All Day. All Night. (.....in Saint Petersburg)

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Actually, if anyone tells you that, they are either a) a cyborg, b) on drugs, or c) a liar. It’s not advisable. We tried. Twice. Saint Petersburg’s “White Nights” are legendary; at least in Russia. And, definitely, for a good reason. Our first night here we roamed through the streets of the city centre until at 11:00, we realized we hadn’t even had dinner yet. The sun sets around 11:15 this time of year, but its rays never really go away. The city retains a light blue glow in west just long enough for the same to appear in east as the sun makes its next appearance. The result is a fantasyland where daytime never ends.

Most of the people here are Russian with a few Europeans and virtually no Americans (we even had a woman come tell us at dinner that she heard our accents and wanted to know how we were getting along). There are many bachelor and bachelorette parties, as one would imagine. But apparently, because of the dark, frigid winters, people want to take advantage of every minute of sunlight. The streets are full of people at any hour; all hanging out in cafes, bars, restaurants, or just wandering the ulitsas and ploshchads. Perhaps it’s a nod to the infamous Russian booze tolerance, but for the most part, everyone is under control with very little signs of drunkenness. They just want to enjoy familiar company, snack on tasty blinis, enjoy vodka, and stay up as late as possible. And we felt it too. It’s like being a kid when your parents let you stay up late. What’s so great about that? Well, I suppose it’s because you’ve been given a rare gift; something you can’t normally do. So, stay up we did.

Both nights found us exploring this surprisingly European-inspired city all the way down the main drag, Nevskiy Prospekt, across the various canals, to the city’s heart, the Neva River, and throughout random side streets where we would find ourselves repeatedly caught off-guard by the next piece of impressive architecture or view of the glowing northern sky. Naturally, both nights ended very late for us; one, concluding at a casual outdoor café, people watching and smoking hookah; the other, wrapped up at the end of a Russian DJ’s house music set in a basement retro-club. And as a result, both “mornings” started around noon. But that’s okay. Vacation is just that. Enjoy the best aspects of where you are; for what they are. Here at this moment, it’s the White Nights.

And next, it's Estonia; a place I have virtually zero knowledge of, including how to say "Thank you". I should probably look that up.

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