All those canals and bridges have earned Petersburg the nickname "Venice of the North."



Peter the Great built the city from scratch on unsuitable, marshy land;
his feat is commemorated in this famous statue, The Bronze Horseman.




The inscription reads "To Peter the First from Catherine the Second."



Yelisevsky's is a famous grocery store on Nevsky Prospekt. It ain't your typical Food Lion.



Brides are everywhere in St. Petersburg. It's traditional
for them to pose by the Bronze Horseman and smash a
champagne glass at the statue's base.



St. Petersburg has dozens of lovely parks; it seems
there's a new one everywhere you turn.



An especially pretty park is the Mikhailovsky Gardens, located behind the
Russian Museum. I saw these birds there and thought they looked interesting.



St. Petersburg is a city made for walking.
Just be sure to bring your umbrella.



A show of traditional folk dance and song at the Nikolevsky Palace.
We had champagne and caviar at intermission.


Around St. Petersburg / Around St. Petersburg (II) / Around Moscow / Church on Spilled Blood / Dostoevsky in St. Petersburg /
The Kremlin and Red Square / Moscow Churches / Night Train to Moscow / On the Neva / Palace Square / Peterhof / Peter and Paul Fortress /