This evening I’m off to St. Petersburg, Russia to work with our distributor there for a couple days.  Quick trip.  Home Friday night.  I’ve been to St. Petersburg twice before.  Beautiful city as compared to Moscow (in my opinion).  Great potential for our melters.  We have already shipped units there, and expect to send more for this winter.  The sights in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) are beautiful.  The Czar’s Palace (now a museum) is wonderful to walk through, however I may not have time to do so this trip.

The Russians are quite well advanced at snow removal.  Most in the USA believe the Russians to be backwards and uninformed - and that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Well organized, utilizing modern equipment (often, Russian made), they take considerable pride in how their cities look to outsiders.  The people are friendly and not standoffish, as sometimes erroneously portrayed in the media and in movies. 

At the risk of offending my wife (whom I love dearly), the Russian women are stunningly beautiful.  The dress impecably and understand fashion thoroughly.  A joy to look at.