The soul of the samovar is
singing a tune of warm-
hearted hospitality. From
historic Moscow to canal-
laced St. Petersburg,
Russia is full of riddles
and surprises to Western
thinking, according to
novelist and historian
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
The people of the largest
country in the world are
passionate, creating swirly-
spired onion domes of
gold and striking colours,
and making lithe, white
swans dance across a
Tchaikovsky-infused lake.
Visits to the Hermitage
Museum, St. Basil's
Cathedral and the Kremlin
will give you a taste.
Ukraine's ancient and
splendid trade route, the
Dnieper River, is lined with
rich cultural treasures,
spectacular churches and
rural folkways that recall
the days of the Vikings,
Tsars and Cossacks. See
Kiev's Cave Monasteries,
marvel at the riding skills
of Cossack horsemen,
and trace the footsteps
of history at Odessa's
Potemkin Steps.
103
