R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 106

D-Day — Omaha

All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

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Omaha Beach

On D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944, Omaha Beach was bleak. U.S. V Corps under the direct command of Major General Leonard Gerow would...

D-Day — Utah

All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

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Utah Beach

The beach assaults on D-Day occurred at five locations. Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches lay to the east. The English took Gold and Swo...

D-Day — Pointe du Hoc

All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

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100-foot/30-meter cliffs of Pointe du Hoc

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army Ranger Assault Group landed a Pointe du Hoc. Their unenviable m...

D-Day — Sainte-Mère-Église

All this week I’ll be rerunning my six-part series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Baltic trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

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82nd Airborne commemorated in stained glass

The D-Day invasion of Normandy began shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, when English and Ameri...

Fun Food Friday — Piroshki (Russian: Pirozhki)

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Piroshki with creamy garlic mushroom gravy

It’s time for my version of Russian piroshki, which I introduced to you on Wednesday’s visit to the Aragosta restaurant in St. Petersburg. While the Aragosta version of piroshki may be truer to the traditional, both Ursula and I think this recipe gives a superior tasting dish.

This is based on a recipe I’ve been making since my mid-teens. I picked it up from one of my mother’s cookbooks, and to this day I still recall how to make it from memory, with...

St. Petersburg — Time for lunch;

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Aragosta

You can get pretty hungry doing a two-day tour of St. Petersburg. Fortunately, our Alla Tour included lunch, and today’s lunch included traditional Russian fare. And lunch at Aragosta even included a beer and a shot:

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Anechs beer

After a simple salad, our next course was borscht, a hearty vegetable soup with a deep red color derived from the dish’s signature beetroot-based broth:

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Borscht

While the borscht was quite good, I was slightly disappointed in the main course, piroshki. But th...

St. Petersburg — Admiralteyskaya Metro Station

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Admiralteyskaya Metro Station

It’s probably not often you’ll find metro stations worth visiting, let alone making the subject of a blog article. Not so in St. Petersburg, which is home to several. The one we visited with our Alla Tour is the Admiralteyskaya Metro Station in St. Petersburg’s Tsentralny District. Admiralteyskaya is also the deepest station in the St. Petersburg network, residing some 86 meters/282 feet beneath the city. That require not one, but rather two lengthy escalator seg...

The Meaning of Memorial Day

Normandy American Cemetery, France

Honorably discharged veterans of the military are frequently thanked on this day for their service to their nation.  And although we are grateful for the thanks, veterans would like to remind you that Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day and also known as Remembrance Day to our Commonwealth Cousins) is the time to celebrate military service both past and present.  Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of a gratef...

Fun Photo Friday — Catherine Palace Favorites

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Catherine Palace

Next week will not have a Fun Photo Friday. Instead, it’ll be one of my Fun Food Fridays as I head into the kitchen and duplicate for you that classic Russian meat-filled pie piroshki. On Monday you’ll see a St. Petersburg subway station, and on Wednesday I’ll share with you a Russian lunch, in which you’ll see a true Russian version (spoiler alert: mine’s better). Until then I’ll leave you with these Catherine Palace favorites:

St. Petersburg — Catherine Palace; Part 2

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Catherine Palace

As impressive as the Catherine Palace exterior may be, it pales 0nce you step inside to see the highly decorative Rococo-style rooms with immense vaulted ceilings.

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Catherine Palace

And then there’s the priceless objects within, such as this incredible vase made of lapis lazuli:

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Catherine Palace

The vaulted interior and works of art speak for themselves, so I’ll just shut up and let them take over for now: