In St. Petersburg, I notice many portrait sketchers on the streets and I see there is a constant demand for it too. As many are doing it, I want to try it too – I’m curious how I would turn out.@ Savior on the Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia, August 13, 2019
Loft Project Etagi is housed in the former Smolninsky Bread Factory. Other than being a ‘hip’ place and a venue for many festivals, its rooftop is a big public garden, which offers great views of the vibrant city.During the day, the Ligovsky avenue was not an ‘easy’ place to be around because of traffic jams and some of the competitive drivers, but at night it allowed itself to be more romantic.@Loft Project Etagi, St. Petersburg, Russia
Nevskiy Prospect is the main avenue in St. Petersburg. It’s interesting that the word ‘prospect(просрект)’ means ‘avenue’ in Russian.If you visit the city, chances are you will walk down this avenue multiple times, since it is literally the center of the city, and many tourist attractions are already next to the avenue.Whenever I am there, I wonder how many people I see are actually from St. Petersburg and how many are from different parts of Russia or even other former Soviet Union countries. Even though my brain tries to simplify and conclude that ‘they all are Russians’, I know that each person has unique background and stories. Visitors from other parts of Russia might be more clueless than I am about how the city works.@ Nevskiy Avenue, St. Petersburg, Russia, August 21, 2019
This is (almost) the view from the room where I had stayed for two weeks in St. Petersburg. I hear that in recent years, Rubinshteyna Street has become a ‘hot place’ where there are many options of stylish restaurants and bars. The street is frequented by crowds practically any time of the day, both by locals and foreigners, and by casual and trendy-looking visitors. People-watching there is interesting and dizzying at the same time.The street provided a good contrast to me, whenever I wanted to liven up my mood after hours of concentrating on work in my quiet room. Ironically, I rarely visited the restaurants there, because the prices and types of cuisines were far from being ‘casual local’ to me.@ Rubinshteyna Street, St. Petersburg, Russia, August 16, 2019
I have to admit that, even after years of traveling, I am still thrilled to be at famous places. I guess it’s because of the excitement that now I know what it feels like to be there, instead of just catching a glimpse off a 2-D photo. The famous Red Square, as I felt, was interesting more because of the sense of the gigantic open space rather than the colorful St. Basil’s Cathedral around the corner. I am planning to casually visit the Square as often as possible while I’m staying in Moscow.@ St. Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, September 26, 2019
Moscow’s metro system is extensive, efficient and easy to use. It is also a great place for people-watching. Accurately speaking, it is a great place to watch people watching their phones. So many stories are in one place, yet it is so quiet.@ Metro Burtyskaya, Moscow, Russia, October 2, 2019
The gigantic Gorky park seems to be Moscow’s answer to the Central Park in New York. It provides nature, art and an instant retreat for the fast-moving residents of the megacity.It was one of the few times when I carefully planned my visit to a park, since it was going to be the last warm day of the year in Moscow. These days, I am trying to be better at having a good time irrespective of the weather, but it’s hard not to be plain happier when it’s sunny and warm. I walked outside from morning till night, and I am glad I did it.@ Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia, October 3, 2019
Some streets in Moscow have above-the-head light installation, often spanning a few kilometers. They say that the installation is kept all year round, rather than only the year-end. I think it is very effective, especially in winter, in helping people remember them as enjoyable and worthy places on their own, rather than cold and wet streets to go through before getting home.When people’s attention is drawn to the shinning objects, I simply wondered what else was there being part of the whole scene. I hope she is okay with this.@ Nikolskaya Street, Moscow, Russia, October 13, 2019
Tsaritsyno (meaning Tsarina’s) is an interesting combination of a park, palace, museum and exhibition hall. It was founded in 1776 by Tsarina Catherine, but the buildings had remained unfinished for about 200 years, during which time visitors enjoyed walking through and climbing the ruins.This large site is only about 20km south from Moscow, so it’s a great place for a quick picnic. And it is especially so this week – autumn is revisiting Moscow to remind us it’s not quite winter yet.@ Tsaritsyno park and palace, Moscow, Russia, October 18, 2019
Vladikavkaz is the capital of Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, one of many federal subjects of Russia. It is my last city in Russia before entering Georgia, but the impressions of the place are not quite the same as those of other parts in Russia. People look different and I think I heard some Ossetian language, the other official language in the region. I’m excited to explore yet another completely unfamiliar area to me.@ Vladikavkaz, Russia, November 6, 2019