Phone booths are so 20th century, but when coin-operated telephones appeared in 1889, they represented a technological breakthrough as amazing as a modern smart phone. At the time, telephones weren’t uncommon, but there were no public venues. It was possible to find an agent operating a telephone pay station. For a fee, the customer could
Articles Categorized History
We All Scream for Ice Cream*
Ice cream and its cousins can be had all year round, but during these Dog Days of Summer when the temperature climbs, frozen deserts are especially welcome. Considering reliable freezers are a 20th century invention, it’s surprising how long frozen desserts have been around. In China during the Tang Dynasty, ice men produced a concoction
Summer Reads: Prominent Women Lost in Shadow
This installment of Summer Reads is a bit on the serious side, because early in the summer I’m still picking through my history reading pile. The first book is historical fiction; the second, narrative non-fiction that is partly biography, and partly a great deal of information on Elizabethan building techniques. Taken in chronological order, let’s
Luggage Luxury
Packing for a well-deserved holiday can be stressful, depending on the length of the trip and the expected activities. If all you need is a couple swimsuits, shorts, T-shirts, and maybe a long skirt for evening, there’s no problem fitting everything into a carry-on bag. But if the journey requires business casual as well as
Titanic Survivors: The Socialite, The Actress, and The “Unsinkable” Woman
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, RMS Titanic struck an iceberg. At 00.25 a.m. the next morning, the Titanic sent out a distress call. At 2:20 a.m. the ship sank. At 4:00 a.m. the Carpathia began picking up the 710 survivors. This is a story about three women who traveled in first class. One
Honey – Nectar of the Gods
Spring officially begins on Wednesday, though winter is often slow in leaving. As the earth warms up, flowers begin to peek through, inviting bees to gather pollen. Bees, of course, produce honey from floral nectar and store it in wax honeycombs within their hives. During their six-week lifespan, each worker bee produces half a teaspoon
ST. PETERSBURG: VISITING ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL & SQUARE
I doubt any visitor to St. Petersburg misses St. Isaac’s Square, so it seems fitting that St. Isaac’s Square and its namesake cathedral are the focus of this final visit to the sights of St. Petersburg. Catherine the Great’s grandson Nicolas I who ruled from 1825 to 1855 laid out the square with St. Isaac’s
ST. PETERSBURG: THE CATHEDRAL of SAINTS PETER & PAUL and THE CHURCH OF THE SAVIOR ON THE SPILLED BLOOD
The CATHEDRAL OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL was the second church in St. Petersburg. The first church was a wooden building consecrated in 1704. But it was never meant to last. Peter the Great wanted a cathedral to rival any building in Western Europe and brought in architect Domenico Trezzini to build a Baroque structure
THE CATHERINE PALACE
One of the interesting aspects of travel is that often what you think is true turns out to be slightly different. The complex I’d always thought of as Catherine’s Summer Palace never had that name. Officially the structure was called the Great Palace of Tsarskoye Selo until 1910, after which it was called simply The
PETERHOF: THE RUSSIAN VERSAILLES
Peter the Great became the first of the Romanov tzars in 1682. Standing at six feet, seven inches tall he was an imposing figure. Today his legacy still dominates St. Petersburg, the city he founded on the banks of the Neva River as his Window to the West. So, it seems fitting to begin our
From Gottland to Stockholm
Once a major trading center in the Hanseatic League, VISBY on the ISLAND of GOTTLAND is a charming glimpse into the past, said to be the best preserved medieval city in Scandinavia. The 13th century walls are the strongest and most extensive in Scandinavia. At the opposite extreme, is Gallows Hill, probably built in the
Karlskrona, Sweden — A Step Back in Time
Once upon a time in the 17th century, Sweden took direct control of the Baltic region and emerged as a Great Power. In 1680 Charles IX decided to relocate the Royal Swedish Navy from Stockholm to Trossö Island, one of thirty islands in the Blekinge archipelago. The new city was called Karlskrona – In 1711,
PALANGA, LITHUANIA – “LET THY UNITY FLOURISH”
Palanga is on the shore of the Baltic Sea and the busiest summer resort in Lithuania. In addition to seaside activities, Palanga is famous for its Botanical Garden and the Amber Museum located within a Neo-Renaissance palace museum completed in 1897. The garden covers just over 247 acres with forests of pine and fir trees,
RIGA, LATVIA — MOTTO: “FATHERLAND AND FREEDOM”
Like other Baltic States, Latvia first appeared on European maps after World War I when Russia relinquished several nations. During World War II, the Soviet Union held Latvia until the Germans took over. After the war, Latvia again fell under Soviet control, finally gaining her independence in 1991. Since that time, Riga has become a
Tallinn, Estonia — “Postively Surprising”
We don’t hear much about the Baltic States, so I thought it might be useful to look at a map before visiting Tallinn, Estonia. The states on this map are Finland, The Russian Federation, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania spent much of their history dominated by regional powers, primarily Russia and
SUMMER READS: Two Novels of Forgotten Women
THE HANDFASTED WIFE It’s 1065 and Edith Swanneck is worried, because “These days everyone talked of how important a church wedding was, a priest listening to vows exchanged in the church porch and then blessing the marriage.” [Handfasted Wife, Chapter 1] Edith Swanneck didn’t stand on the church porch with her husband Harold Godwinson. They