ST. PETERSBURG

We arrived early in the morning on Wed, April 13 to St. Petersburg, the city of the czars. We checked in and had breakfast at our hotel, the "Azimut". It was an old historic feeling hotel, with wide granite staircases carpeted down the centers and a very narrow elevator. It was right across from the train station in the middle of the downtown. But, what's a girl to do with no hair dryer or internet???

We had a bus tour of the city led by our guide Natalia and gained a great appreciation for the history of this beautiful city, which was under siege for 900 days during WWII. We then toured the Hermitage, former residence of Catherine the Great and family. It is one of the world's most outstanding art museums. We were in awe of the architecture, the workmanship, the opulence, and the grandeur. We saw many of the world's art treasures including two originals by da Vinci. We spent some time in the French impressionist gallery, and walked through room after room trying to realize that we were really seeing Monets, Rembrants, Gaugins, Matisse and Rubens.

Our concert was sponsored by the City, and free admission was offered to several schools for children who have lost their parents in military action. It was packed! Most of the children, aged about 10-18, were in military type uniforms. We were told that this was the first "artistic" performance that many of them had ever attended.

The U.S. Consul attended as well as other city Dignitaries. They introduced the show, and then held a small reception following the show. They were over the top in their praise of the show. The leaders presented gift to the consul, including the squishy potato. She looked at it and said "Buy Idaho -- what clever marketing!" Oh Well...

After the show:


On Thursday, we went to Catherine's Summer Palace, just outside of town. This was another experience in being awestruck. There is no way to describe the elaborate decor, the paintings on the ceilings, the amber room, and the Golden Hallway. We we sickened to learn that most of the palace had been destroyed during the war when it was occupied by the German army. There has been a tremendous effort in restoring everything to its original glory.

The venue this night had all the ambiance of a strip club - including dancing waters, wave lights, and a two-tier stage. Bro. Larsen spent considerable time in re-blocking the numbers in a 2-level approach. The audience was quite small, but the show went well. The mission president (native Russian) came and brought his young family. They loved loved loved it!