One of the more unusual places we visited was the F. N. Chernyshev Scientific Research Geographical Museum on Vasilievsky Island.

This map of the Soviet Union, made entirely of precious gems, was the Grand Prix winner of the 1937 Paris World Exposition. This 3.5-ton mosaic took over 700 people nearly a year to create from gems from all over the Soviet Union.

It's a little blurry. Sorry. No flash allowed.

Click on any photo to see the full-size image. Need help?

The brochure I picked up at the museum calls this a duck-billed dinosaur.

Another thing I got at the museum was a little picture of its founder, the scientist F. N. Chernyshev.

Pretty minerals. The color in the middle rock is purely a refraction of the light coming through the room's skylights.

That's about it for the Geology Museum. Very few people visit this place. In fact, Jim and I were the only two people there. The old guy who ran the museum didn't recall any Americans ever visiting before. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating place that I would recommend to anyone interested in science or just in looking at pretty gems, stones and fossils.

This section of my presentation is made up of pictures that didn't really fit into any of the categories I've created. It's a eclectic collection of images from all over the city.

Here's another shot of the Church on Spilled Blood. This was actually the first picture I shot in Saint Petersburg.

One more shot of the wedding party. Another group was waiting for their turn as soon as these people were done.

Next page