Travel Russia Today

The Torne River runs along the border of Sweden and Finland and is the location of the annual novelty, the Ice Hotel. But you don’t have to travel to Sweden in the dead of winter to experience the crystal clear ice that this river produces. Year round the sparkling clear ice formed by the waters of the Torne are on display at the Ice Bar in the Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm.


Sponsored by Absolut Vodka, the Ice bar gives a whole new meaning to “on the rocks”. Hollowed out cubes of ice serve as the vessels for a variety of flavored vodkas and eliminate the need for traditional ice cubes. These ready to serve glasses of ice are stacked on “glass clear” ice shelves behind a full size bar completely constructed of ice and surrounded by walls, and tables all made of ice.

No bar stools to stick to! Don’t worry – an arctic style parka prevents frostbite and woolen knit gloves keep you toasty and warm throughout the experience. Of course you can remove a glove and tempt the ice glass to stick to your fingers or leave the imprint of your hand on the wall for posterity but most visitors find it hard to leave their hand against the glistening ice for long enough to melt an impression. The bar provides a party like atmosphere with club lighting and music that ranges from Abba (of course) to some of Sweden’s more modern pop stars.

The bar menu consists of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Vodka straight is favored by many but it can also be mixed with a variety of fruit drinks to create a fun cocktail. In between sips of the throat warming vodka the vast majority of guests spend their time taking photographs of themselves and their friends.

The crowd is incredibly international – the night we were there the 60 or so people (maximum allowed in at one time) consisted of Australians, Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Argentineans and almost every European country all giggling and laughing at this novel phenom that will be a highlight of any visit to Stockholm. Despite the provision of warm upper clothing, your shoes are yours and at 23 degrees Fahrenheit flimsy soles will soon have you beating a retreat for the exit!

I stood in the center of The Amber Room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg, Russia – admiring the beautiful reconstruction of the room, which was rededicated in 2003. The Amber Room is constructed entirely of amber panels - from ceiling to floor. The effect is singular and spectacular. The Nazis looted the original Amber room during WWII and the whereabouts of its contents still remains a mystery.

While standing in that room on August 7, 2008, I took a piece of paper out of my back pocket. The paper was a copy of notes my grandmother wrote on her cruise ship stationary from the M/S Pilsudski on August 15, 1936. My grandmother stood in the same room almost 72 years, to the day, earlier. My grandmother of course saw the original room.

Both sides of my family come from Russia. 2008 marked the 100-year anniversary of my mother’s side of the family emigrating from Russia to America, so on this recent trip I was able to enjoy a double dose of historical connection to this fascinating country. What a treat!

I just had the opportunity to fly Austrian Airlines’ new business class from JFK to Vienna. Normally, I never notice the uniforms of the flight attendants. However, Austrian’s are in unrelieved red – red jacket, red vest, red shirt, etc. This carries on right to their red shoes and stockings. All this red is accented by a robin’s egg blue scarf. A very interesting outfit…



The new seats are quite comfortable and lie flat at the push of one button, allowing for a very comfortable night’s sleep. Food in business class is some of the best I’ve had and is catered by DO & CO International. A chef travels on board with you to see to your every food whim. The selection of wine and drinks was also extensive.

All in all, my flying experience was very pleasant I urge you to try the new Austrian!

Before our trip to Poland, my colleague Gwen and I decided that it would be a good idea to also visit the neighboring Belarus. The most efficient way to get there was crossing the border near Bialystok and spending a day in Grodno, a city that used to be home to a thriving Jewish community and an important political and cultural center of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth. Today, it is a sleepy town that will surprise you by its cleanliness and order, undoubtedly resulting from the tight political control of the Belarusian (read Russian) government.

I could tell you about the day we spent there, and it was an interesting and emotional one – from the stern border control, to our visit to the only preserved Synagogue and the unmarked mass grave of Grodno’s 20,000 Jews killed by the Nazis, to my heated political debate with our Pro-Putin driver and Anti-Putin guide, to the delicious herring I mixed for myself at a great local restaurant.

Instead, I will tell you about our train ride back to Bialystok.

At the train station, as we were approaching the narrow door of the passport control, we could sense our journey back to Poland would be far from dull. Equipped with black tape, several young Belarusians were engaging in the most bizarre activity: taping together packets of cigarettes into thin, almost 5 feet long stripes and carrying them through the passport control under the disinterested noses of the Belarusian officers. When asked what this is all about, our guide, a Professor at the Grodno University, smiled mysteriously: You will see. And so we did.

During the first forty five minutes of our train ride before the border, an incredibly well organized commando of about 15 young men and women equipped with screwdrivers essentially took apart the train carriage, unscrewing every plywood board on the walls, every lamp and every tube and pushed tons and tons of cigarette packs into every hole, cavity and nook possible. As we watched in astonishment, one of the girls asked us, very politely, to move so that she could make use of our seats.

At the border, the nicotine traffickers metamorphosed into innocent looking travelers and nonchalantly opened their bags for the Polish border officers to check for any illegal content (such as a large amount of cheap Belarusian cigarettes). During the hour long wait at the border, everybody had to leave the train and the Polish officers went through every wagon. As I watched them bringing out only two bags of seized cigarettes, I had to wonder if this was just a symbolic act on their part.

We got back on the train, the smugglers drew their screwdrivers and methodically retrieved their cargo. It was an efficient and smooth operation, but it seemed like way too much effort just to sell cigarettes. I had to ask, how much is in this for you? The answer was: $150.