Oh boy, what a day…
After the events of yesterday, both of us were basically shot. After our court appearance in Bryansk, we immediately went to the train station to hop a sleeper to Saint Petersburg – 16 hours worth! The best part was that something seems to have disagreed with Lara’s digestive tract, so she had a pretty rough ride.
We arrived in St. Petersburg at ~5:40 this morning. We expected to find the streets empty, but instead found that multiple trains had just arrived, and the clubs were just emptying out! Literally, we passed by scores of young adults with beers and various other drinks still in hand, obviously not quite ready to let the previous night go. I’ve heard that Russia has reinvented the all-night rave. We can attest to that.
Luckily, our hotel let us check in early, so Lara hit the sack for a couple hour’s rest, and we both caught a shower before hitting the sites. We went to several of the basics around town – St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Peter & Paul Fortress, the Church on Spilled Blood, as well as just generally hoofing it around the city. I actually developed blisters on both feet. I can’t remember the last time that happened!
The weather started off pretty bleak. We had a thick marine layer that blocked out any hint of the sun. By about 3:00, things were starting to break up a bit. Hopefully, we’ll have more of the same tomorrow, although we plan to be inside at the Hermitage for most of the day.
Anyway, enough typing for now. Here are a few pictures to get you started…
w5lk
18 Aug 2011I’ve been looking at images of St Petersburg on “Google Earth”… and it appears “laced” with interesting things to see and photograph! (The port appears to have a cruise ship terminal, a large drydock and ice breakers on the west bank.
Speaking of “pictures”, when can we share pictures of the boys? I.E., do we still need to wait until after the 10 days from the ruling (or even later)?
Love
Dad
dani
17 Aug 2011The pictures are lovely, and the buildings are striking and colorful. I hope you both get to relax, take it all in, and have a very safe trip home. Love Mom