Tourists are forever writing of their experiences so I will give my take on part of a recent cruise to the Baltic Sea. This was nearly a year ago. Sleep was my bugaboo!. The hassles brought on by jet lag, engine noise, lost bags frustrated my whole experience on this trip. I tried everything to fall asleep–booze, drugs, gambling, reading, sheep.

About 4 AM one morning after another sleepless night I went out on the balcony (by this time we had moved to a much better room). I watched the sun come up while cruising through the long waterway/canal that leads from the Baltic to St. Petersburg. I was really spaced out and was watching this incredible sunrise half way on the other side of the world. We were going into that amazing city that Peter the Great built in the early 18^th Century to give...