European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from Page 9 items and after an overnight in our group had an Early morning departure for a flight to travel throughout the rest of the trip would be by the Minsk Airport was an experience a huge quonset hut with pigeons flying about overhead and people ramped out on hard no snack nowhere to get a cup of a rickety old bus took us to the plane which seemed equally As the Leningrad Airport was More we were ushered into a special lounge to wait for our it was almost but we had been up since 5 Bee Koning like a Pool in the desert was a Coffee bar in the at last we c Ould get some refreshment we a woman was Busy polishing the Glass behind the another woman was sweeping the carpets with a Twig Broom which she kept dipping into a pail of but the bar was it  open until after fortunately sightseeing in the soviet Union is More that afternoon we met our Leningrad City she started off with a version of the  speech we had heard from never we were Busy looking out the bus Peter the greats City formerly called is the City of the was the capital of Russia from 1712 until remnants of its Imperial past Are everywhere Beautiful baroque and neoclassical buildings in a variety of pastel Leningrad is a City of built on a Delta of the River ornate 54 of connect the cites 42 no wonder they Call it the Venice of the All visitors to Leningrad make a Stop at the Catherine the greats opulent Winter Palace that today is one of the worlds greatest As overwhelming As the Art collections on the Walls is the decoration of the Palace now i understand Why there was a russian remarked a member of our catherines summer Palace in the nearby town of Pushkin is in the same the Turquoise building with White columns and Golden domes is surrounded by a pretty Park Complete with a statues and there Are historical churches to visit in although they now serve Only As museums and a City landmark is the Needle like Tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral soaring 122 High above the rest of the Peter the great was buried in the Church in thereafter it became the burial place of the the Cathedral is just one of Many buildings in the Peter and Paul fortress the fortress was built in the Early 18th Century to defend the Banks of the that never instead it came to be used As a prison where revolutionaries were and Alexander lenins older were among its Leningrad main Street is Nevsky a wide thoroughfare always brimming with this is where we saw Long lines of people waiting to buy ice Cream from Street even longer lines of hungry Folk waiting to get into the cites huge department store is on this inside there were lines to get at certain counters panty for but for us there want much to buy we did make purchases Down the Street at Dom Knigin House of a wonderful place Rich in old world in addition to very reasonable books in a variety of including illustrated russian fairytales in the store has a Section of the political posters Are cheap As Little As 25 cents and Ideal As offbeat More traditional souvenirs Are available at the Berlioz a foreign currency the russians have cashed in on the tourist the shops Are Well stocked with everything from fur Coats to stacking All credit cards Are the in souvenir these Days is the hand painted the Kremlin Trinity Tower in the former Smolny Cathedral in Leningrad is now the museum of the history of lacquer the boxes Are works of Art and youll pay dearly for prices Start at about in both Moscow and Leningrad one of the most fascinating sights and experiences awaits underground the the stations Are another example of russian and it costs just 5 Kopecky about 7 cents to View As Well As take a subway the escalator ride is even More Leningrad subway is supposed to be the deepest in the when you Board at the you can barely see the Art Deco lamps line the ramp that separates the up and Down adding a spooky glow to the underground it was a similar kind of glow we experienced at about 1 in the morning and not from alcoholic we visited Leningrad at the end of the season of the White it never does get but after Midnight the sky turns fiery then mellows into Rosy casting a magic glow on we had just one Day to see Moscow our itinerary specified that we would have two Days in each according to Aeroflot cancelled our original flight Between the two we had to stay an extra Day in since it was so no one seemed to our Moscow tour included the red the nov Devichi Convent and a bus ride through the Lenin Hills to the once again the most impressive sight was people a line that had to be at least a mile twisting through a up a then across red tourists Admire the splendor of one of the ornate rooms inside Catherine the greats Palace in near Waito pay0 homage at lenins mausoleum on red at other popular tourist the for our guide had been Able to get us past the not if we wanted to see lenins preserved would have to with Only one Day in the it was out of the evening entertainment is usually a part of the Standard package tour to we saw Folk dancing and Ballet in Leningrad and an opera in meals were also included Continental Soldier drinks sweetened beverage from Street vending unfortunately always in the hotel my 11day Poland Russia tour with Scheffler travel service Cost was for All meals and a single room was and the visas Cost another Check your itt office for a Complete listing of Tours to at the time you sign youll be Given visa application usually these must be completed two months prior to members of the military should get clearance to travel in communist countries from their Branch of your Punco or co office can give you forms to fill they should be turned in at least 45 Days before departure to allow time for Inge our Scheffler guide who first took a tour group to Russia in has noticed Many changes through the the Beautiful things to see Are still the she but tourism has quadrupled and the facilities have greatly everyone in our group agreed that the trip had been a fascinating i have mixed said Helen a Canadian whose husband is stationed in at first i Felt that we had been brainwashed about How bad things everything looked fresh and during the tour she met a russian woman who has relatives in she invited the woman to her hotel but the woman was afraid to behind their eyes theres a lot they want to say but you need to get past the to meet people in the then you realize How difficult life is even in a Short its possible to get past that 70 stripes Magazine August August stripes Magazine 11