Born Leader, Chosen Follower: White Nights and St. Isaac's Cathedral St. Petersburg, Russia

Thursday, August 1, 2013

White Nights and St. Isaac's Cathedral St. Petersburg, Russia

Fact: St. Petersburg, Russia is the northernmost city to have a population over 1 million. Based on its northern location, St. P experiences a phenomenon known as white nights between the days of June 11th and July 2nd. The sun dips barely below the horizon creating a dusk-like sky before it rises in full again. The night hours remain so bright that the street lamps are never turned on because they are just not needed. Strolling along the canals and meeting several fellow-walkers, it is hard to believe that your watch is correct and that your body is not tricking you with its need for sleep.

Although we felt like it was bedtime at the 11 o'clock hour, PDub and I fought the need for slumber and headed for St. Isaac's Cathedral (built 1818-1858); the colonnade is gratefully open until 4am during white nights. The cathedral is the largest in the city of St. P and can be seen from afar due to its elevated location and pure gold-plated dome. No worries, I did not bring my chisel to doggie bag some goodies. During WWII, the dome was painted over with gray so as not to lure in the enemy. Architecturally, the cathedral was an influence to the Cathedral in Helsinki (visited there earlier in the trip) and the Wisconsin State Capitol (cheese!). Although the cathedral currently contains both a museum and a place for worship, it originally was built solely for religious purposes; however, under the soviet government, all religious statues were removed, and the building was turned into a museum. Thankfully, it now doubles as both. From the colonnade, we were able to see fantastic views of the city as well as the sunset at 11:45pm. You can see how the sky changes in the pictures.