The White Nights of St Petersburg

Congratulations on the White Nights of summer! Tonight in St Petersburg, the sun sets at 11:25 - that's just 10 minutes from now! It's the longest day of the year ~ in the northern hemisphere, that is.

Here in Rostov-on-Don, we're 1000 miles south of St Petersburg, as I recall, and our sun is loooong set already, at 9:20, in fact. Say, dear blog reader, have you ever been so far north in the summer? How about in St Petersburg? Do share, please do!

Peterhof in Autumn

A visit to Peterhof, the palace designed by Peter the Great (1672 - 1725), is nearly requisite for the traveler to St Petersburg, Russia. Tsar Peter wanted a palace befitting the very highest of monarchs to celebrate victory over Sweden in 1709 and so he employed a staff of 5,000 ranging from architects and engineers to landscapers and sculptors.

Peterhof is especially beautiful in autumn when the muted sunlight reflects softly off the gold and gilt. One recent September, I was fortunate to be in the area for a women's retreat. Care to join us for a look around the palace gardens?



Tsar Peter found design inspiration at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris. His lead architect was French and showed a fondness for gilded Baroque statues. The focal point of the fountain area is Samson Tearing Open the Jaws of the Lion, seen here, representing Russia's victory over Sweden. Here's dear Marilu in front of the gold statues and the palace. Originally from Michigan, Marilu now serves in Warsaw, Poland with her family. (Click photo to enlarge.)



What girl wouldn't feel like a princess wearing such a magnificent crown? This young lady's grandmother plaited leaf stems to make this halo, an example of the Russian creativity with autumn leaves.



Looking from the palace out toward the Bay of Finland. Water from the sea sweeps in and powers the fountains with such strength that the water jet in the central fountain shoots 22 meters into the air.



The canal enabled tsars to sail from the gulf almost to their front door.




Strolling through the gardens, we spotted these urns on pedestals.



The original Hermitage was a private dining area designed by Peter the Great to allow him uninterrupted meals with guests. The building is surrounded by a moat and access is via drawbridge. The plan was for servants to stay on 1st floor and use an elevator of some sort to hoist food upstairs to guests. Here is dear friend Samantha Farrar, who at the time was based in Simferopol, Crimea (Ukraine) working with Pioneer Bible Translators.


Heading back toward the palace, another view. Soft autumn sunlight, the sun coming in at an oblique angle being so far north. I was surprised to discover that St Petersburg is as far north as is Anchorage, Alaska.



Looking back toward the fountains and statues.



Leaving the property, the palace chapel is in the background. The palace is just behind that and the fountains and all would be off toward the right. Above is dear friend Marina Noyes of Kiev, Ukraine.

How about you, dear blog reader. Have you per chance visited Peterhof? Would this palace nurture your inner prince? Princess?

The White Nights of Summer

Should you find yourself in St Petersburg this weekend, you can go out for an evening stroll with little fear for personal safety. That's because most everybody else will be out late too, enjoying the peak of the White Nights of St Petersburg.




You might be familiar with these days in late June, which are - at least for those in the northern hemisphere - the longest days of the year. St Petersburg is so far north - nearly as far north as is Anchorage, Alaska - that during the White Nights, the sky stays light through the night. In fact, today in St Petersburg, this morning sun rose at 4:37 and sunset will be at 11:23.

Well, dear blog reader, have you per chance been to St Petersburg during the white nights? You might not be lucky enough live in the far north, but what comes to your mind when you think of the long days of summer? For me, it will always be that quite unintentional all-nighter I spent at Moscow's Sheremetevo-1 airport several summers ago.

Prima Donna an Absolute Donkey

(Photo courtesy of Reuters.)

Monika the donkey is retiring from her dance career. She has been performing with the Mariinski Ballet troup of St Petersburg, Russia. Read all about her at Yahoo! Donkey Takes Final Bow

Can't help but wonder if those arabesques are getting to her. Oh, but that would be easy, with four legs, would it not? So maybe it's the plies. Now that would take some fancy footwork for hoofer Monika.

Have you taught an animal to dance? Have you ever laughed yourself silly watching an animal dance? Or, just between the two of us here, have you ever danced and felt donkey-like?

Be Game: Dine at the Wild Animal

Next time you're in St Petersburg and you're antsy for some untamed cuisine, head on over to the Wild Animal Restaurant. The eatery's ad, above, in a visitors map of the city boasts *Nature in all kinds of cooking.* Best of all, as per the Wild Animal itself, they also feature *Eatable prices.* That's definitely worth a try: When the waitress -- okay, the server -- delivers the check, politely request it a la mode. And hope she speaks a bit of French.

Saturday at The Hermitage, St Petersburg

A free day in St Petersburg means a visit to The Hermitage. That magnificent palace turned-art-gallery is a national treasure and is likely the city's premier tourist attraction. This was not my first visit to The Hermitage. I had come with the Pan European Lecture tour in July of 2002 for a taste of the highlights. But after five hours there last Saturday, all I can say is *What luxury! What opulence! What history!*




Even a palace needs to be spiffied up from time to time. Above, a worker vacuums the grand staircase under the watchful eye of some Greek goddess. Most of us passersby stood and stared at this sight, struck by the irony of a noisy vacuum on the white marble stairsway. As this fellow worked his way down the steps, more photos where taken of him than of the gilding and architectural detail that surrounded him. Not that he was particularly pleased about that.



Outside on the street, an early evening view from Hermitage toward Palace Square and the Tower of Alexander.