This afternoon the DrsC board our river ship, in the company of some 200+ other merry travelers, to cruise in leisurely fashion toward Moscow. We have no idea what the nature of Internet availability/cost/practicality will be either on shipboard or at the river towns we will visit. The safest assumption is "nonavailability." Therefore, blogging may be sparse-to-nonexistent in the next week.
In the meantime, we enjoy the period Russians call "the white nights." St. Petersburg is very far north, perhaps as far north as Anchorage, Alaska. At this time of year, near the Summer Solstice, there isn't a whole lot of darkness. You could still read a newspaper outdoors without artificial light at 11 p.m. and it gets light long before one awakes. I suppose Russians act like Alaskans and sleep as little as possible during this period. As we came back to the hotel from Swan Lake Sunday evening around eleven p.m., there were plenty of people out walking and driving. Of course, we understand Monday was a holiday which may have facilitated staying up late on Sunday.
