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BALTICS
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Boats, Bikes, Blondes, & Balanced Life

Note: Bring your money

A Globetrotters View
path for baby carriages. Baltics ... Denmark pays parents $150 a great place to bike, boat, walk, or per month per child until age have a baby. All 18, with 9 mo fully paid streets have specicmaternity OR paternity leave paths for walking, and job security upon return. biking, driving, or boating (canals). Bikes have right of way in all cases & walk on the bike path at your peril! They now need a

Issue No 6 No wonder the on consumer goods, & parks are FILLED 180% tax on cars. But if with Dads pushing youre searching for baby carriages. Coveys balanced life Both Denmark and youll nd it here. Sweden are short 100,000 workers and prefer their own, so incentivize couples to have children to sustain their 52% tax on income, 25% VAT In short.... Liveable. 6 weeks vacation, pension at 65, free medical & daycare, tons of parks & spas, and a renovated palace apt to live in. Ave temp in winter is 35-45F, w/6 hours of daylight. 25 types of herring, plenty of (Carlsburg) beer, & gorgeous blondes. warm.

Entering harbors in Helsinki, Stockholm, & Warnumunde, Germany is a treat as you sail through island archipelagos and reach the town spires. Colorful sh and ower markets await you at ports. We discovered why Swedish bakeries are famous abundant pastry shops to die for -with Bakers that look and sound like the Baker on the Muppets -remember the sing-song Swedish voice? Sailboats and sidewalk cafes are full until midnight, when it starts to get dark- birds begin singing around 3:30 am. Stockholm is a perfect example of a city that was untouched by war: Beautiful architecture, rich infrastructure and going concerns in nance, mfg, transport, education, and lifestyle. If it werent for 5 hours of daylight each winter wed all choose to live here. Its worth the money. The Finns and Estonians still excel in icebreakers & cruiseliners but have advanced brilliantly into the tech age and their forests and lakes have great hiking and biking trails. In Stockholm you could rbike along the sea for miles and miles. I strolled along the miles of Baltic Sea Beach in Warnumunde, This is early morning but by by afternoon this nude beach is packed with groups of families and friends playing volleyball, picnicing, and swimming , in their birthday suits. Its hilarious.

and had 9 children by his peasant mistress - who became Empress after his death at age 52. She loved ...... The to play games, but not Baltic cities are gems, but much else, thus ruled a the diamond is St. short 2 years...only to be Petersburg, built by Peter succeeded by Peters the Great who came to the mentally-challenged throne at age 10. Peter nephew, married to traveled to Europe in 1700, Catherine the Great, who decided he wanted a had him smothered to european city, and a port, death by her lover, then so he built a navy to ruled brilliantly for some capture St. Petersburg from 50 years. Catherine the Swedes (who ruled continued creating Peters most of the Baltic in European showplace. By 1600s). He built his new the time she died she had palatial capital city in a amassed the largest art span of 9 years. Much of collection in all of Europe. what you see today are Now the largest collection the house(s) that Peter in the world it is housed in built. To this day there are the Hermitage Palace no high rises by edict of (right). A mere 5% of her streets they win Peter inand 1703 (ifwere youalive canwith Germanys collection is on display in believe that foresight!). over 1000 rooms - if you Peter was indeed GREAT care to view each item for but letss not forget he 1 minute it will take you exiled his wife to a 11 YEARS to visit. CANAL monastery, killed his only son for suspected treason, HOPPING... The best

Peters House

way to see Petersburg is via canal. Built on the Neva River, all bridges rise for boats. It is as though everyone lives in a palace with a river entrance. The palace at left is Peters Party Palace, he lived in a smaller palace just up the canal, this one was for parties only with 750 acres for hunting (now gardens) . The Pink Palace below belonged to Prince Stroganov - in his day he had the salt monopoly. Today he is better known as the man who invented beef stroganoff - largely because he lost his hand in battle and couldnt use a knife and fork. The opulence is extreme and one wonders where they got the money. Simple. A tax on grain, labor was free (in the land of serfs) the Czar owned the land and charged rent, plus a wealth of trade in fur, minerals, cotton, grain.
2 St. Petersburg

In case you would like to visit the Czar, you will be heralded into the reception hall, then to the Throne Room, with possible invite to the Ball,

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evening entertainment may be a poetry reading by Pushkin, their famous poet who lived here. Late evening step into your golden sleigh to carry you to your sailing vessel and sail out to the sunset. Ever wonder how the other half lived? Were sailing back to Borscht next week. Tak! Pushkin Garden Golden Sleigh Sunset on the Gulf of Finland/Baltic Sea

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