What a difference a year makes

A year ago, on a cool spring morning, my wife and I were lucky enough to be in the very first tour group at the Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The usually jam-packed  halls were empty and I was able to get 85 clear photos of paintings, sculptures and the magnificent rooms.  This shot of a man sitting in a hallway deep in concentration was my favorite.

The State Hermitage Museum is the second largest museum in the world, founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine The Great acquired a collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Gotzkowsky.
 
Today, its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment including The Winter Palace  a former residence of Russian emperors. 

As I write this, I am sitting in a hallway chair, deep in thought, reflecting on that magnificent trip.