The white nights in St. Petersburg, Russia - Travelogue No.1

Hey Steemians,

i want to show you a few pictures of my journey to St. Petersburg, Russia.
This is my first post but others will follow if you are interested. So vote if you want to see more :)

First things first... i am German and Russia is not a country people go to if they make vacaciones. The people have a lot of prejudices in terms of security, the bad weather and so on..
I also was sceptic first but now i have to say that St. Petersburg is one of my top 3 cities i have been to.
Why? I will show you a few pictures! Here we go...

The Scarlet Sails (Russian: Алые паруса) is a celebration in St. Petersburg, Russia, the most massive and famous public event during the White Nights Festival. The tradition is highly popular for its spectacular fireworks, numerous music concerts, and a massive water show. The Scarlet Sails show celebrating the end of the 2007 school year was attended by more than one million people. In 2010, public attendance grew to 3 million, and entertainers were such stars as the Cirque du Soleil, Mariinsky Ballet and Antonio Banderas, among others.

This tradition began after the end of World War II, when several Leningrad schools united to celebrate the end of the school year in connection with the symbolism of the popular 1922 children's book Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin. During the first celebration, a boat with scarlet sails sailed along the English Embankment and the Admiralty Embankment towards the Winter Palace. Although it was designed to update the rusty revolutionary propaganda, the "Scarlet Sails" tradition eventually evolved into a massive demonstration of freedom from "schools and rules" and has become the most popular public event annually celebrating the end of school year.

Crowds of about one million people are treated to a wide variety of free entertainment provided by the city of St. Petersburg. Entertainment also includes appearances by popular rock stars, as well as the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, ballet, and other classical acts, performing on several stages simultaneously during the event. The show also includes a series of large-scale events on the waters of the Neva river, such as rowing and motorboat races, and a massive battle with pirates culminating in the appearance of a tall ship sporting spectacular scarlet sails.

The show has become the main part of the White Nights celebration.

The firework which accompanies the ceremony was the most impressive one i have ever seen ;)

A try to capture the beauty of the firework with my poor smartphone cam

The ship appears...

This is a picture at around 1am in the morning. You can see the festival square at the winterpalace (Eremitage) among the midnight sun. They celebrate until the morning ;)

Inside the fesitval

If you want to see more about St Petersburg let me know ;)