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. 

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........

I've been away too long

Hello friends,

I'm back!  Sorry to have been away for so long.  January kicks me in a A.. every month.  I really hate winter depression. 

Stay tuned for some upcoming posts.  In the meantime, these pictures make me feel happy, so I'll decided to share them.  Happy Friday!!!!

I love the lighting on this one

I love the Bronze Horseman, and can never walk by without taking a picture.  Especially on a beautiful evening (in September)

Selfie Trio..... me being silly on a Friday morning.  I "played hookie" in the morning (actually just walked in a little late, after the sun rose), so I could enjoy some fresh air and daylight.

Quiet times in St Petersburg

It's getting cold.  The tourists are gone.  Business travelers are noticeably less, due to various reasons both politically & economically. 

So you'll notice not many people in my pictures from this past weekend.  It's not intentional.  They just around there

The fountain near the Hermitage Museum is freezing over

I kind of like the Palace Square when it's empty

The should be removing the boats soon, before the canals start to freeze

Idiot parking!

I find the back sides of the building very interesting.  They put a lot of effort into making sure the fronts of the buildings are freshing painted.  But the back shows the reality.

I walk past the building often.  But didn't realize it was the place where Alexander Pushkin (famous Russian writer and poet) died after his dual with his wife's alleged lover.

 

 

A small chapel

I should have brought some stale bread!  The food must be running out for these birds

Yet another monument to Peter the Great....  This one is in front of the Mikhailovsky (St. Michael's) Castle, and was built towards the end of the 18th Century

The bronze reliefs on the sides depict two battles fought and won against the Finnish by Peter (the Battles of Poltava and Hango)

 

Rubbed clean for good luck

That's all for now.  Off to London this weekend, so I would expect a pub crawl post in the near future :)

Happy Halloween!

The only Halloween decoration I saw all week.  On my neighbor's door. 

What do we know about our neighbors?  Not much.....  He's Spanish, she's Russian.  They're quiet.  He leaves for work every day at 7:45am, and gets home around 6:30pm.  She often doesn't leave the apartment, but sometimes plays the piano (and it's quite nice).  They keep to themselves, but it's not as if Pat & I are wild social butterflies either :)))

Oh yeah, and our adjoining entryway often smells like a combination of kielbasa, incense, and weed. 
Maybe we should get to know them better?

  

One last Fall weekend

I think we lucked out, and caught the last nice (i.e. dry and not too cold) weather this past weekend in St. Petersburg.  Snow is expected by Thursday & Friday of this week, and then even colder temperatures (mid 30's) next week

The leaves should fully change and start to fall this week.  The rain has started

I do miss the red leaves of the Northeast US.  The most beautiful Fall seasons in the world (in my opinion!)

The tourists are almost gone.  Just a few from the Russian regions, and China remain.  The Europeans and Americans are gone

I never get tired of taking pictures of this

The birds must not like these tree berries?

These birds are mean - Pat was attacked by one once, and I've seen them pecking at small children.  I think they are stalking this lady, and planning their attack

A lollypop salesman!  Made me smile.  Things can't be all bad if there is a lollypop market in Russia
 

 



Good night Peter!

St. Petersburg in early July.... July????

Hi there!

Yes, these are some old pictures!!!  I intended to post an update on our beautiful July weather back when it was current.  But I lost motivation when I hurt my ankle. 

But anyway, they are still worth sharing because they show a different part of the city than I've shared before.  So here it goes........


We decided to walk Northeast along the Neva River, to the Smolnyy Cathedral & Convent. It checked the map afterwards, and it was a 5.5 km walk (or roughly 3.5 miles).

Smolnyy Convent was founded in the late 1700's by Tsarina Elizabeth, as a place for Russian noblewomen to be educated.

It took 7 years to build the architect's model, and 85 years to build (with several starts and stops in between).  The architect was Italian, and fused both Russian and Baroque styles in the design.  But Catherine the Great (reigning from 1762 - 1796) didn't like the design and stopped the funding.  It was restarted in 1832 under Tsar Nicolas I, and finished 3 years later.  Tsar Nicolas I commissioned a Russian neo-classical architect Vasily Stasov to complete the work. 

The Cathedral is stunning - domed, with 4 cupolas each topped with golden orbs. It's used today for exhibitions, musical recitals. 

There's always a wedding party somewhere!  But the bride and groom appear to be missing......

These cherubs are frightening, don't you think?

The bell tower within the convent

I think this is a bell from an old bell tower.... not sure, and I couldn't find any descriptions nearby.

When I see an old tree in St. Petersburg, I think about everything these trees have seen throughout the years.  Because many of the trees were cut down during the 900 day siege of Leningrad during WWII for heat, and many others just didn't survive over the years. 

 

 

Next, we walked West, along Tverskaya Ulitsa.  And saw this unique church.  I'm still note sure of it's name.  I liked the lace-like eaves all around the building and the black onion domes

 



Then we hit a park that I never visited before, and wish I had.  Tavrichesky Sad, which is apparently also known as Taurida Gardens.

Good story here - the gardens were developed (along with an accompanying palace) in 1783-1789 as a present to Gregoriy Potemkin, who was one of Catherine the Great's favorite lovers. 

In a connection to current events - Potemkin is responsible for annexing Crimea to Russia in 1783, which is why he was given the title of Prince of Tauridia (Crimea's ancient name).

The gardens are beautiful!  There are ponds, canals, trees & shrubs imported from the UK, soccer fields.  My plan was to visit this place several times this summer.  That didn't happen, but I'm planning to get back in the fall.

My guy making a face....

And a bride who looks like she's had enough with this photographer!

Continuing our walk westward, we come upon a Chinese padoga (not pictured) and this wall.  Hmm.....

And these black swans in the pond behind the Russian Museum

A good sized wedding party at Peter & Paul Cathedral

And another one, although this guy in front refused to get out of the picture!

Children (young - around 10 years old!) in a jet ski race on the Neva River

I'm not sure what this spot is called, but it's fascinating to watch.  These guys throw (actually, hurl) a wooden bat though the air to hit the wooden pins at the end.  The pins are configured in increasing complex ways. 

Here is the city's only mosque, Sobornaya Mosque, which also happens to be one of the largest in all of Europe.  It was build from 1910-1914, and is undergoing a renovation now.

Old Trinity Chapel.  On this site was the Trinity Cathedral, which was the oldest church in St. Petersburg.  It was here that Peter the Great celebrated the end of the war in 1721 Great Northern War and was proclaimed the 1st Emperor of Russia.  The cathedral was ordered to be destroyed by the Soviet government in 1933, because it represented the past and religion. 

This chapel was built in the 1990's on the original site

Finally, a stop at Palace Square.  To watch......  skaters on ski's race around a circular track!  OK, why not?

Finally, all this exploring made me thirsty!!