Customer Feedback...
If you take the time to read over this information, you will find that our customers have been extremely pleased with their visits thanks in large part to their guides. This is sincere, honest feedback from our previous customers.

At the Grand Palace in the suburb of Peterhof.

Hello Ed -- WOW! There are no words to really describe what a great time we had in Saint Petersburg. Veronica, our guide, was perfectly wonderful from the moment she picked us up at the airport. She brought us to the hotel and then took us on a little tour of the neighborhood and made dinner reservations for us. I also have to thank you one more time for all your advice and suggestions. As you know, being the budget minded travelers that we are we were a bit reluctant to hire a guide and it turned out to be the smartest thing we've ever done. Veronica's knowledge of the Hermitage, the State Russian Museum, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Tsars, the Greats, the Catherine Palace, the list is just endless. She made everything seamless and easy for us the entire time. We so enjoyed her that we hired her for an additional day. Not having to deal with the guide books and maps was just a treat too, thanks to Veronica. The trip down to the metro was wild, and some of the stations were just breathtakingly beautiful, more like an opera house than a metro stop. We all even enjoyed a sleigh ride through the woods in Pavlovsk.

Reentry from this trip has not been easy, I think we could easily have stayed longer to see more of the city. The food was great, the people were all so nice, the weather was wonderful, the hotel turned out to be in a perfect location away from Nevskiy Prospekt and with a view of Saint Isaac's Cathedral right outside the window. Veronica made sure we got to the Mariinskiy Theatre (The Nutcracker) and brought us to our seats one magical night. After the performance she brought us to a lovely restaurant and got us settled in one more time. It was just the best trip!

Thanks again for everything, it will be a time to remember, all the best, Ellen

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Ed,

Sorry for the long delay in response... we traveled to Paris from St.
Petersburg and I was just swamped trying to balance touring with work! ;-)

My coworkers and I absolutely LOVED St. Petersburg - in large part due to
our guide, Sasha.  The city itself is absolutely beautiful, and the stories
and inside knowledge that Sasha provided made our experience so much more
memorable than it otherwise would have been.  We were really pleased by the
way that Sasha was able to balance making sure that we saw (and heard) all
the major sights (and sounds) with our quirky tourist requests (e.g. the
Farmers Market).

We were also very impressed by the organization of your company... they
were constantly in contact with us and we always had at least two phone
numbers that we could call.  In fact, a real test of your company's
abilities occurred when my colleague got stuck en route to St.
Petersburg... so while we expected her to be waiting for us when we
arrived, your people were able to communicate to me that she would be
actually getting in at 10:50pm.  And, to the great relief of my colleague,
the driver was waiting for her upon her arrival.

So, thanks so much for helping us to have such an incredible time while we
were in St. Pete's!  We'll definitely give you a call if we're in Russia
again!

Thanks,
Jeanette

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==================

Note 2:

Dear Ed,

The tea sets have arrived and not a piece is broken.... a miracle considering that the porcelain is paper thin.

Thank you, too for the wonderful service you've provided. It was a great pleasure working with you.

Kind Regards,

Monika

==============================================

=============================================

Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 12:02 AM
Subject: Thanks


>
>
> Alex - Now that I am back home and have recovered from my vacation, I just
> wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for your great guide services
when
> we were in St. Petersburg.  I had a great time!   And, Harlod also really
> enjoyed it.  We really appreciate all the information you gave us and all
> the great places you took us to.  We got to see a lot more than the other
> people who were on our trip.  It was Great.  Thanks Again.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Karen L

Ed,

John and I arrived back in Baltimore last night. I do not know where to start.....Sasha was a dream come true. What a wonderful guide for the Bartlett family. John and I wanted to put him in our suitcase and bring him home. He actually seemed like one of the family by the end of the week. The only thing we would have done differently was to have gone to a hotel more suited to business people. We had forgotten that Europeans do not understand how much coffee my generation in America drinks to stay alert all day. Also the business center at the Hotel Europe is not updated with high speed Internet service, not even in their business center. Our kids loved the hotel. John and I have been traveling for about 32 years, and prefer the amenities that are more American. I am told MArriott will open in St. Petersburg soon, that will probably be more business oriented. We stay in the Ritz or Four Seasons in the states....we do like a robe, but would trade it anyday for coffee and highspeed Internet. I am sharing this because I will be recommending you to anyone I know who choses to travel to St. Petersburg.
Once more Thank you for arranging such a grand trip.Sasha, was just what we hoped. As a matter of fact we are going to try to help him arrange a trip to the states in the winter.Please be sure he knows how special we think he is.WHAT A GREAT TRIP. Do not hesitate to use us as reference.
Best Regards,
Jean

=================================================

Ed:

Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed Sasha. He was the first
person we saw when we stepped off the train from Moscow.  He was always
punctual, courteous and very considerate throughout our trip.  I would
highly recommend him to any of your future customers.

Thanks again,
Robert & Kristin

Ed - Sasha was great. He is intelligent, prompt, flexible, pleasant, well informed but doesn't fake what he doesn't know. I had some qualms about arranging for a guide from the internet but it could not have worked out better. Many thanks. Best regards, Art

Dear Ed,

Thanks for your emails. To get such fantastic testimonials is always a real
treat for me! It was great to work for Leslie. We explored many interesting
places here and she took tons of photos, but you know that 3 or 4 days are
not enough for such a big and beautiful city as St. Petersburg. And
sometimes the weather is not very good too... I think that St. Petersburg is
a must to see for people of creative professions, ex. photographers, artists
and  so on. I hope to buy a good digital camera sometime and take some
interesting and unusual pictures too.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned to you before that recently some scenes from
a controversial German film 'Sunset' about last months of Hitler (!!!) were
shot  in ... St. Petersburg. The producers said that they visited many
European cities but only St.Petersburg was able to provide them all natural
decorations! Main scenes of the storming of the Reichstag in Berlin with
4,000 crowds of people were filmed ... at the Shkapina Street (slums!) near
the Baltic Train Station ... The filming caused a great negative response in
the city, especially among the war veterans. I think that thanks to the film
there will be no slums in that area soon!

That's all for now.

Regards, Sasha

 

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======================================================================================

Thank you

* * * * *

Tanya - the trip was spectacular -  Veronica and Vitaly were tremendous. I cannot thank you enough. I will recommend your services to anyone coming to Russia and I will tell my travel agency to do the same. 

Mark

* * * * *

INCREDIBLE!

Dear Ed,

Just a short note to say thanks to you and Tanya. We had an incredible visit and are back on board and sailing to Estonia. Our heads are spinning with all the sites and people.

VERONICA IS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL INDIVIDUAL!  I would recommend her to anyone, anytime and anyplace. She is knowledgeable and extremely accommodating. If you need a reference please DO NOT HESITATE to contact me.

It was the visit of a lifetime.

With thanks,
Rayna

* * * * *

* * * * *

We had a wonderful time in St. Petersburg. I attribute this, mostly, to Veronica, our guide. She was very knowledgeable of the city and its history and was quite informative and well-prepared for each of the museums/cathedrals which we visited. She accommodated all of our requests for visiting tourist sites and seeing cultural events and arranged for the purchase of tickets and transportation accordingly. Her easy-going manner and command of the English language made the trip most comfortable. I would request Veronica as a guide in the event I returned to St. Petersburg. Thank you for recommending her.

Eva also worked out beautifully in Stockholm. Though not as well-versed as Veronica, she had an enthusiasm which was infectious. Thank you for suggesting her.

Thanks for everything. A good time was had by all.

Michael

I thought I would just drop you a note to tell you that I had a brilliant
two days in Saint Petersburg, but I would like to compliment the guide
(Veronica) who was most informative and very knowledgeable about all aspects
of Russian life and answered every question I put to her. In fact it was a
real pleasure even when we were stuck in the traffic (something the guide
books never mention) Also the driver was on time and very patient and the
vehicle was clean and reliable. I can safely say that my time in Saint
Petersburg really eclipsed the rest my vacation.


Regards Ian and Joanne Cross

PS I do not mind if you want to forward this email to Veronica


 

Dear Ed and Tanya,

We wanted to thank you both for the wonderful stay in St. Petersburg.  Our guide, Veronika was terrific.  She had extensive knowledge about the places of interest, historical information and art information.  Every question that we posed, she knew the answer and, in addition, she was a delight to be with.  She really planned our days to the fullest and made every effort to show us the sights and surrounds of St. Petersburg.
She even went one step beyond her duties in that she  raced toward a hydrofoil in an effort not to have us miss it and in the process took a very bad fall in which she badly cut and bruised her knee as well as tearing her slacks.  She really went beyond the call of duty!
We have returned home but we will continue to have very fond memories of our stay and for the kindness and patience Veronika showed us in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg.

Thank you as well for your assistance in planning our trip.

Warm regards,
Merle and Ken

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Tania and Ed:

I recently was in Russia to meet my new son and finalize an Adoption from Khabarovsk.   I had a few extra days to learn about the history and culture of Russia, and decided a trip to historic St. Petersburg was a necessity.  Within a week of finding you on the Internet, we were secured with a wonderful guide named Anna.

Anna met us at the Airport and during the next 15 hours, she shared with us the culture, history and sites of St. Petersburg.  She was very well informed, spoke excellent English, had a fun loving personality and was able to keep us awake and excited in spite of our jet lag!   Being in St. Petersburg during the White Nights, gave us a lot of daylight to see the city and tour well into the early hours of the morning.   We shared lots of laughs and cultural differences that made our stay in St. Petersburg unforgettable.

Anna is an excellent guide and your agency should be very proud of the representation she makes of your company, her city and the country of Russia!   I recommend her to anyone planning a trip to St. Petersburg for a day or longer!

Sincerely:

Linda M. Kinney
Houston, Texas USA
 

Hi Ed,

I'm still in Finland.  We had planned to send you and Tanya short report after we return to the US on Oct. 3.  However, I don't mind giving you a hint about what it will be.   We were very pleased with Anna, and we had a great time.  More info coming later.

Regards,

-Jim

TPozdnyakova@aol.com wrote:
 

Ed,

We had described ourselves and gave a very rough idea of what we wanted
to do for our stay in St. Petersburg via e-mail before we arrived in St.
Petersburg. We arranged a place to meet Anna at the train station.

Anna met our train when it arrived and took us to the hotel we had
booked via the underground. (Your guide to St. Petersburg hotels was
very helpful.) She made sure that we were properly checked in and helped
us buy postage stamps and exchange money. Anna made a couple of
suggestions of additional places we might visit, and clarified what
types of arts and crafts we wanted to look for. We spent the rest of the
first day exploring downtown St. Petersburg and took a boat tour of the
canals. This gave us a good orientation to the layout, architecture, and
history of St. Petersburg.

On our second day, Anna met us at our hotel and took us to a couple of
places she thought we would like. She was right. We enjoyed St. Isaac's
Cathedral very much. We also visited a variety of arts and crafts
stores. Then, we visited my number one site that I wanted to see, The
Church of the Spilled Blood. She pointed out all of the interesting
artwork, including some that most tourists would miss (standing directly
beneath one of the onion-shaped towers and looking straight up).

On the third day, we visited the Hermitage. There were long lines of
people waiting to get in when we arrived. Anna recognized an old friend
who was close to the front of the line and arranged for us to join that
tour group, so we didn't have to wait very long to enter. Anna also
sweet-talked (this is a good thing) guards into letting us visit a
variety of businesses and stores.

Also on the third day, Anna wrote down instructions for getting to the
train station from our hotel. She had us rehearse the pronunciation for
the names of the major landmarks between the hotel and the train station
so, if necessary, we could either ask for help or find our way there the
next day. (We only hired Anna for the first three days.) Her
instructions and training enabled us to negotiate the underground and
arrive at the train station by ourselves.

Anna is very articulate in English. We never had to ask her to repeat
what she said. She was also able to track what we said and understood
what we wanted.

Anna was very sensitive about our wishes and concerns. We were concerned
about drinking the water in St. Petersburg, so she helped us buy bottled
water and plastic cups. She helped us order food at restaurants. Both my
wife and I enjoy wandering. Anna would let us wander at our own pace
through interesting streets and alleys, while filling us in on the
history and fun facts for buildings, squares, and streets.

Anna was sensitive to our energy levels, and suggested that we sit down
from time to time so that we didn't get overly tired. By the end of the
third day, both my wife and I were quite tired, so Anna flagged down one
of St. Petersburg's "unofficial taxis" and negotiated a ride back to our
hotel.

Anna was very concerned about our safety. She herded us like a mother
hen when crossing streets. She warned us about pickpockets and
demonstrated how to carry a purse. And, once, Anna hurried us past what
she suspected was some type of illegal activity.

Anna is very enthusiastic about St. Petersburg and Russia, and the
places and things she showed us. She was especially exited about the
Hermitage. Almost every piece of work was her "favorite." I often find
art museums boring; but, with Anna as our guide, this museum was exciting.

We wanted to learn more about Russia than the history and architecture.
We asked Anna many questions--some personal, some political. Anna was
very open about her life in Russia, politics, and hopes for the future.
We feel that we learned much about the real Russian life. We found
Anna's answers to our questions as interesting as the places we visited
and the things we did.

As a schoolteacher, Anna liked to pose "puzzles" which encouraged us to
listen carefully to what she said and what we saw. We found these
puzzles to be both fun and challenging.

Without an understanding of Russian, it would have been very difficult
to get around, order food at restaurants, and negotiate prices. Hiring a
guide was definitely the right thing for us to do in St. Petersburg.
Anna was the perfect guide. She made our visit informative, fun, and
memorable. Carol says that Anna was the "brightest ray of sunshine" for
our visit to St. Petersburg.

Ed, we highly recommend Anna as a guide. We both think she is terrific.
We think so highly of Anna that we'd be willing to talk with your
potential customers about hiring her. By the way, we asked Anna about
her high heels--we're the "high heels" type of people.


 

Ed,
I have just returned from St. Petersburg.
Anna K is wonderful. She is the most professional, attentive and agreeable person I have met in a long time. I was amazed at how attentive she was to making sure that each day was productive. She made special efforts to ensure that I was never left alone and safely at my apartment before she made her commute home.
Anna is very gifted in her use of English. Her knowledge of the city and it's attractions round out the attributes of this wonderful young lady.
As as an example of the extreme dedication that she has to her clients, she didn't know for sure when I would arrive but was waiting at the airport when my first opportunity to arrive landed. I was glad that I was on the airplane as I would not have wanted her to have to wait for me.
She also used her ability to communicate with the locals to determine in advance which attractions should be scheduled for a given time due to closures etc. She prevented me from wasting time that I would have spent on closed attractions.
Anna made my trip to St. Petersburg 10 times better than if I had tried to navigate on my own. Frankly speaking, she is great!
Steve Fowler
Captain, Northwest Airlines

<>

Dear Ed Ryder:
             Thank you for your prompt assistance, upon very brief notice, in arranging  a Russian guide for my recent trip to St. Petersburg.
And very special thanks to Anna K. who was my guide for three days. Anna's knowledge of the city's history, art in it's museums, churches and palaces was awesome. Also her handling of all the details of transactions (purchasing admission tickets, negotiating with a taxi driver, showing me how to use the Metro, etc.) made my trip to a foreign country (where I cannot read the alphabet or pronounce the words) one of easiest I have ever had. I highly recommend her services to other travelers who are seeking a memorable & culture rich visit to St. Petersburg with an outstanding guide.
                            yours truly, George Stueck

Dear Ed Ryder and company at Russian Guide Network:

We're back from Russia (St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Moscow). It was a full and rewarding trip.

Thanks for working with us despite my contacting you at the last minute, and despite travel delays due to flights cancelled and such.  Having Anna as a guide in St. Petersburg was a great help, practically, and lots of fun.  She was informative, good-spirited, very tolerant of our eccentricies, and willing to cater to my own particular enthusiasm for architecture and churches.  So, many thanks to all who were involved!

--Frank B. Brown

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The trip was great and the weather turned out to be beautiful.  Gulia was
an excellent guide and a lot of fun to be with.  In addition to being very
knowledgeable about the area, she has a good sense of humor (or at least a
lot of patience to put up with me teasing her).

I think Peterhof was my favorite.  It's very peaceful there but the
Hermitage and Saint Isaac's Cathedral are the most impressive.  I also
liked the Russian Church of Spilled Blood for the way it looked.  Actually,
just sitting at one of the sidewalk cafes along Nevsky Prospect and
watching the people go by was interesting.  Lots of beautiful women but if
I was 20 years younger I would be going back to chase Gulia.

Gary
==========================================================================================

Dear Ed,

Thank you for your professionalism.  We did wait until 12:10 prior to
getting a taxi to the airport and as it was ... with the security and
all... we barely made the cutoff (by 7 minutes) for getting onto our
flight.  It seems they cutoff access to checking in bags 1 1/2 hours
prior to flight time. I wasn't aware of the stricter rules.  (It might
be helpful for some of your future clients...don't know if this is just
because of the recent world situation or if this is common for St.
Petersburg now.)

As to Helen.  She was fantastic!  We made a wonderful new friend. What a
perfect choice.  I have some of the fondest memories of any trip I have
ever taken directly due to Helen and her wonderful way of educating us
about Russian history through art.  She is so very knowledgeable  about
art, artists, Russian history, etc.

It was a breeze and an adventure traveling with her on the metro and the
mini buses.  We even were able to make it up to Pushkin on a bus.  I
will tell you as adventurous as I am, I would not have ventured to do
this without her. And what we would have missed!

I talked with lots of folks at airports on the way home and told them
the only way to see St. Petersburg is with a guide and told them about
your service, but most particularly about Helen.

Please let others know of Helen's warmth, genuiness, spirit of fun,
excellent command of English, true understanding of the nuances of our
language, punctuality, and professionalism. She is a perfect
ambassador.  That is such a hard package to come by and such an absolute
pleasure.  She is highly educated and it shows. We had fun learning
about Russia and she was equally interested in our opinions and exchange
of ideas.  Our meals together were always excellent and such a nice way
to get to kow her a little better.  (Not to mention the benefit of
knowing exactly what we were ordering and whether it was traditional
food or newer cuisine).  She allowed us to set our schedule of what we
wanted to do and when and was also able to recommend places of interest
if she felt we might enjoy them. I never felt we were "on the clock" . 
It seemed more like we were traveling with a friend.  And we feel we
have made a wonderful new friend .....and we treasure each and every one
of our friends regardless of where they are in the world.

Ed, I would also like to add at this time I have really enjoyed working
through and with you.  I will and have recommended your service.  You
have been prompt and informative and made our trip seem effortless.  So
I thank you very, very much.  Services such as your's are a rare find
and I appreciate it.

We, too are sorry about the final driver to the airport.  The reason we
did not call Tanya was because after 12:10 we really didn't know what
she could do for us at that time...it seemed it would have taken too
long for the (or any) driver to get to us.  But all things considered
what a wonderful, fabulous trip...and a final drive to the airport can
not change that or my great memories!

We will be recommending your services,

Most sincerely,

LJ and Curtis Cripe
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A. Neuman and the Samuels.

Dear Ed,

We had an utterly wonderful trip to St. Petersburg. I'm so glad I found your website, because our trip wouldn't have been half as good without Galina. She is a treasure; bright, fun, personable and so knowledgeable about Russian history and literature. She was the perfect match for us. She became another daughter to us and will stay with us when she returns to the US. What a superb addition to your roster of guides.

With all good wishes for your continued success.

Maggie Sharma

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Just wanted to tell you THANK YOU again for all your help and especially for Lena!  She was AWESOME as my daugthers described her.  They all got along like a house on fire!  She was very down to earth, an endless source of interesting information, personable and friendly!  Words can't describe how well the day went and how grateful I am for her company. 

Thanks again!

Sharon DeFreez
 

Hi Ed,

I have no problem with your including my email address.  That way if anyone wants to verify I'm a real person they can do so.  :-)   ... I can't say enough about how fantastic it was and how incredibly lucky I feel stumbling across your webpage!  That day was ... BY FAR... the best day of the entire trip!  Thanks again!
Take care,
Sharon

 

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