ZOO

I must admit that this was the only picture I felt like taking at the Zoo and although I loved the way the owls are lined up, one can't help feeling they look a little forlorn.

I didn't like the way the big cats were in quite small cages. In the modern world we are so used to seeing animals in wonderful settings, safari parks etc. that it is difficult to see animals in these circumstances and the hardest hearted would be moved to realise that these animals have a pretty rotten deal.

What is the point of having these beautiful creatures all caged up when it is so easy to access magnificent and intimate images of wild animals these days?

CITY BEACH AND THE GULF OF FINLAND

The second picture is actually a beach in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress. It's amazing that this was completely covered in deep ice and snow just a few weeks ago and incredible that there is a beach in the City!

The top image is the beach at the Gulf of Finland. I took pictures a few weeks ago and the sea was ice and people were skiing on it. It is just a short journey from St.Petersburg and good for a day trip. I must confess that this is a particularly nice part of the beach. We were disappointed to discover that further along it was rather covered in a lot of rubbish swept up from the sea. It would be so easy to clean up at the beginning of the season and make a lot more pleasant for people to enjoy.

There were people in the water. I don't think it would pass any cleanliness regulations and I wouldn't swim in it.

We were quite surprised to walk past a nudist part of the beach. We should have guessed, it was the area where more people (particularly males) were standing up to sunbathe instead of the traditional 'lying down' method! Glad I was wearing my dark glasses!

JUNE AND WHITE NIGHTS RETURN

The speed with which winter disappeared and summer arrived was quite remarkable.

The buds on the trees burst open and produced flowers much faster than in a less harsh climate. Unfortunately, they will disappear in September pretty quickly too.

It's now much harder to sleep knowing that it's broad daylight outside. It does get a little dark around midnight or half past until around 3.30 a.m. but those twilight hours will diminish to nothing very quickly as midsummer arrives. I now understand why Russians seem to hibernate in winter and stay up all night in the short summer. I can't stop looking out of the window when I am supposed to be sleeping!

We have darkened curtains but it is surprising how much light comes in from the sides.

The river boats are out in vast numbers and the tourists are returning.

It's great to have all the little extra bars and cafes open along the river and canals.

We have carnival in the streets and a lot of free entertainment.

Suddenly it's a joy to be in this City!

Duran Duran and Anastasia are doing a free concert in the Hermitage square tonight to open the Economic Forum.

I am a little concerned about getting out to the airport for my trip to UK this afternoon due to the arrival of numerous delegations from around the globe and a lot of streets being closed.

SUMMER AT LAST!

Why do the fellas like St.Petersburg so much?

GULF OF FINLAND

A Cold Day Trip!

It was about an hour on a very, very slow train to reach the Gulf of Finland. I was desperate for the loo but it was locked. I was assured by Mike that this was probably a good thing as the the loos on the Russian trains consist of a very nasty hole in the floor where people seem to have trouble hitting the target. I preferred to be uncomfortable until arriving at a cafe at our destination.

It always surprises me that in a cold, fairly miserable climate that the owners of many cafes would choose to paint and decorate their entire premises in a rather dull shade of blue with matching nets and drapes. The plastic flowers in a jam jar and a more than once used blue tablecloth complete the picture. It took some imagination to see that this place was the venue where all the local people congregate for celebrations of all types. No wonder they like vodka so much.

It was a short walk to the sea from the train station and I was delighted to pass the beautiful green dacha, seen in the above picture, which, as you can see, I enjoyed painting! I suppose all of the houses by the seaside used to look like this but nowadays they have been replaced with very modern abodes, owned only by the seriously rich.

We were amazed to see that the sea was completely frozen and that the weekenders enjoy skating and skiing out for miles on the ice landscape. It looks worrying but I presume they know what they are doing. Although it was reported that somebody disappeared in the Gulf last weekend. He was on some sort of snowmobile and just went through the ice. Well.......

There were hundreds of figures to be seen such a long way from the shore line that they looked like tiny dots until they would ski towards us.

It was a strangely beautiful place and very quiet.

BEAR!

What can I say? I saw it for real, this little baby bear was being taken for a walk just like a dog. It was very cute and very upset and crying inside the muzzle. This poor bear had a very wild smell. This is not an animal to be taken for a walk, it really needs it's freedom. I am not an animal rights enthusiast or anything like that but it was not a happy bear. How can keeping a bear be permitted anyway? If nothing else, it has really sharp, long claws.

There is a 'big top' circus in the city and I am wondering if they allow people to take care of the animals whilst they are babies so they get used to humans from the beginning and are separated from their mothers? I will have to find out.

GOODBYE WINTER?

I couldn't resist posting one more winter scene before I hang up my snow boots for the summer! This is taken from my corner window in the main room and is over the top of the little park. I might paint this one.

THE WEATHER

IS looking more promising now but I keep my fingers firmly crossed as it is only April 9.

We have mini icebergs floating down river from the Gulf of Finland which I will try to capture on camera over the weekend.

Yesterday the sun shone all day and when we came out of the ballet performance of Don Quixote at 9.00 p.m. it was still broad day light. The light didn't fade until 9.40. The very long daylight hours are arriving really fast.

The problems with the weather in April are two-fold.

The DUST is horrendous. Once the snow and ice recedes the filth left behind has been ground down by the ice to very fine dust which casts a fine layer over the ground and over everything else. The traffic stirs it up horribly and makes it really unpleasant to walk next to the road with dust blowing in the eyes and nose. The street workers exacerbate this problem by trying to sweep it up with garden brooms (the witches type) and all they achieve is to whip it up more. This would be a nightmare for anyone with lung problems.

They close the PARKS for the whole of April! Yes, just as the weather is nicer and there are the inkling of tiny buds on the trees and the birds are singing, they CLOSE THE PARKS! Well, this is very frustrating as I have been longing for my daily exercise routine to resume and discovered this yesterday when I ventured out in running clothes and trainers. I was not defeated, however, as I trotted along the roads with dust flying in my eyes and nose!

The reason for closing the parks is to get them in order for the summer. Understandable because the paths and grass have had an absolute hammering over the winter, I just wish it was done one at a time!

Whilst waiting for Mike to show up at the Alexandra Theatre last night, I stood with all the others waiting for their partners to show up, opposite the theatre along the park railings in the beautiful sunshine, 6.30 and warm on the face, a well deserved treat!

RANDOM BLOG FODDER

I have met a lady who has recently arrived. She comes from Berlin and speaks excellent Russian. We were chatting about her childhood in Eastern Germany and the compulsory Russian lessons (she is finding that pretty useful now!) and I went on to ask her about where she was when the Berlin Wall came down.

She told me that when they heard the news from a neighbour it was all very confusing and they didn't believe it at all. They turned on the television to see the leader of the country more or less say that 'OK, we give in, we believe the wall is coming down, so be it'.

They were amazed and slightly afraid. Her and her husband and children all held hands and walked through some broken down wall to Western Germany. They were really afraid that the wall would be barred and they wouldn't get back again.

Her husband very quickly made the decision to take the car and to move the family immediately over to the west. He had a good job in the communist factory as a manager of an enormous power machinery organisation who were then taken over by a huge western company and he became a very successful executive within that company.

This story warms the cockles of my heart!