海上白夜行

Leaning over the rail of my balcony on Deck Ten， I can just make out the images of three men across the Neva River. They are sitting on crates along the dock， laughing and having a smoke. Perhaps they are taking a break from their jobs in the shipyard. Or maybe they simply want to enjoy this beautiful summer night in St. Petersburg.

And who can blame them？ Behind them， the late evening sun casts a soft glow across the grand domes and gold spires of St. Petersburg. The air is warm， and I can hear the tinny sounds of traffic even from here on the ship.

With the sky still so light， its hard to believe that its 11 PM. But this is the “Land of White Nights.”During summer， the sun never fully sets in this Russian city. Instead， a warm pink and blue hue fills the sky during the deepest night hours.

I could be asleep in my comfortable suite on the Seven Seas Voyager. My room is huge and high-class. But who can sleep when there is so much to see？

Our ship is docked in the deep channels of the Neva River inside St. Petersburg. Home to five million people， St. Petersburg is a major cosmopolitan city.

The Midnight Sun is just one of the reasons that people are attracted to this region of Russia. Some visitors are drawn by the countrys grand past—the history of czars and giant palaces. Others come for the arts and outstanding ballet. As for me， I am simply curious. I want to see the land that Ive heard so much about.

Our ship will dock in the Neva River for three days， offering a convenient base to explore the city. Three days is not much time， but my sister， Debbie， and I are ready to explore the city.

Its not an easy place to understand. The language barrier is real： Few tourists speak Russian， and many Russians speak only their native language. Many of the locals dont seem to know what to make of the thousands of foreigners who now visit each year. Though I smile at the vendors I buy from， many look away shyly or ignore me completely.

Several cruise lines understand the treasures that lie in the Baltics. Seven Seas Cruises is one of them. It offers tours that avoid the beaten path to stop at the often-missed ports of the Baltic nations.

Our cruise sailed from Stockholm， a city with plenty of history. From here in St. Petersburg， it will continue on to Helsinki and Copenhagen. But the two ports that have truly caught my eye have been Tallinn， Estonia and St. Petersburg， two once-ignored cities that are just now being discovered by travelers worldwide.

Our ship offers an excellent base for exploring these destinations. During the day， we discover each new port， and then retreat back to the comfort of our onboard home， without the trouble of moving to a new hotel or worrying about finding a place to eat. （In fact， the food onboard is outstanding?。?/p>

Admittedly， such brief stops cant offer a deep understanding of any destination. Rather， the visits are snapshots of life in each port—an afternoon at a cozy coffeehouse in Sweden， a shopping trip in the rain in Helsinki or a two-minute conversation， using only hand gestures， with a smiling fruit vendor in Russia.

For me， these short moments offer a taste of each location， encouraging me to come back later for more. And St. Petersburg is no exception.

My sister and I want to see all we can of this Russian city， so we sign up for several tours. Im usually not into group tours， mind you， but in Russia， theyre a god-send.

Were pleased to find that our St. Petersburg guides are some of the best weve seen. They are honest and knowledgeable， answering questions from their own personal point of view. Best of all， they know their city and people， and offer insight we would have otherwise missed.

We visit some of St. Petersburgs most famous sites—the Hermitage （the largest art museum in Russia）， Peterhof（the expensive palace of Peter the Great） and the onionshaped domes of Spilled Blood Cathedral.

But my favorite tour is one that simply shows us daily life in St. Petersburg. We journey deep into the corridors of the crowded subway system， getting jammed into the cars like everyone else， and go shopping along Nevsky Avenue. We learn about vodka from the small， yet well done Vodka Museum， and then shop for fruit at a local farmers market.

Our three days fail to give me a definitive sense of St. Petersburg. Instead， it only raises more questions. But Ive had a sample of this Russian town， and I know now what I will return for.

A cruise ship never stays in one place for long， though， and soon enough we are sailing through the Neva River， past the shipyards and back out to sea.

The Gulf of Finland is as smooth as glass when we reach the open water. My sister and I pull blankets around our shoulders and head out into the chilly night air， where we watch from our deck as Russia slowly disappears from view.

Tomorrow will bring another port， another land for us to explore. But for now we are content here on the sea， watching as that pink haze fills the Baltic night sky.

我靠在10號(hào)甲板（我房間）的陽(yáng)臺(tái)圍欄上，依稀看到涅瓦河對(duì)面三個(gè)男人的輪廓。他們坐在碼頭的板條箱上，一邊嬉笑一邊抽煙。也許他們是在船塢工作的空隙休息片刻，又或許他們只想欣賞圣彼得堡美麗的夏夜。

誰(shuí)又能怪他們呢？在他們身后，晚霞為圣彼得堡的宏偉圓頂和金色尖塔鍍上了一層溫柔的霞光。空氣溫暖舒適，站在船上的我甚至可以聽(tīng)見(jiàn)陸上交通的細(xì)微聲響。

天空依然明亮，實(shí)在叫人難以相信現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是晚上11點(diǎn)了。但這里是“白夜之地”——在俄羅斯這個(gè)城市的夏季里，太陽(yáng)永不會(huì)完全落下；在深夜時(shí)分，天空反而被一層粉紅加藍(lán)的溫暖色彩所籠罩。

我大可以在七海航海家號(hào)舒適的套房里睡覺(jué)——我的房間相當(dāng)寬敞，布置得也很高檔。但面對(duì)如此美景，誰(shuí)又能入眠？

我們的船?？吭谑ケ说帽?nèi)涅瓦河的深水航道。擁有500萬(wàn)人口的圣彼得堡是一個(gè)國(guó)際化大都市。

“夜半太陽(yáng)”這一景象只是吸引人們到訪俄羅斯這個(gè)地區(qū)的原因之一。一些人被這個(gè)國(guó)家輝煌的過(guò)去——沙皇和那些巨大宮殿的歷史所吸引；一些則為藝術(shù)品和杰出的芭蕾舞慕名而來(lái)。對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)，我純粹出于好奇。我想看看這片聽(tīng)聞已久的土地。我們的船將在涅瓦河停靠三天，于是它便成為了游覽圣彼得堡的一個(gè)便利的基地。三天不長(zhǎng)，但我和妹妹黛比已經(jīng)為參觀這座城市做好準(zhǔn)備了。

要了解這個(gè)地方并不容易。語(yǔ)言障礙確實(shí)存在：極少游客會(huì)說(shuō)俄語(yǔ)，而很多俄羅斯人只會(huì)說(shuō)母語(yǔ)。大多數(shù)當(dāng)?shù)厝嗽诿鎸?duì)現(xiàn)在每年成千上萬(wàn)的外國(guó)游客時(shí)似乎不知所措。雖然我對(duì)向我賣東西的小販微笑，但他們大多害羞地移開(kāi)視線，或者完全無(wú)視我。

幾家郵輪公司線路深知埋藏在波羅的海的寶藏，七海航海家號(hào)就是其中一家。它提供的路線避開(kāi)了常規(guī)景點(diǎn)，并停靠在經(jīng)常被錯(cuò)過(guò)的一眾波羅的海國(guó)家的港口。

我們的游船從歷史悠久的斯德哥爾摩出發(fā)。我們現(xiàn)在在圣彼得堡，隨后還將航行至赫爾辛基和哥本哈根。然而最能抓住我眼球的地方則是愛(ài)沙尼亞的塔林和圣彼得堡——這兩座一度被忽視的城市現(xiàn)在正等待著被來(lái)自世界各地的游客發(fā)掘。

我們的游船正好是探索這些目的地的絕佳大本營(yíng)。白天，我們?cè)诿恳粋€(gè)新港口探索，然后回到船上舒適的家，中途無(wú)需換新酒店或擔(dān)心找不到地方吃飯。（事實(shí)上，船上的食物一流?。?/p>

無(wú)可否認(rèn)，如此短暫的停留不可能讓我們對(duì)每個(gè)地方都有深入的了解。相反，這些游歷是我們?cè)诿總€(gè)港口的生活花絮——在一家溫暖舒適的瑞典咖啡店里度過(guò)一個(gè)下午，在赫爾辛基來(lái)一場(chǎng)雨中購(gòu)物之旅，或在俄羅斯與一個(gè)笑臉盈盈的水果商販通過(guò)手勢(shì)進(jìn)行兩分鐘的“對(duì)話”。

對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，這些短暫的時(shí)刻讓我得以領(lǐng)略每個(gè)地方的風(fēng)情，鼓勵(lì)我下次回來(lái)發(fā)掘更多。圣彼得堡也不例外。

我和妹妹希望盡量多看看這個(gè)俄羅斯城市，所以我們報(bào)名參加了幾個(gè)旅行團(tuán)。告訴你，我一般不喜歡參加旅行團(tuán)，但在俄羅斯，旅行團(tuán)就是天賜的禮物。

我們很高興地發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們?cè)谑ケ说帽さ膶?dǎo)游是我們見(jiàn)過(guò)最好的。他們真誠(chéng)坦率，知識(shí)豐富，并從自己的觀點(diǎn)回答問(wèn)題。最重要的是，他們了解自己的城市和那里的人，讓我們可以深入了解這個(gè)城市——沒(méi)有他們，我們可能就此錯(cuò)過(guò)了（這些經(jīng)歷）。

我們參觀了圣彼得堡最有名的景點(diǎn)——艾爾米塔什博物館（俄羅斯最大的博物館），彼得宮（彼得大帝建造的昂貴宮殿）以及滴血大教堂那些洋蔥造型的圓頂。

但我最愛(ài)的是一趟簡(jiǎn)單展示圣彼得堡日常生活的行程。我們深入擁擠的地鐵系統(tǒng)，去到那里的走道，像所有人一樣擠進(jìn)車廂；我們還在涅瓦大街逛街；我們?cè)谝粋€(gè)“麻雀雖小、五臟俱全”的伏特加博物館里了解到這種酒的有關(guān)知識(shí)，然后在當(dāng)?shù)匾粋€(gè)農(nóng)貿(mào)市場(chǎng)選購(gòu)水果。

三天的旅程不足以定義圣彼得堡留給我的印象。相反，它給我留下了更多問(wèn)題。但我已經(jīng)淺嘗過(guò)這個(gè)俄羅斯城市的風(fēng)情，知道下次再來(lái)的目的。

然而，游船不會(huì)在一個(gè)地方久留。沒(méi)多久，我們駛離涅瓦河，將一個(gè)個(gè)船塢拋在身后，再次回到大海。

到達(dá)外海時(shí)，芬蘭灣平靜得猶如一面鏡子。我和妹妹把毯子圍在肩上，走入寒夜當(dāng)中。在甲板上，我們目送逐漸消失的俄羅斯。

明天，我們將迎來(lái)另一個(gè)港口，另一片等待我們探索的土地。但此時(shí)此刻，我們心滿意足地待在海上，欣賞著彌漫在波羅的海夜空的那層粉紅色迷霧。