Culture, Taiga, and Tundra: A Seminar on the Russian North
Flag of Karelia
St. Petersburg
Flag of Murmansk
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city. Our tour began in Palace Square in front of the Winter Palace - the Hermitage. A dramatic view of the Winter Palace and St. Isaac's Cathedral from across the Neva River. St. Isaac's Cathedral. We climbed to the observation deck at the base of the dome for a marvelous view of the city.
My friends from Ryazan', Russia, Sasha Pribylov and his wife, Lena Birykova, traveled with us. Here Sasha, with his sailor's cap, guides us through one of St. Petersburg's canals. The Venice of the North, St. Petersburg has many sized canals flowing through this European-looking city. A sacred site in St. Petersburg is the Piskarevskoye Cemetery where over 400,000 persons are buried in mass graves. These persons died during the siege of 1941 - 1944.
Peter's Palace or Peterhoff, is located 15 miles west of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland. Because of the canals, fountains, and gardens, it is the most beautiful of the the palaces. The Alexander Palace is where Nicholas II and his family lived. This wing is open for tours. The Summer Palace or Katherine's Palace is located 15 miles south of St. Petersburg. It also is very beautiful. Most of the rooms have been restored.