May day!

May 1, 2008

We went out to enjoy the weather in St. Petersburg and the beginning of "white nights". We were out until 11:30 and it was still a little light outside. Check out these amazing pictures taken by Cam and his new camera!


Admiralty Building, St. Pete


University building, University Ebankment


Oops, I don't know the name of this building. It's on the river Neva, St. Pete
Do you see the river boat going by in front of it?

Lover of the Russian Queen

May 3, 2008

We took a local train out to the town of Gatchina, 45 minutes North of St. Petersburg. A palace and park was built there in 1776 for Grigory Orlov, lover of the Empress Catherine the Great. A huge palace and park-grounds were built for him. In the park there is a lake that is split up by islands. There were plenty of patrons renting boats and taking advantage of the beautiful weather. We even saw an older guy strip down to his underoos and take a dip in the lake.




In the town of Gatchina there is a beautiful Orthodox church that is made mostly of brick but then topped with white gables and blue domes. We went to a local art shop and bought three little oil paintings to help us remember our time in Gatchina.



Again... the weather was gorgeous but I (Sonja) got tired after walking around for 3 hours!

Easter eggs and Battleships

April 26, 2008

Cam isn't studying this semester so we have extra time on the weekends to go exploring outside the city. We went to an island city called Kronstandt outside St. Petersburg. For a long time this city was closed off to people coming in and out because of the military secrets and navy base located on the island. We went out there the day before Easter and the Orthodox churches were already starting their Easter mass. There were swarms of people going in and out, getting their Easter eggs and bread blessed for the holy holiday. There were also "holy water blessings", where the priest dunks a huge brush into holy water and then whips it around the heads of everyone standing near him so they receive a blessing. There are beautiful churches on Kronstandt.

We also saw Navy ships, very cool. We enjoyed the nice weather most of all!





NO! I'm not pregnant, don't ask :o) Just a little chubby right now.