Church of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
Leningrad, U.S.S.R. 1989
It was called Leningrad when we visited in 1989. I can always remember the year because we were supposed to leave Russia by way of China. But that was the year of Tiananmen Square and just as we were to leave Russia by the Trans Siberian Express, China closed the border.
Our tour voted on what to do next. One option was to travel back to Moscow on the train. I don’t remember the other idea, although I do remember voting for it. It ended up that we boarded the Trans Siberian Express for Moscow and then on to Leningrad. Three long days and nights plus one more night, cooped up in a compartment with strangers one of whom ( a Russian) became unhinged due to fears of being watched.
Once we arrived in Leningrad, we were taken on a bus ride to see the sights. This is my memory of that trip…a postcard of Leningrad back in the day.