St. Petersburg, "Queen of the North"

Church on the Spilt Blood



Mosaics in the Church on the Spilt Blood



Interior of the Marinsky Theater



Sunset in St. Petersburg at 11:15 p.m.


St. Petersburg is a city rich in history. We have tried to absorb as much as we can, but there is just so much to remember! There has been so much fighting, unrest, and sadness in their past...we learned that during World War II, the Germans surrounded St. Petersburg (called Leningrad at that time) for nearly three years and cut off all food and supplies. 3500 people died each day from starvation...nearly a million people in all. Living standards are certainly better now, though they still lack so many of the freedoms that we have.

Yesterday morning we took a tour of the city. We spent a lot of time at the Church on the Spilt Blood, built on the site where Czar Alexandar II was assasinated. All the walls and ceilings are covered with mosaics...7500 square meters of them! And the outside of the building is as beautiful as the inside! Last night, we went to a performance at the Marinsky Theater, originally built as a gift for one of the Czar's wives, Maria. It was once destroyed, but was rebuilt about 100 years ago. It was very ornate...and very warm! HA We saw a ballet called "Spartacas"...yes, really. If you have trouble imagining the story of Spartacas as a ballet, well, it was a stretch. It really was a lovely performance, I'm sure; we're just not used to two thirty-minute intermissions, and dying scenes that go on forever. Just how long does it take to die on stage?? The theater was packed; the Russian people really love the theater. It was nearly 11 p.m. when the ballet finished, and we walked outside to....daylight!! We actually watched the sun set at 11:15 p.m. I will attach a picture to prove it.

This morning we took a tour of the Hermitage Museum. It owns over 6 million pieces of art, but only about 3 million of them can be displayed at one time. We saw da Vincis, Rembrandts, Michelangelos, you name it. We didn't have enough time to see even a fraction of it; we were told that if you spent 2 minutes viewing each piece, you wouldn't finish for several years. I do believe it!

Tomorrow morning we are scheduled for a bicycle ride through the parks of Alexandria. We are hoping the good weather holds out. We have seen so many Russian people out sunbathing, because this sunny weather is so unusual for them. Our boat sails at 6 p.m. tomorrow evening for Helsinki, Finland. We are having such a good time, napping whenever we please, eating way too much, and just enjoying all that we see. Hope all is well at home! Much love!!