Road construction, Russian style

The main road near our apartment is torn up!  And I need to vent!

This is a main, center city road along the Neva River.  Traffic is limited to one way.  It adds 15-20 minutes to any drive to or from our apartment, because you have to cross the river, turn around on the island, and re-cross the bridge back into town. 

Here's the alley outside our apartment.  It looks much better than it did, now that some of the snow & ice has melted.  Anyone need a pallet?

I think they are replacing steam pipes.  The project started in October, and "they say" it will be done in May.  Ha Ha!!!  That means October

They appear to dig areas, then move on to another area.  There's no concept of "finishing what you started"

And not much work happening for 9AM.  Ah...... get back to work boys!

A big hole

I'm thinking steam pipes.  What else could they be?

 

These guys are monitoring the hole digging.....



 

Here's what you do with the old asphalt and dirt that you dig up..... put it in a pile and hope it disappears

They are running this yellow pipe along the sidewalk, so the walkway is blocked.  These wooden ramps lead us up to a statue, and we need to walk along the base of the status. 

You can't make this stuff up!

Multiple wooden ramps.  Really slippery

How many guys does it take to dig a hole?  6, apparently!

And the best part?  They are starting new sections, and blocking off more streets, before even being close to finishing the 1st section

I'm going to track this each month.  It should be humorous. 

Berlin.... 2015 weekend trips have already started

If you read my blog, you know me.  I'm restless and need to travel.  And I can only tolerate hanging around my apartment in Russia SO MUCH!  Especially on the weekends. 

We went to Berlin during our 1st weekend back to Russia after the New Year holidays.  In our defense, Pat was traveling & wasn't going to make it back home, so a trip somewhere in Europe ("in the middle") was the only way to spend time together. 

I didn't take many pictures while in Berlin.  I've started the year off slow, in a funk about winter and returning to Russia for our 5th Winter (hard to believe!).

To get started, we stayed at the Hotel am Steinplatz, in the Charlottenburg neighborhood on the west side of Berlin.  This hotel was amazing!  It's an older historic hotel, that was purchased by Marriot and rebranded under their Autograph Collection.  Great design, cool bar & restaurant, nice spa, and perfect location near the University and lots of restaurants/bars.

When we met up, the 1st order of business was a cocktail.....  I loved the vintage glasses

 

And then we were off to dinner.... one of our favorites, which just happened to be a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  Dicke Wirtin's.  If you want some classic German specialties in a fun lively place, you've got to try it out.  

 

Beer time!

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that both Pat & I cleaned our plates.  Here's mine, which was a Berliner's Special.  Currywurst, meatballs, pork roast, beats, red cabbage, potatoes........

 

And Pat's - Blood and liver sausage, pork belly, sauerkraut, potatoes......

I'm full just looking at those pictures.......  Next day, we took a walk.  It was cold, but sunny. 

Brandenburg Gate

Ronny!

 

The Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarden.  It was built by the Soviet Union in 1945, to honor the 80,000 Soviet forces who died in the Battle of Berlin in April & May of that year  (after the war, Berlin was section into 4 quarters and administered by the US, UK, France, and Soviet Union).

The Berlin Victory Column or Siegessause.  Built in 1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War.  It was moved to it's current location at the roundabout in Tiergarden in 1938 by the Nazis.  It survived the war without much damage, and was considered for destruction by the French and Soviets.  Luckily, the British & US vetoed the idea, and it still stands today

The statue of Victoria on top (Roman goddess of war) is called Goldese by the Germans, or "Golden Lizzy"

Lunch time! 

Flammkuchen, which is a Alsatian flatbread  Crème fraiche, bacon, green onions.  Really tasty. 

A Sunday walk through Tiergarden.  Very peaceful and it's was nice getting some fresh air

It was a few weeks after the Paris/Charlie Hebdo attacks. 

A piece of the Berlin Wall

Sunday lunch!  This, my friends, is a Berlin Sausage Salad with pickles & onions.  And fried potatoes on the side.  I'm pretty sure Poppa Reiser would have loved it

And Pat has pea soup with sausage.  Not what he expected, but he said it was good.

Auf wiedersehen!

Quiet Winter Mornings

Walking to work one morning a little later than normal.

For a city of 5 million people, the city center can be really quiet some days

The tourists and international business travelers are gone.  Because it's Winter, but also because of political and economic circumstances

But I don't mind the quiet.  Sometimes living in a city can be too much

Although I prefer the playground to be full of children

The sky is so blue these days. 

There are a few people, in the distance.  But you'd expect more people around at 9:30

I should get back to St. Isaac's Cathedral while the crowds are down

I love the "faux building" that they install during building renovations.  This is supposed to be a hotel when they finish.  But I think the money is on hold........