So how did this 2021 start? The answer can only be this: but how do you want it to go, do you know that there is still COVID-19, that we are almost always closed at home, and we cannot travel? Yes, of course, we know, because it is the same situation that we live too! Trying to think positively, it seems right to re-propose in the blog some of our accessible tourism experiences made in recent years, not so much for the spirit of nostalgia but as an incentive to prepare for new "adventures" when it will be possible to do them. In particular, the memory went back to two trips made with the Strabordo Association, the first in 2011 to St. Petersburg and the second in 2013 to Canada and New York. From these two experiences we have extracted two river cruises, the first on the Neva and the second on the Hudson, both carried out in the space of half a day. In general it is not easy to find accessible boats for this type of excursion, so we are pleased to compare the two experiences, Russia and the United States; we would be happy if any of our friends would tell us about similar experiences in other parts of the world, including in Italy, of course. Let's start then with St. Petersburg and the Neva; we are talking about a 74 km long river, emissary of Lake Ladoga, on whose delta the city was built in 1703; on the banks of the Neva there are numerous palaces and monuments that testify to the greatness of the vision of Tsar Peter the Great.
the grandiose Hermitage Museum:
one of the two Rostrate Columns, built between 1805 and 1810, at the base of which there are four statues representing the major Russian rivers:
St. Isaac's Cathedral:
the Fortress of Saints Peter and Paul, on the island of the Hares:
the cruiser Aurora, built in 1900 and today transformed into a museum; in 1917 he fired the first cannon shot that started the assault on the Winter Palace, at the beginning of the Russian Revolution:
What about this cruise? Apart from some problems with the boarding bridge, which hopefully have been overcome ten years later, we would certainly recommend it, within even a short stay in St. Petersburg, combining it with a visit to the monuments that can be glimpsed from the river. From Russia we virtually fly to the United States, to New York precisely, and review the photos of a cruise on the Hudson River, on whose estuary the city rises. The Hudson, which comes from Lake Tears of the Clouds, in its 507 km bathes both the state of New York and that of New Jersey. Those who follow the cinema will also remember the moment of notoriety that the river experienced when an airliner had to make an emergency landing in its waters, an episode remembered in the beautiful film Sully by Clint Eastwood with Tom Hanks as the protagonist in the role of the pilot. Our cruise was quieter, and allowed us to see fantastic views of skyscrapers and bridges with lines familiar to viewers of many famous films. Let's start:
Brooklyn Bridge:
Williamsburg Bridge:
the Glass Palace:
Statue of Liberty:
And with this vision of New York by night, the mini cruise on the Hudson ended; we leave to you the comparison between the two experiences that we have proposed, for our part we would like to recommend them both, hoping that this 2021 will bring us the opportunity to resume our accessible travels.