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A river trip to Russia


Tuesday, July 02, 2019

Katja Oxman of Amherst has an aquatint, “Uncertain Sunset” in the Portland Art Museum. It is a postcard of the Thomas Cole painting, “View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts after a Thunderous- The Oxbow.” Her husband, Mark, donated the work to the museum.

He sent the news with the print via email. It is worth seeing.

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I was on a river cruise in Russia last week. When mentioning that I was from Amherst, Mark Hodgkins said he had a cousin in the UMass landscape architect department.

I said Stephen Schreiber. Of course that was his relative.

I said that Stephen is a town councilor and had given a talk about downtown architecture during a walking tour in the spring that I attended.

I sent a photo of Mark and his wife, Doreen, to Steve.

He emailed back and asked if the item would make the column.

Here it is.

A former New Hampshire legislator is also on the cruise that went from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Of the 198 people on board, 12 are going to a festival in Estonia that attracts 30,000 performers.

I saw a DaVinci, 12 Rembrandts at the Hermitage, put my finger in the Gulf of Finland, walked through Red Square and marveled at the Gum Store. Lenin’s Tomb is only open Monday and Fridays so we were not able to visit.

I have lots of pictures and am willing to share.

My major concern is how the garden fared, have no idea about temperature or rain.