Rudy Maxa's World: Japan

It's amazing how the town of St. Petersburg has been turned around from the Soviet era. I loved seeing The Peterhof Palace. It's like out of a dream. There is so much art, lots of museums everywhere. It's enormous! The Hermitage is truly a grand museum, perhaps the grandest of all. It contains the biggest collection of Matisse. It is an artist lover's dream to go there. And so romantic... My husband went there with his mother when he was young. And it would be wonderful to go, again. The town has all these beautiful churches, gorgeous buildings, lovely fountains ... Beauty is all around you. Loved going to the ballet, too.Peter The Great was really involved building the city. And recreated his own little "European town" there. Filled with so much beauty and love. Your heart can barely contain it all. Peter The Great went to different places in Europe to build his own little town, just to get ideas.The specialities were beef stroganoff, borscht soup (beet soup) with their sour cream on top. They love their sour cream! And known for their pickles and you can them 1 to 2, 3, 5, 10 day old pickles. It's up to you. And not to mention the cranberry juice followed by a shot of vodka! "Za zdorovje" ("To your good health!")Onto Estonia, from a travel point of view, I was impressed at the interview by the former Prime Minister of Estonia, Mart Laar. He was the first in Europe to introduce flat tax. He really turned Estonia's economy around. It was interesting to find out all the details how Estonia was able to rebuild themselves back after Soviet occupation in 1991. And pretty quick too! He's not your normal politician. He did a lot of radical decisions that helped Estonia bloomed a great deal. He always thought in the best interest of the country.It was nice to see the old part of town restored, amazing restorations. They have kept the old folk traditions in a modern day world in lots of places. They showed "The Singing Revolution". Estonians are smart enough to have come out and sing their way, by hundreds of thousands, into getting their freedom back. There was no way to win by fighting. The Red Army was not going to drive tanks over 300,000 people. It was pretty heavy-duty. And brings tears to your eyes.Nice to see lots of small private businesses and cafes are existing everywhere and doing great, not threatened by "big chains". The people seem happy. The unemployment seems non-existent. People appear thriving. Transportation is free in their own capital [Tallinn] for their citizens.The castles were wonderful to see and how they have been preserved/restored after years of occupation.I liked the way "Rudy Maxa's World: Russia & Estonia" ended, but I would have loved to seen more. I wish that we could have a sauna here in our home, too. We probably would be healthier and feel so much better. The Estonians love good food and fine music, as well as we do here. Their specialities are pork, blood sausage, fish, black bread, beer, etc. I have tasted the black bread (called just "bread" there) on numerous holidays when my Estonian mother-in-law brought the bread overseas to America. It is delicious! And far better and healthier than our white bread. Overall, the video was a wonderful "digital journey"!

Rick Steves is my favorite tour guide, but for some inexplicable reason, he only does Europe. Rudy Maxa will never be Rick Steves. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this DVD.The DVD showed Tokyo's impressive skyscrapers, shopping districts, and attractive women. Rudy stopped by a Pachinko Parlor and the Cherry Blossom Festival. He also visited the Tsukiji Fish Market. He used the Tokyo Metro to get around. Although it is overcrowded, it is a clean and efficient system. I also enjoyed the Kyoto episode since it featured the geisha. The DVD is a little short, but definitely worth the price.

On the contrary to the other reviewer, I found these shows on Argentina very fun to watch. As always, Rudy has a great sense of humor and provides interesting information. I agree that he perhaps spent a little too much time on the wine industry in the Mendoza episode. However, that is one of the things that Argentina has become known for in recent years and Rudy doesn't spend all of his time there in that particular show. The Buenos Aires show is the more entertaining of the two episodes on the disc, as Rudy explores the tango, the food of Argentina, the unique and large Italian contribution to the country, its love affair with soccer and its zest for life. You might be able to rent something like this from the library first before buying it, to see if it is worth the purchase, and I think it is.

So disappointing. The beginning of the DVD is an advertisement for hotels--the entire show is an advertisement for wine tasting and hotels. I wanted to see Argentina and instead he covered the same story in two cities that were completely similar. There was no countryside to speak of--even though Argentina is famous for the waterfalls, plus glaciers...and great beaches. Nothing of that sort was covered. A very poor travel video and I do not recommend it for any true view of the country. After watching this, it gave me no increased desire to visit--too much time talking of the fruity yet deep flavor of their wines, which by the way probably took up 1/2 of the production. Boring. I didn't want to buy an infomercial.

I have several documentaries on India, and this one is different (in .a good way) from the rest. It is more personal and oriented toward what the traveler would want to know before traveling to two or three key areas of India. In this sense, it is helpful in ways that the other (fine) documentaries were/are not. Strongly recommended for anyone wanting to see India as a knowledgeable traveler might.

It was a well intended travelogue, I know it was about food, but they really did not show the beauty ofJapan's culture and people.

Showed the variety and perfection of the culture just

I saw this documentary before purchasing so I knew I would love it. It's has a variety of Japanese tourist stops as well as places off the beaten path.

I have viewed several documentaries on India and this dvd with Rudy Maxa ranks with the best of them. He has an unique way of presenting the information and choosing his material. As a child, I had family members who spent several years in a different area of India so learning more of this country is amazing.

I am a avid arm chair traveler and because of Rudy Maxa I feel as though I have been to parts of Japan. I particularly enjoyed the segment on Kyoto and the cherry blossoms in the area of Tokyo. The colors of area are very cheerful. Rudy' comment are alwaysof great interest and are never boring.

Well done. Hope they do something on Moscow.

Fine