Aarhus

Located on Denmark's Jutland peninsula, Aarhus tends to play second fiddle to Copenhagen in the travel brochures. This could be why over the last century efforts have been made to popularize the slogan "City of Smiles." The settlement was named after the medieval Danish words for "river mouth," and, though now a charming modern city of culture and commerce, the soil is loaded with Viking artifacts and pagan history.


Aarhus from the harbor.




The Aboulevarden canal, lined with cafes and restaurants, runs through the center of town.










Aarhus City Hall tower.


The historic Latin Quarter.


The ARoS Museum of Modern Art.




Den Gamle By, or "Old Town," is an open-air museum of historic half-timbered houses.




Inside the Toy Museum.






The Poster Museum.

Helsinki

Before visiting Helsinki my only mental picture of Finland's capital city was from the Jim Jarmusch film Night on Earth. In other words cold, bleak, slow-paced, and comically tragic. In mid-July, however, I found a peaceful community of parks and gardens, street buskers with dayglo hair, sunbathers stretched out on rocks, and old men dressed in lobster costumes waiting on benches. Of all the Baltic cities I visited, Helsinki seemed like the one best suited for an afternoon picnic followed by a snooze in the sun.


The Helsinki Cathedral in Senate Square.


Senate Square was often used as a stand-in for Soviet Russia in Hollywood films.


This sculpture of steel tubes is a monument to Jean Sibelius, Finland's national composer.




When Sibelius fans complained that the memorial tubes made a dreadful cacophony in high winds, this second monument to the great composer was constructed.


The Temppeliaukio Rock Church, a temple built into the earth.


Entering the church feels not unlike stepping aboard a UFO.


Temppeliaukio from the outside.




The ATMs in Finland are called Otto.




The award-winn​ing Helsinki Central railway station.




The Havis Amanda statue was intended to represent the rebirth of Finland, but because she was modeled on a Parisian girl, many at first dismissed her as a "common French whore."


Seaside cafe.


A cryptic street performance.

St Petersburg

The city of St Petersburg has done a remarkable job of recovering after a spiteful Hitler did his best to flatten the place when the Russians had the nerve to resist his invading forces. Palaces and churches have been carefully restored and many turned into museums. The buildings are more colorful and street cafes more populated than I imagine they were during the Soviet heyday. Since the Iron Curtain parted traces of Western culture have seeped into the city. Logos of Coca-Cola and McDonald's abound, along with warehouse-sized supermarkets and tourist attractions. After cycling through a few names during the 20th century, Petrograd and Leningrad, the city has returned to its original one, coined by Peter the Great—not after himself, he humbly insisted, but rather the apostle St Peter. Nod. Wink.


Peterhof Palace, the summer palace of Peter the Great, was impressively restored since being nearly obliterated by Nazis during WWII. All the fountains on the palace grounds are powered solely by gravity.


Overlooking the Gulf of Finland.




One of St Petersburg's many canals.


The Peter and Paul Fortress.


A decorative rostral column which also serves as a lighthouse.


Lenin strikes a pose.


A meat-stuffed pirozhki.




Lenin. Grave. Turning.


St Isaac's Cathedral.




The ceiling of St Isaac's.


The Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace in Palace Square.


It is claimed that if you spent one minute looking at each exhibit on display in the Hermitage it would take eleven years to make your way through the museum.








This statue of Nicholas I is noteworthy because the horse is balanced on only its two hind legs. Usually when a statue of a horse is reared, the tail touches the ground as a third support.


Fyodor Dostoevsky lived in a six-room apartment in this building until his death in 1881. The floor is now preserved as a museum.


The Church on Spilled Blood, built on the site of Tsar Alexander II's assassination. Following six failed attempts on his life, a bomb was hurled under his carriage. Alexander survived but made the mistake of getting out to inspect the damage, at which point another bomb was tossed. His legs were blown off, but even this didn't kill him immediately. The mortally wounded tsar was taken back to his palace where he died later that day. Pretty church, no?