images of home

On my walk home today, I was struck by the strange but distinct realization that St. Petersburg is starting to feel like home. I’m beginning to know where things are and how to do just about anything I need to do. Of course, it will be a long time before I can do these things gracefully- my Russian still needs a lot of work- but I no longer feel overwhelmed and helpless. I’m also no longer paralyzed by the idea of sticking out like a sore thumb as a foreigner. This may be partly due to the fact that the temperature has dropped recently, so local women are no longer walking around half-dressed; but I think it’s more likely because several people now have come up to me on the street to ask directions, thinking I’m from around here. (Not that I’ve been able to help them… but being asked is always exciting.) It used to be that when I walked around, I’d practically run everywhere I went because I was afraid of being noticed, of being picked up by the militsia because I wasn’t wearing high heels or something. Now I’m more comfortable, I’ve slowed down, I now longer fear getting lost or picked out of the crowd. So as I take more time, I notice more things- the sale at the computer store, the old man in the shoe repair shop, the menu posted outside Crazy Sushi, proclaiming that “We Have Shrimp!” Thus, the feeling of being at home. I can chat with my coworkers about who has the best produce, or that one great book shop on Nevsky Prospect; I can hop on the metro to get all over town; and best of all, I can now walk for a half hour without being exhausted or getting blisters. (Or course, I have been wearing tennis shoes everywhere… but still…)

Among my recent accomplishments was getting some film developed and scanned to CD successfully. You may recall from my last blog that when I dropped off my film, it was quite an ordeal language-wise and I left the store unsure of what was really going to happen to my film. But when I picked it up last week, it turns out that the broken conversation managed to get the point across. So, as promised, here are pictures of various landmarks around the city.

First, a few shots from the White Nights bridge raising that we went to after first arriving-

Here’s the crowds waiting, overlooking the Neva river-



This is the Peter and Paul fortress on the opposite bank of the Neva- the first main structure in, and the center of, St. Petersburg. Nothing in the city is higher than its tower. Isn’t the lighting amazing for 2:00 AM?



Here’s the view from the bridge of the Hermitage and the East bank of the Neva-



These are the fireworks and fountains signaling that the bridge is about to go up-



The fully raised bridge-



And the many boats filling the river, which was almost empty a few minutes ago.



Since the White Nights, it’s generally been too hot out to want to go anywhere, but a couple weeks ago, at the tail end of the G8, it was finally cool enough to inspire going out and looking around. First stop was the Memorial for the Leningrad Occupation. During WWII, St. Petersburg, then Leningrad, was occupied by the Nazis; it was under siege and completely isolated for nearly 3 years. No supplies were able to get into the city, and many of its citizens fled. Several years ago this memorial was built to honor the soldiers and citizens who stayed and protected the city.

Back of the memorial…



Center of memorial...



Soldiers and tower with the years of the occupation...



Memorial from the front.



Underneath the memorial, there’s also a museum with artifacts from the time under siege, mosaic murals, and names of soldiers who died. (I think. I couldn’t read all the information, since it was in Russian and all.)

Inside the memorial…



Speaking of Leningrad, after visiting the memorial I made my way to Victory Square, a large public space with fountains and a gigantic statue of Lenin.

Victory Square… note how huge the sculpture is compared to the people…



Fountains and statue...



We want YOU!



After I admired Lenin’s likeness, Jonathan got off work and met up with me at the Summer Gardens. The first public park in St. Petersburg, installed in 1704, the garden is also where Peter the Great had his summer home. While we wandered through the park, the city sprung one of its unpredictable summer showers on us. We’ve since learned to carry umbrellas with us at all times, but for the moment, one of the garden’s over-200-year-old trees provided decent shelter. Walking through the garden reminded me of a Romantic-era promenade, with upstanding members of the public taking their afternoon excursion. People scattered when the rain came, but when it stopped a few minutes later, everyone mysteriously reappeared.

The main path through the park…



A statue after the rain...



A flower bed in the garden.



Last but not least... we finished our day by leaving the park along the Fontanka River…





and made our way to the Church of the Savior on the Blood, probably one of the most famous landmarks in all of St. Petersburg.

The church as viewed from the Fontanka…



Up close...



Look at the incredible detail!



Another angle.



Really, this thing is so enormous it can be seen from miles away. This view is just off Nevsky Prospect, the main shopping thoroughfare, looking down the Griboedov Canal. In the background, behind the bustling crowds, you can see the crowning onion domes.



That evening we did and saw so much more, and that was just one day. This weekend we plan to see even more, including Peterhof, with its famous fountains. I have many, many more pictures, but I figure I should stop here so my bandwidth can handle all of this. Also to save some for future blogs! Hope you’ve enjoyed this mini-tour of just a few of my city’s sites.