Our cruise began in Venice, Italy. We went one day before the cruise. It was a beautiful, magical overnight stay. We were blessed with nice weather for November. No rain and temperatures in the 50s. However it was foggy much of the time, and with the shorter days, it was dawn or dusk much of the time.
Churches were lovely.
Venice is a beautiful city. We loved it!
Venice is a grand city with old world flavor. No cars are allowed in the city. The Grand Canal slices through the city and many smaller canals and bridges link the rest of the neighborhoods like watery roads. Boats take the form of taxis, buses and even UPS trucks.
My photos of the grand canal cover day and night. Most of our time in Venice was foggy.
We did not take a gondola ride. However we did cross the canal in a traghetto, which is a gondola for crowds to cross where there is no bridge. People stand in the boat as they go across.
St. Petersburg was the highlight of our Baltic cruise. Perhaps for the architecture and art. Perhaps for the mystery of post-communism and efforts to rebuild. Perhaps for the glittering echos of the Czar, Peter the Great.
The day began sunny.
Canals are lovely. 
We were entertained for lunch in a grand hall by traditional Russian music.
Buildings are so ornate. 
By mid-after
noon the rain started pouring. It limited what we saw and slowed our tour due to heavier than usual traffic jams. 
. Amber, Vodka and hand carved dolls were popular.
Think Copenhagen, think canals. It is an old harbor city, with rivers and canal systems running through it. The picturesque Nyhavn Harbor still has old ships and tugs resting there. It was 2 blocks from our hotel.
There are two canal boat tours. The Netto-Bådene tour is only about $5 per person. The other company is double that. Our skipper smoked a pipe.
The famous Mermaid was constantly surrounded by tourists. We stopped by briefly on our way to our cruiseship. It was impossible to get close without a wait.
