Every day things

It has almost been one year since I first set foot in Russia. It has been quite an experience! It is expected that my assignment will end earlier than initially expected, so I should be back home before the end of summer. That being the case, I've starting looking back on the year that was and thought it would be a good time to take a look through some of the more common sights - a look at every day things.

I loved the arrival of spring, even if it was still cool (and the picture doesn't lie - it took a LONG time for the ice on the river to melt), at least I could free myself of the torture of the metro crowds.

Exit of the Ploshad Lenina metro station

Instead of ridding the underground, I started walking to/from work everyday. The "Mont Blanc" Business Centre, which is home to my company in St-Petersburg, is the building on the right.

The Liteyniy Bridge (from where the photo was taken) was the reason I decided not to ride my bike to work. Crazy drivers!!!

The ship in front of the blue building (picture below) is the Aurora Cruiser. She fired the blank that marked the start of the Communist Revolution. The boat, which now serves as a museum, sits opposite our office building. The view into work every day is quite interesting!

Peter and Paul Fortress

The military academy is next to the office, so troops of marching soldiers is a common sight.

One cannot claim to have experienced a summer in St-Petersburg without having watched he bridges "divorce". Starting at 1:30 am, the bridges on the main part of the Neva River sequentially lift (one every 15 minutes), allowing for larger boat traffic to pass. The bridges stay up until about 5am, so if you find yourself on the wrong side when the bridges lift, getting home will involve quite the detour... With the arrival of Julie from Canada and Matvei's upcoming departure, we took a night boat ride of the Neva to see the bridges lift.

So the next item might not exactly fit in the daily routine (at least not for me!) but I felt it was worth mentioning: vodka. Yes, the Russians love their vodka. And yes, they make good vodka. Those forwarded joke e-mail showing aisles of vodka bottles in the grocery store was not photo shopped - it's really like that. There are so many different kinds of vodka, ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars a bottle, that they don't fit on a single shelf.

Now for the tradition part: vodka is rarely drunk in a cocktail. The local way is to offer a fairly thoughtful toast and then take the vodka as a shot (of 100 grams to be exact). The "Russian by-law", as it was explained to us during one of our house parties, is to eat a pickle after having the shot. It's an unusual chaser, but it does the job!

Though I now know of at least a handful of super markets, which makes grocery shopping a LOT easier, most local buy their produce from "Producti" stores, buying only the few items required for that night's meal on their way home. In the warmer seasons, small Producti kiosks sprinkle the streets. Matvei was courageous enough to pick-up a few things from one. Why does it require courage? Because if you do not know how to ask for what you want (in Russian), it may be difficult to get it...

One better than the make-shift fruit and veggie stands are the random people selling fish. The first time I saw this, I HAD to whip out my camera. When it's still cold, I could understand how this would work, but I have a feeling that I don't have the stomach for the fish that has been sitting out in the sun all day...

Safety comes... Third? After a quick installation and a low cost? What?! As an engineer, safety is part of my day to day - from the office while working on designs and it follows all the way through to site work. So there are still moments where I shake my head and simply hope that no one will get hurt due to the lack of foresight and a reasonable aversion to risk.

The building below is part of the new business district in Moscow. Many spectacular skyscrapers are being erected in the small area as companies are being lured out of the centre into a less trafficked zone.

The three men washing the windows are sitting on what can only described as wooden swing seats, suspended by good, old fashioned rope. No safety harnesses anywhere to be seen...

Then there are the little things that can cross your path on any ordinary day that just demand a smile. The matrioshka cement truck spotted on Nevsky was enough to make my day!

EVERY morning, local drivers seem to clean their car windows before getting in. Normally a scott towel and windex is involved, but some are better equipped and have their own squee-gees.

The contrast of high-end and run-down will never cease to amaze me. It applies to just about everything, from cars to people, and certainly to real estate. I hope those new flats weren't too expensive seeing as they look onto the remaining ashes of the neighbouring building.

One thing that they got very right is the architecture. There are lots of details and decorations to discover on what would otherwise be a normal building.

And lastly, there are the sights. I will certainly miss being able to call St-Petersburg my home, as I have never taken for granted the multitude of monuments and historical buildings that decorate the streets of this busy city.