European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from a i a meat of Moscow it  like dinner in the kit. There1 was even a tossed salad with fresh tomatoes. Akhmetova had been Cool and self assured but Kabi Rova it first seemed shy and tentative. We found out that the reason was her nervousness about speaking in i English who h was her third language alter  and i finnish. I funded by i Eter the great in 1 70 i Leningrad was c ailed St. Petersburg until 1914, when its name was hanged to i Petrograd in line with Russia station. It Bee acne i Leningrad in 1924, after the death of the Leader of the bolshevik revolution. With the current Simale of change in the soviet Union there is a movement to restore the original name. Ii most of is Gray beige socialist apartment buildings and Gritty streets i Leningrad is Imperial Pala is and canals. With its population of 5 million spread among 42 islands it is very much a City of water. In some ways it resembles a run Down open Hagen or Amsterdam. St. Petersburg succeeded Moscow As the capital of the russian Empire in 171 \ and retained its position Lor More than 200 years. Though it was the starting Point of the russian revolution of october i i 7, the bolsheviks would move the capital Back to Moscow. I Ike Moscow the City has seen its share of War and suffering the worst being the 900-Day siege of i Leningrad in world War ii. During our stay we met a woman who remembered the siege and eating Only bread Lor nearly three years from 1941 to 1944, More than a million people died most of them from starvation. Hitler and his henchmen were so sure the c ily would fall that they actually had invitations printed up for a vie Lory Celebration in the hotel . But the terrible suffering Only seemed to Harden the people s resolve. After the Victory Over the a is i Leningrad was designated a hero City of the soviet Union. A few buildings Are still pot  with Bullet holes. Our hotel in i Leningrad again was a Long Way from the c enter of the City but this time the location had a plus Side the beachfront. I he i Lotel pre Saltiskaya on the Dull of i Inland is an Ultra modern top class hold. I he Servic e was excellent the facilities spotless and the food Good so Good that it made the food in Moscow seem like prison Camp fare. I Trees ranged from smoked sardines and Salmon to a statue of Peter the great in a Leningrad Park. Cheeses luncheon meat Cole Slaw cracked Barley baked fish Fried liver beef and pork. At breakfast there were extras like boiled eggs and creamed wheat. With the spectacular opulence of its cathedrals and palaces its gleaming Gold Spires and cupolas i Leningrad is very much a City of faded glories. Many of the City s main attractions the Hermitage the Peter and Paul fortress St. Isaac s Cathedral evoke the Imperial splendor of the czarist years. But other landmarks such As the Cruiser Aurora which gave the signal for the Start of the revolution and the Smolny Institute the onetime Headquarters of Lenin Are reminders just How closely the City is linked with the bolshevik takeover. In Sharp contrast to the tourist Sites Are the Many old factories which look like something out of the sweat shop Days and High Rise apartment blocks. I Ess than a half mile from the gleaming splendor of our hotel was a housing project that was As run Down and depressing As any in Chicago or new York. On the streets the shiny new hungarian built motor coaches of i tourist Roll alongside the dirty rust eaten municipal buses trolleys and buses. As in Moscow we were impressed throughout our stay by the extent of our guide s knowledge. But perhaps because she was Only three years out of College Kabi Rova seemed less inclined to stray from the official line she even referred to a Church that was confiscated in the 1920s As having been put under the Protection of the  at other times Kabi Rova seemed to embrace the new frankness. During the tour of St. Isaac s Cathedral now a museum she told us the unofficial Story behind the scaffolding that obstructed portions of the Interior though apparently no restoration work was being done. The director of the museum who thinks in the old Way ordered it erected to prevent an easter service from being held for the first time since the Church was seized by the communists. With 4 million fewer people than Moscow Leningrad has an almost leisurely Pace but it is still a bustling City with a Lively cultural life. The kirov Ballet is one of the Best in the world. Thanks to Hazenbrook several of us got to see the troupe perform for a bargain Price. The i tourist office at the hotel was charging $25 for a ticket Hazenbrook found a scalper on the Street who sold them for $12. On the first warm Days of Spring sunbathers lean against the Walls of the Peter and Paul fortress turning their bodies like meat on a spit to assure even exposure. At the Field of Mars a group of pioneers the communist youth organization pauses at the eternal flame to Salute the fallen heroes of the revolution while their Flag flutters in the Breeze. On Nevsky Prospect the youngsters flock around a group of american tourists trying to sell them various military emblems and medals and asking for chewing gum and ballpoint pens. Several of us visited Leningrad University where we were surprised by How pro american the students were. The next Day one of them invited us Home to visit his family and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our visit. Our last night in Leningrad we got together for dinner on the 15th-floor restaurant of the pre Saltiskaya. The Sun glinting off the Gulf of Finland below mirrored the upbeat mood. Leningrad was not As enervating As Moscow but everyone seemed ready to go Home. Sandra Platt a nurse at the army s 97th general Hospital in Frankfurt West Germany expressed the opinion of Many it would have been a very big disappointment to go from Leningrad to  the next morning everyone was fairly subdued on the ride to the Airport. We made one last Stop on the Way to take a group picture at the memorial to the City s defenders during world War ii. The Ilyushin 86 that took us Back to Frankfurt was a spacious nearly new jumbo Jet in terms of Comfort it would measure up Well against anything Boeing or Mcdonnell Douglas produces. The passengers mostly German and american tourists took advantage of the last Chance to buy russian souvenirs from the stewardesses who sold duty free Vodka Amber jewelry to shirts and other items. Overall the trip was a Success professionally organized and run by both Abr and i tourist. At left two soviet lineups a Ballet troupe performing in Moscow top and sunbathers standing next to the Wall of the Peter and Paul fortress in Leningrad. \ a Fujii my Ftp above two soviet youngsters in Moscow. At left an elderly woman rests on a Leningrad Bench. Above members of the pioneers a soviet youth organization Salute at soldiers Graves at the Field of Mars in Leningrad. At right Moscow crowd scenes with motorists and pedestrians jockeying for room. 12 stripes Magazine May 31, 1990 May 31, 1990 stripes Magazine 13