Gliding Into Moscow With Effortless Ease

So here we are sitting in the Viking Ingvar's beautiful panorama room, high atop the ship as we glide along the Moscow Canal with remarkable ease. The ship seems like it's literally floating on air.

The room has wraparound windows so we are able to enjoy the lush greenery on either side of the canal and many Russians who are out this Sunday camping, fishing, picnicking, swimming, boating, etc. We wave to those along the shore lines as the ship passes by.

It's peaceful, friendly, tranquilizing.

And for this moment, without any thought to what has come before, what the present situation may foreshadow or what the future may hold, we are friends and neighbors, hosts and guests, natives and visitors.

It's a lovely day here near Moscow - bright, sunny, a bit breezy, about 70 degrees. 

After lunch we'll head into the center of the city where we will visit St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, the famous Gum Department Store and be entertainment by a folkloric troop. 

Fifty years ago this Wednesday I graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, New Jersey at ceremonies held at the old Stanley Theater on Broadway (since demolished, like much of the rest of Camden). Never, in my most ambitious dreams did I ever expect that someday I'd be in Russia, let alone Moscow. After all, our nation had just been through the horror of the Cuban Missile Crisis which had brought us to the brink of nuclear war and relations between the two nations were still incredibly tense.

So, to arrive here today (and to visit the Kremlin, as we will tomorrow) reminds us of all the changes we've seen in the world during our lifetimes.

The fact that I'm able to communicate with you like this, instantaneously from halfway around the world also says a lot about those changes.

The sweep and pace of change has been nothing less than astonishing.

And in many ways, the cyber revolution has overwhelmed governments and ideologies and broken down barriers and prejudices. But regretfully, in other ways it hasn't. In other ways, it has fueled passions and tensions and divisions between and among peoples.      

But for now -- on this gorgeous spring day here in Russia -- we'll choose to focus on the positive.

We'll enjoy the moment -- and all the moments that follow as we enter the last few days of our Russian adventure with a grand tour of Moscow.

Check back for photos and other updates!