St. Petersburg's Magical White Nights
For two months a year, St. Petersburg is bathed in never-ending light.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia June, 25, 2010 -- On a recent Saturday night in mid-June, the banks of St. Petersburg's Neva River were packed. Mostly young people armed with drinks, mingled with couples and families admiring the sunset from parks and paths along the shore. A pair of bongo players banged away in the shadow of St. Isaac's Cathedral, and hundreds lounged on the wall that lines the river.
It was 10:30 p.m. and the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon, but no one showed signs of heading home anytime soon. After all, these are the famous White Nights in Russia's second city, a two-month period from May to July when St. Petersburg is light almost 24 hours a day.
"It's just marvellous," said Jonathan Knaus, an American banker who has lived in Moscow for almost two decades and has visited St. Petersburg during White Nights several times over the years. "Great atmosphere, people are wonderful, very nice. Everyone's just out having fun."
Situated on the Bay of Finland, St. Petersburg's northern location at the same latitude as southern Alaska means that during the summer the sun is never far below the horizon. From mid-May until mid-July, most of the hours between sunset and sunrise look like dusk and the darkest moment, around 2 a.m., is short-lived.
"It was too long and too cold [a] winter," said local Ikbol Kobulov. "I think we deserve it."
Visitors to St. Petersburg often express frustration that there isn't enough time to see everything during a short stay, a sentiment the city capitalizes on during White Nights. Museums stay open later, the Mariinsky theatre offers an expanded program of ballets and operas. The city's numerous drawbridges are drawn in the wee hours of the morning during summer months for ships to pass through, rimmed with lights and admired by sightseers.
"Everyone's just so ready to be with other people and really embrace everything the city has to offer, which is a lot," said Emily Moder, a Princeton University student in St. Petersburg for the summer. "You have really all 24 hours of every day to do it."
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