Before I get to part IV of my Estonian trek, I just have to write a brief blog saying that this is my last day in Petersburg until I return in August. I will be back down in my beloved Moscow! But before you think this entry is going to be some sort wish to see Petersburg and her yokels sink rapidly into the Neva as I depart only to look behind me at the submerged destruction, you're wrong.
My last day in Petersburg was a good day. In fact, it was a really nice day, something that I have rarely experienced here. It included a boat tour, a satisfying dark, Czech beer, balmy temperatures and pleasant company. While this wonderful day has not made me magically enamored with or even begin to like St. Petersburg, it did allow me to be able to leave the city on a high note. Moreover, I was able to look at the buildings and places that I had walked by in the frigid winter, unhappy and scornful, in a different, more conciliatory light. In my eyes, they had transformed into pieces of architecture enjoyed by their spectators and not just prison like facilities reminding me of Petersburgian disrepair.
My time here has been challenging and best described as an all too often slow-burning malaise. Not today though. Today, I was truly ready to come to terms with this place, however momentary. And I am proud to say that my earlier memory of Petersburg when I came here on a freezing, late January night ...
... can't compete with my latest one on this spectacular early June day ...
And I leave the summer to you, Petersburg. May your White Nights be enjoyed by people other than I and may our truce be glorious. Poka.
My last day in Petersburg was a good day. In fact, it was a really nice day, something that I have rarely experienced here. It included a boat tour, a satisfying dark, Czech beer, balmy temperatures and pleasant company. While this wonderful day has not made me magically enamored with or even begin to like St. Petersburg, it did allow me to be able to leave the city on a high note. Moreover, I was able to look at the buildings and places that I had walked by in the frigid winter, unhappy and scornful, in a different, more conciliatory light. In my eyes, they had transformed into pieces of architecture enjoyed by their spectators and not just prison like facilities reminding me of Petersburgian disrepair.
My time here has been challenging and best described as an all too often slow-burning malaise. Not today though. Today, I was truly ready to come to terms with this place, however momentary. And I am proud to say that my earlier memory of Petersburg when I came here on a freezing, late January night ...
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| The "lobby " of where I first lived (read: Siege of Leningrad $h1t-hole) |
... can't compete with my latest one on this spectacular early June day ...
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| Being led by Popeye on our boat tour. Kazansky Cathedral to welcome us. |
And I leave the summer to you, Petersburg. May your White Nights be enjoyed by people other than I and may our truce be glorious. Poka.
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