Reflections and Revelations

My time in St. Petersburg is so limited, but I've had a wonderful semester. Next week we're going to Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia, but lately I've been wishing for just some more time in SPb with my amazing friends instead.

I'm going to try to sneak more photos of the ride down the escalators in the metro at some point. Technically, one of my teachers told me that last year, a motion was passed to ensure photography was legal in the metro, but I don't want to risk being fined. However, it's one of the most interesting and odd sights I've seen in SPb, so I'll do my best for you guys! You can probably read an article or two on the metro, or have several conversations with your friends... it's about a 3-5 minute ride down.

You can't even see the end of the tunnel! It's the deepest metro in the world, because of SPb's unstable and swampy soil.

Another fascinating thing about Russia is how the citizens dress. At home, college students are renowned for wearing sweatpants and t-shirts, and most people wear casual clothing for average daily activities. However, here just stepping over the threshold to go to the store for food is a fashionable occasion. Every young woman I see wears flattering boots and outfits -- it's practically the country's uniform.It's refreshing to see such a large portion of the country looking nice and presentable -- especially since all of it is done with a very matter-of-fact air. I enjoy that looking nice doesn't have to be a special affair here. There's no such thing as someone going up to you and saying, "Wow, you look great today! What's the occasion?"

A great part of spring coming along (besides the weather getting warmer) is that the days are becoming noticeably longer. The sun sets at around 9 pm now, so that means more time for wandering around the city! It used to be 6 or 6:30, so this makes a huge difference. It'll get even better, although it really is too bad that I'll miss the peak of White Nights.

As mentioned previously, I've been doing more exploring on foot and wandering around -- without a map! Recently my friends and I have found a neat factory complex called the Red Triangle. It used to be a rubber and shoe factory, but now is fairly abandoned/used for suspicious activities/random stores.

One of the abandoned buildings.

Inside the above building.

I'll post more of my adventures soon, especially when I went to Peter and Paul Fortress and the Siege of Leningrad Memorial. Till next time, good hunting!