“Once we reach Narva River, the city abounds with the evening sun and the swallows are flying high above. The river divides, at a leisurely pace, the one side from the other, the one nation from the other: a fluid border. It is beautiful, and I realize that I had expected rather something gloomy…It is a strange place. Located on opposite sides of the river are two fortresses that now — once again — belong to two nations. Ivangorod, on the other side, is younger and dilapidated by comparison. But when standing in the outer courtyard of the Narva fortress, the river cannot be seen and the gray mass of the two castle arches appears to be a seamless melding into each other. As if everything were one. “An emblem of the rivalry between the Eastern and Western Roman Empire…” ~ Unn Gustafsson . Narva, Estonia 🇪🇪 16jan22Ice fishing across the River in Ivangorod, Russia 🇷🇺