I just got back from 6 days in Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg).  Our Stockxpert meeting with several hundred contributors was extremely successful.  Our team of 6 that attended learned a lot about the needs of our rapidly growing pool of microstock contributors.

Some travel thoughts:  I had to constantly remind myself that I was in Russia.  Moscow is a dynamic city with a fast pulse.  Lots of boutiques, sleek restaurants and money.  Red Square by day and particularly at night is one of the best sights anywhere. Many might know this (I didn't) that "Red" has nothing to do with politics or the old USSR flag.  Rather "Red" in Russian means a few things including the color, but more importantly it means beauty.  The lighting at night of the Kremlin and St. Basils Cathedral is fabulous.   Finally, Lenin's Tomb is a surreal experience.  Seeing the embalmed Lenin in his underground tomb is not something that is easy to describe.  Lenin appears to be a yellow-orange color and apparently was small in stature.

St. Petersburg is a totally different experience.  No vibrancy.  Just a lovely city with lots of canals, the amazing Hermitage,  and the Neva River.  Peter The Great can be felt throughout the city.  By the way, I did have an odd adventure two nights ago when some thugs tried to break into my room at the Astoria Hotel.  I won't  bore readers with the details except to say it happened about 2 am while I was busy with email.  I was not harmed and the potential intruders escaped into the night. 

Both cities have so much history that one could easily spend one week in each city and still only get a glimpse of their respective riches.  If you go to Russia be prepared for difficult communications.  I found little to no English spoken in both cities.  Also a paucity of English signs.

One final note:  the security check in the Helsinki airport is the most thorough I have come across in my world travels.