Out the Window in Russia

Katherine Palace, St. Petersburg , Russia 2010 from the series CRUISE

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

It was a cool but sunny morning and my dad toured with us around the grounds for 2 1/2 hours before we made it inside the palace. It was a beautifully gilded place, but it was warm. As we made our way from room to room, my dad began to complain that his back hurt, so we sat him down on one of the security guard's chairs. She did not appear happy about either my dad's plight or the fact that she lost her seat.

In a matter of minutes, he went from the chair to the floor, passed out, turning blue and barely breathing. I directed my attention to my sister, because by this point I thought he was dying. Needless to say, emergency medical care in Russia is not exactly to our standards. Miraculously though, my dad was revived and made it back to the ship and actually continued his vacation.

However, I do not associate Russia, although beautiful, with being a happy place!