[Hondaracer]

Very cool..definitely not your average adventure

In terms of the Russian Visa, if you enter Russia by boat you don't actually need a visa, some loophole created for cruise ships etc.

We went to St.petersburg in 2011 from a locks cruise from Finland. Spent 3 nights there. I agree completely it's a amazingly clean and vibrant city

My dad who was with me in 2011 had been there when it was still the Soviet Union and he could not beleive the transformation and what it had become in 2011. When he went in the early 80's I beleive he sold his whole suitcase of ripped Levi's and t shirts to a cab driver for $400 USD. Said it was completely monotonous in those days and everyone worse essentially government issue grey jump suits etc. St.petersburg is definitely up there on my favorite places I've been.

They also have one of the craziest museums I've ever been to (not the hermitage!) a massive artillery/war museum which had to have been 6-7 times the size of the Victoria museum here.

Thanks for the post great stuff