Where are you traveling to next?

Sintra · Post by **Sintra** » Tue April 26th, 2011, 12:01 pm

[quote=""Susan""]This summer we are going to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg. We're flying into Copenhagen and will spend three days there. Next, it's on to Stockholm for one day and then we board a cruise ship for two days at sea, a day in Helsinki and two days in St. Petersburg. I am so excited to be going to St. Petersburg. My paternal grandfather was Russian and I have always been drawn to that part of my ethnicity. Upon returning to Stockholm, we will spend an additional three days there. I will visit as many royalty-related places in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg as possible.[/quote]

I love St. Petersburg! I go there all the time (well, any time i want to visit my friends and take an 8-hour train trip).
It's much more european looking than Moscow - russian capital is more like a melting pot with old, new, west and east together

As for me, i'm going to Carpathian mountains (Ukranian part) this Friday for a week. Very excited

Veronica · Post by **Veronica** » Tue April 26th, 2011, 12:36 pm

[quote=""Susan""]This summer we are going to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg. We're flying into Copenhagen and will spend three days there. Next, it's on to Stockholm for one day and then we board a cruise ship for two days at sea, a day in Helsinki and two days in St. Petersburg. I am so excited to be going to St. Petersburg. My paternal grandfather was Russian and I have always been drawn to that part of my ethnicity. Upon returning to Stockholm, we will spend an additional three days there. I will visit as many royalty-related places in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg as possible.[/quote]

I've been to Copenhagen a couple of times (living on the Swedish west coast we had easy access to CPH and a few years back they even built a bridge between the two countries!) as well as Stockholm. Very enjoyable cities and I especially enjoyed "Old town" in Stockholm. Don't forget to visit the musuem in the Royal castle.

i have no doubt you will enjoy your holiday.

Trivia:
In my hometown of Varberg (Sweden) there is an old fortress which today is an museum as well as a hostel. In the museum you can find the (presumably THE) button from a military jacket filled with led (or similar) that killed the Swedish king Carl XII.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Tue April 26th, 2011, 1:33 pm

The last few years we've had to forego European vacations and stick with US/Canada. This year we'll be going down the coast of Oregon from Astoria, to the Redwood country in CA, ending up in Eureka. Later we'll be spending our yearly escape to San Diego.

I love reading travel narratives, but also love reading novels of places that I've been. Sixteen Pleasures is a good example; I read it right after our trip to Florence. It certainly evoked that place, plus I never knew about the Florence flood of 1965 or the Mud Angels; wish I was old enough to be one.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue April 26th, 2011, 2:27 pm

This year we'll be going down the coast of Oregon from Astoria, to the Redwood country in CA

Oh, you are in for a treat. Astoria is just lovely, and the Oregon coast - the best. Holler if you are looking for some tips, lots of people zip by only on 101 and miss spots like Bandon altogether because of it. You must splurge on a hot tub/fireplace room at the Overleaf lodge in Bandon

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Tue April 26th, 2011, 11:08 pm

New Orleans in June

Past visits
Dalmatian coast--Croatia (plus Kotor, Montenegro and Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Chicago
Hong Kong, Xi'an, and Beijing

Telynor · Post by **Telynor** » Wed April 27th, 2011, 8:27 pm

I'm heading off to Alaska this July by cruiseship and land tour, so I am trying to find some novels, and nonfiction about British Columbia and Alaska to read beforehand and during the trip.

A couple of years ago I did the Eastern Mediterraean by cruise ship and got to see six of the seven wonders of the ancient world. I did a lot of reading beforehand and it just made the trip all that much better to know what it was that I was looking at.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Wed April 27th, 2011, 11:48 pm

[quote=""Telynor""]I'm heading off to Alaska this July by cruiseship and land tour, so I am trying to find some novels, and nonfiction about British Columbia and Alaska to read beforehand and during the trip.[/quote]

I have some friends who have done two Alaska cruises and loved them. I haven't read it, but James Michener wrote a book about Alaska appropriately called Alaska.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Thu April 28th, 2011, 1:21 am

Yes, Michener is always good for travel and pre-travel reading, but there are also quite a few lesser-known novels set in Alaska and British Columbia that sound intriguing. I'll make a point of getting a far-Northwest page up before July. I've also had a request for San Antonio, and I really like the idea of a New Orleans page, so those will all be high priorities. With New Orleans, I may throw in some pre-Katrina and post-Katrina contemporary novels. For example, James Lee Burke's mysteries set in contemporary New Orleans are much acclaimed, though I haven't read any of them yet. And Italy is a must - will probably start with a Florence page. The trick with Rome will be winnowing down the reading list to a manageable size!

Lots of great suggestions here, and I will look forward to more. I wouldn't have thought of Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. There may be more novels set in St. Petersburg (under its various names) than in Copenhagen, but I do remember quite a good contemporary mystery novel a few years back that was set in Copenhagen - remember Smilla's Sense of Snow, anyone? Excellent novel, and the setting was so rich and unusual, I think historical fiction lovers would enjoy it even though it's contemporary. The main character grew up partly in Greenland (her mother was a native Inuit), so it might be interesting as Alaska/British Columbia reading, even though that's not the precise setting of either the main story or the backstory.

Michy · Post by **Michy** » Thu April 28th, 2011, 3:24 pm

[quote=""Margaret""] I really like the idea of a New Orleans page, so those will all be high priorities. With New Orleans, I may throw in some pre-Katrina and post-Katrina contemporary novels. [/quote] One possible suggestion for a New Orleans page would be Crescent City by Belva Plain. It's been a long time since I read it (my Belva Plain days were years ago) so I don't remember much about it except that it's about upper-class Jews in 18th or 19th century New Orleans. It's an interesting historical about the city, from a not-so-common angle.

Telynor · Post by **Telynor** » Thu April 28th, 2011, 8:33 pm

One historical mystery series that I've really gotten into is Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series set in 1830's New Orleans, and oh, is it good! Dark, just a touch creepy, and full of very interesting characters, not the least is Benjamin and his family.