Week 28, Travel: Abram & Sura's Vacations in Sestroretsk

Week 28 of 2025’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge focuses on travel.  As Abram and Sura prove, you don’t need to travel far to have an interesting vacation.

When Alex’s great-grandparents Abram and Sura Reifisz wanted to escape the congested city of Leningrad, they traveled to one of their favorite vacation spots, the seaside town of Sestroretsk.  Located about 21 miles northwest of modern-day St. Petersburg, it has been a popular vacation destination renowned for its health spas since the Sestroretsk Kurot Sanatorium opened in 1900.  The health resort was the first of its kind in northwestern Russia and featured a large health complex, a winter swimming pool, a concert hall, restaurants, a library, and a glass-enclosed promenade gallery which was marvelous to behold.  The town sits on the Gulf of Finland, nestled amid fragrant pine forests filled with walking trails and bordered with long, shallow beaches.  People flocked from all over to vacation in the “North Riviera,” but because of its close proximity to St. Petersburg, people from the city were frequent visitors. 

Family pictures of Abram and Sura’s vacations there during the winters of 1955, 1956, and 1957 show them bundled up and enjoying themselves.  During their stay, they likely took advantage of whatever health services their sanatorium offered such as mud baths, heated pools, mineral spas, saunas, and massages.  In one photograph, the two of them are pictured dining at a prettily set table for two laden with hearty bread and bowls of soup.  In other pictures, they’re enjoying the crisp, winter air, posed in front of buildings or with groups of people on outings.

Sura and Abram in Sestroretsk, 1957

Abram driving the Finnish kicksled, 1955

Vacationers were encouraged to venture outdoors to exercise and breathe the fresh air.  Sestroretsk offered many winter activities including skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding.  On multiple Sestroretsk vacations, they enjoyed Finnish kicksledding.  Kicksleds look similar to dogsleds but have a seat in the front between two skis.  In this picture, Sura is seated on the sled’s wooden seat while Abram “drove” the contraption.  It operated much like a scooter.  The driver placed one foot on a ski and kicked off with the other foot, propelling them forward.  If he hit enough speed, he could place both feet on the skis and coast.  Kicksleds didn’t steer particularly well -- both parties had to lean into the turns – but it looks like great fun!

March of 1957 was Abram and Sura’s last trip to Sestroretsk together.  Later that year, in November, Abram passed away at the age of 71.  These pictures of their time by the sea, bundled against the cold and surrounded by pine trees and fresh air, give us a sweet glimpse into the short, golden years they enjoyed together.