post another update...
Sunday 12 June – part nine: this is a bit like Mission Impossible!
We were heading for this place…
Although it's called the Ukraine Hotel, it's definitely the Radisson now. When we got there, Phylis took the opportunity to mention something to our guide about our driver smoking, saying it wasn't acceptable. Our guide said he wasn't expecting us to come back so soon, which frankly wasn't an excuse, but she said she'd ensure it didn't happen again, and in fairness it didn't. However, as far as I was concerned, that was it. He was not getting a tip off me. Don't get me wrong, his driving was fine, but he certainly did not go above and beyond. He didn't utter a word to us, not even to greet us when we arrived, and wasn't there at the door every time we got off, like Daniel was yesterday.
The lobby was stunning...
... as was the bar at the back...
However, we weren't here for either of these things. We were here for this stunning diorama, which I believe represents how the city looked in the 1970s. I believe it was made for an American tour, and the hotel took it on in 2004. I can see why, as it's quite a draw for people, and it was really interesting to see all of the Kremlin, which sadly we couldn't see for ourselves today. At least this was the next best thing.
By the way, the reason the photos look different is that the display was bathed in lights in sections.
Once we were done admiring this and photographing it, we headed up to the viewing platform at the top of the hotel, but my goodness, it was a bit like Mission Impossible trying to get there. First you had to take an elevator to the 29th floor and the Mercedes-Benz bar (I am so not joking about the name), which looked like this...
Then you had to catch another elevator up to the 31st floor, then another to get to the 33rd floor. When we got to the latter two elevators, we were greeted by men in black - seriously! Had this been the Communist era, you would've thought they were the secret police, and to be honest, I found them a bit unnerving, as I felt as if they were watching us the whole time, checking what we were doing. This is still part of the club...
The views from up here were stunning. You could see the city laid out in front of you, starting with the newer financial district...
... then moving along to the residential areas..
.. and turning back towards the Kremlin, although sadly much of it was hidden by a building, which was a great shame.
We also got to see the White House, which was the site of resistance by Communist hardliners against Mikhael Gorbachev back in 1991. They put the Russian president under house arrest in his Black Sea villa, and it was Boris Yeltsin who made his way to the White House through lines of tanks, with no-one daring to arrest him. I remember those scenes of him standing on top of a tank, and thinking at the time that this was an amazing scene, and wondering what might happen next. Well, of course, now we all know, and the rest, as they say, is history...
Mark even managed to zoom in on the British Embassy. Handy to know where it is, just in case...
What a surprise! And what an update, holy cow!
I am blown away by these views. Both of the diorama indoors and the real views outdoors. I had no idea there were such modern buildings there either! What an awesome hotel to stay at too.
Bummer about that driver, stinks for him! Tips are earned, not expected. I guess he didn't want any!
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We have Thomas Cook currency exchange outlets here in the states and always found in most airports. Amazing photos of The Kremlin! 
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What happened to building things with character during that period of time? I appreciate a lot of countries were recovering from the war, but even so...
As I have some spare time this morning, I figured I'd post another update... 
When we got there, Phylis took the opportunity to mention something to our guide about our driver smoking, saying it wasn't acceptable. Our guide said he wasn't expecting us to come back so soon, which frankly wasn't an excuse, but she said she'd ensure it didn't happen again, and in fairness it didn't. However, as far as I was concerned, that was it. He was not getting a tip off me. Don't get me wrong, his driving was fine, but he certainly did not go above and beyond. He didn't utter a word to us, not even to greet us when we arrived, and wasn't there at the door every time we got off, like Daniel was yesterday. 
I had no idea there were such modern buildings there either! What an awesome hotel to stay at too. 
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