Fun fact: in Swedish Helsinki is called Helsingfors, which sounds to me like a medieval slayer of dragons. I uploaded some unsorted pics. Also, more were uploaded to the Riga and Tallinn folder.
Helsinki Pics
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Pics from Riga, Tallinn
Howdy. Here are some unsorted pics from recent stops in Riga and Tallinn, great cities both. Onward to Helsinki!
Pics
Pics
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The racism of Russian pricing
Ok, maybe not racism. But nationalism or certainly linguo-centrism.
Backing up. Last summer I was in St. Pete for a few days, went to the Russian Museum. I was with a friend whose last name is Morrison. We all had Russian student cards, which you can usually present to museums to get in for free or a very discounted rate. (Sidenote: I have not paid for a single museum this time around, and I've been to a lot). My buddy handed the woman his card, she looked at it, said: "Morrison. That's not a Russian last name" - and charged him the full amount. I got in for free.
But here's a pic I took the other day at the Pushkin apartment museum that really captures the whole stupid system. It's so transparently obvious, the scheme. Even if you don't read Russian:
Close up:
"Using of cameras in the musuem - 300rbl; Videocameras - 500 rbl"
Guess what the Russian says right above it with 100ryb and 200 ryb right next to it. Smooth Russia, smooth.
Backing up. Last summer I was in St. Pete for a few days, went to the Russian Museum. I was with a friend whose last name is Morrison. We all had Russian student cards, which you can usually present to museums to get in for free or a very discounted rate. (Sidenote: I have not paid for a single museum this time around, and I've been to a lot). My buddy handed the woman his card, she looked at it, said: "Morrison. That's not a Russian last name" - and charged him the full amount. I got in for free.
But here's a pic I took the other day at the Pushkin apartment museum that really captures the whole stupid system. It's so transparently obvious, the scheme. Even if you don't read Russian:
Close up:
"Using of cameras in the musuem - 300rbl; Videocameras - 500 rbl"
Guess what the Russian says right above it with 100ryb and 200 ryb right next to it. Smooth Russia, smooth.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Running and kvas
Today was a long run day. It was also the Cleveland half marathon (go Nick!), so I had extra motivation for my training. It was also a glorious day, which made me immediately want to get out there once I got up. On good days, I head north to a constellation of three parks/islands with a lot of great paths and trails. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how hot it might be and how unhyrdated I was.
About five or six miles in, I really started hurting. I didn't think the sun could be so hot here. My mouth turned to paste.
These parks are swamped on the weekend with locals relaxing, riding small amusements, rollerblading, being carefree. I started to hate the new Russian consumerism when I couldn't find a single water fountain a n y w h e r e.
Sometimes when I run, I get extremely hungry for any fatty food I catch on a breeze - burgers, fries, onion rings... Today, panting and starchy, all I could think about was the 2 liter bottle of Kvas I had waiting for me in the fridge at home (still 5 miles away). Kvas, for those who don't know, is one of Russia's gifts to the world of food. It is a very low/no alcohol drink, made from grain, which tastes sort of like a hearty but sweet dark beer. It's like delicious liquid brown bread which quenches your thirst and fills you up. This is what I needed.
I started fantasizing that I would see one of those old Soviet drink machines, the kind where there's a communal cup and you probably pay a kopeck, like the one here:
All those giddy people in the parks with their balloons and Pepsi Max. I bet in Soviet days runners didn't have this problem, I bet the communists respected a good amateur athlete.
Coming down Petrogradskaya, hitting the final stretch, what do I notice? About ten different people carrying the same brand of kvas. At first I thought I was hallucinating, my mind taunting me and projecting my innermost desires. But then I had a revelation, the kind of inspired insight certain agnostics must get when they see the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese. These kvas bottles must mean something - it can't be just a coincidence! Sure enough, at metro station Gorkovskaya, two young, blonde haired angels were handing out free bottles of the glorious elixir as part of a promotional event. Even the branding was apt - "Russian Gift."
Maybe capitalism works after all.
About five or six miles in, I really started hurting. I didn't think the sun could be so hot here. My mouth turned to paste.
These parks are swamped on the weekend with locals relaxing, riding small amusements, rollerblading, being carefree. I started to hate the new Russian consumerism when I couldn't find a single water fountain a n y w h e r e.
Sometimes when I run, I get extremely hungry for any fatty food I catch on a breeze - burgers, fries, onion rings... Today, panting and starchy, all I could think about was the 2 liter bottle of Kvas I had waiting for me in the fridge at home (still 5 miles away). Kvas, for those who don't know, is one of Russia's gifts to the world of food. It is a very low/no alcohol drink, made from grain, which tastes sort of like a hearty but sweet dark beer. It's like delicious liquid brown bread which quenches your thirst and fills you up. This is what I needed.
I started fantasizing that I would see one of those old Soviet drink machines, the kind where there's a communal cup and you probably pay a kopeck, like the one here:
All those giddy people in the parks with their balloons and Pepsi Max. I bet in Soviet days runners didn't have this problem, I bet the communists respected a good amateur athlete.
Coming down Petrogradskaya, hitting the final stretch, what do I notice? About ten different people carrying the same brand of kvas. At first I thought I was hallucinating, my mind taunting me and projecting my innermost desires. But then I had a revelation, the kind of inspired insight certain agnostics must get when they see the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese. These kvas bottles must mean something - it can't be just a coincidence! Sure enough, at metro station Gorkovskaya, two young, blonde haired angels were handing out free bottles of the glorious elixir as part of a promotional event. Even the branding was apt - "Russian Gift."
Maybe capitalism works after all.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Dostoevsky Metro too depressing
Moscow's renowned for its themed metro stations - the molecular designs at Mendeleev or the martial statues at Partizanskaya.
They're building a new stop, named in honor of Dostoevsky. It hasn't opened yet, apparently behind schedule. Why? Well, some are speculating that the murals are too depressing - that riders don't want to see a man raising a gun to his head or Roskolnikov attacking two women with a hatchet.
According to the Moscow Times, a psychologist "warned that the murals could make the station a popular place to commit suicide."
They're building a new stop, named in honor of Dostoevsky. It hasn't opened yet, apparently behind schedule. Why? Well, some are speculating that the murals are too depressing - that riders don't want to see a man raising a gun to his head or Roskolnikov attacking two women with a hatchet.
According to the Moscow Times, a psychologist "warned that the murals could make the station a popular place to commit suicide."
Friday, May 14, 2010
No fish restoran
This ad for the Casa del Myasa (House of Meat) serves up a nicely rhyming bilingual title, two alphabets and three languages:
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Kunstkamera
Even though I still have a paper left to write, I'm occasionally dragged out of my apartment by a feeling of human solidarity. When that happens, I make sure that it's to see something really unique so I don't waste any of the time I could be sitting at my black Ikea desk.
Today I went to the Kunstkamera - the first museum founded in the city, by Peter himself. If I remember correctly, it was free in Peter's day and he even offered refreshments to patrons as an incentive to visit and learn. By virtue of my Russian student card, it was free for me too (take that German tourists!).
It's not your average museum. Peter was into oddities, he collected any weird and unusual thing he could get his hands on. And all of these specimens were put on display in the Hall of Monsters (what it's called, to this day). Here you'll find stuffed two-headed calves, the skeleton of a giant, drawings of court dwarfs and an obscene number of misshapen fetuses in jars.
Here is a very blurry picture of another cool exhibit - all of the teeth Peter personally extracted from subjects while learning dentistry:
(To the right of the tooth-rack, you can also see a head in a jar.) For me, the strangest part wasn't so much seeing the unborn and multi-limbed, as the fact that each of the display cases with human parts also contained one taxidermied exotic animal. Here are some fetuses with a sea turtle:
Peter offered monetary rewards for any citizen who would bring an unusual or rare specimen of the natural world for his museum. In doing so, he hoped to wean his subjects off superstitious beliefs, that they would see how diverse and unusual creation is. It's only fitting that he contribute something himself. Below, a plaster of his face, taken after death:
The museum isn't limited to the Hall of Monsters - there's also a whirlwind tour of exotic peoples and tribes. I felt a touch of stolen pride when I came across the Iroquois display...
...complete with a small placard about lacrosse...
Today I went to the Kunstkamera - the first museum founded in the city, by Peter himself. If I remember correctly, it was free in Peter's day and he even offered refreshments to patrons as an incentive to visit and learn. By virtue of my Russian student card, it was free for me too (take that German tourists!).
It's not your average museum. Peter was into oddities, he collected any weird and unusual thing he could get his hands on. And all of these specimens were put on display in the Hall of Monsters (what it's called, to this day). Here you'll find stuffed two-headed calves, the skeleton of a giant, drawings of court dwarfs and an obscene number of misshapen fetuses in jars.
Here is a very blurry picture of another cool exhibit - all of the teeth Peter personally extracted from subjects while learning dentistry:
(To the right of the tooth-rack, you can also see a head in a jar.) For me, the strangest part wasn't so much seeing the unborn and multi-limbed, as the fact that each of the display cases with human parts also contained one taxidermied exotic animal. Here are some fetuses with a sea turtle:
Peter offered monetary rewards for any citizen who would bring an unusual or rare specimen of the natural world for his museum. In doing so, he hoped to wean his subjects off superstitious beliefs, that they would see how diverse and unusual creation is. It's only fitting that he contribute something himself. Below, a plaster of his face, taken after death:
The museum isn't limited to the Hall of Monsters - there's also a whirlwind tour of exotic peoples and tribes. I felt a touch of stolen pride when I came across the Iroquois display...
...complete with a small placard about lacrosse...
A riddle
What time was it when this picture was taken?
11pm! White Nights approach!
Soon I'll be able to tan while I sleep! Awesome!
11pm! White Nights approach!
Soon I'll be able to tan while I sleep! Awesome!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Victory Day, take 65
Even if a couple days late... Happy Victory Day! Or as Russians might say through Google Translate, "I congratulate you with our day of great victory!"
Rocket launchers were rolling through Red Square, veterans were collecting flowers, banners hung from every lamppost... and there were too many people to see anything. I went around 10am to the parade on Palace Square (a little late) and got to commune with the crowd and the backs of peoples heads.
Luckily one of my friends nabbed a good spot, so unknown to him I've taken some of his pictures from Facebook and posted them here as my own. Behold:
Also, this isn't from the parade, obviously. It's his apartment building. Just an example of the kind of poster that's been ubiquitous through April and early May.
Also there are some great pictures of rocket launchers superimposed on Orthodox churches over at Foreign Policy.
Rocket launchers were rolling through Red Square, veterans were collecting flowers, banners hung from every lamppost... and there were too many people to see anything. I went around 10am to the parade on Palace Square (a little late) and got to commune with the crowd and the backs of peoples heads.
Luckily one of my friends nabbed a good spot, so unknown to him I've taken some of his pictures from Facebook and posted them here as my own. Behold:
Also, this isn't from the parade, obviously. It's his apartment building. Just an example of the kind of poster that's been ubiquitous through April and early May.
Also there are some great pictures of rocket launchers superimposed on Orthodox churches over at Foreign Policy.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Cool day, May the Third
Today's a cool day for three reasons, the most important of which is that it's my brothers birthday. But it's also a day off in Russia from the May Day holiday weekend - if you were in Russia bro, you wouldn't be at work right now!
Also, today was the first day that sunset hit 10pm! 10pm! Crazy! White nights here we come!
!
Also, today was the first day that sunset hit 10pm! 10pm! Crazy! White nights here we come!
!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Incredulity, mainly
Here's an article from the Moscow Times, appropriate for the day I did my first 10 miler of the season: Joggers Battle with Dogs, Locals and Incredulity.
Some great observations in the article that really ring true.
A former Moscow Times reporter: “If I ran through after 2 p.m., I’d get heckled by groups of men drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. A couple times, some of them sarcastically jogged along with me, laughing uproariously. They thought I was hilarious.” (Haven't had this experience yet, but I've imagined it happening a hundred times. I know one day some teenager is gonna be drunk and want to make a scene for his girlfriend.)
Representative from the Russian Athletics Federation: “We have nothing to do with people who just run around outside for exercise.” (Frank, but true. Provides a good tone for the article.)
A former NY Times correspondent in Moscow: “A television documentary warning Russians against associating with Western journalists showed some film that the secret police surreptitiously took of my daily 3-mile run through the city. 'While pretending to engage in ‘physical culture,’ the announcer ominously explained, I was really carrying secret messages between the United States Embassy and nefarious Russian dissidents.”
I guess I can't complain to much about the pollution and stares - never had the KGB on my ass!
Some great observations in the article that really ring true.
A former Moscow Times reporter: “If I ran through after 2 p.m., I’d get heckled by groups of men drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. A couple times, some of them sarcastically jogged along with me, laughing uproariously. They thought I was hilarious.” (Haven't had this experience yet, but I've imagined it happening a hundred times. I know one day some teenager is gonna be drunk and want to make a scene for his girlfriend.)
Representative from the Russian Athletics Federation: “We have nothing to do with people who just run around outside for exercise.” (Frank, but true. Provides a good tone for the article.)
A former NY Times correspondent in Moscow: “A television documentary warning Russians against associating with Western journalists showed some film that the secret police surreptitiously took of my daily 3-mile run through the city. 'While pretending to engage in ‘physical culture,’ the announcer ominously explained, I was really carrying secret messages between the United States Embassy and nefarious Russian dissidents.”
I guess I can't complain to much about the pollution and stares - never had the KGB on my ass!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May Day
There's a common bit of graffiti you often see around Russia - a swastika that has been circled and crossed out or written over. Unfortunately it's not a negation, just an indication that the two forces are locked in a low level propaganda war. Occasionally you hear about fights or beatings, nationalist skinheads taking on anti-fascist youth groups. Rarely do you get to see these emotions and sentiments in the street - unless, of course, there is a public parade chaperoned by hundreds of riot officers. Like on May Day.
Soon after waking up, I opened my window and almost immediately heard chanting and marching bands coming from the direction of Nevsky Prospekt. I headed over, enjoyed myself despite the weather. The flags made for nice blotches of color on a gray morning and it's rare that you get to see giant portraits of Stalin in public:
All the major political parties were there - United Russia, A Just Russia, the Liberal Democrats. And of course the Communists, which sounds sexy to outsiders but is often a parade of the elderly.
The fun got started with a group that may have been the outlawed National Bolshevik Party, (at least by matching their symbols to those on this site). I don't remember which slogans they were chanting, I was too terrified by their flags - the incredibly imposing black hammer and sickle, and a white circle on a red background containing a grenade (sorry if you can't see that because of the picture quality, but scroll down on the site above for copies).
They were soon followed by an anti-fascist bloc who carried signs saying "Freedom. Equality. Solidarity" and "Against Racism." They tended to be young and often had their faces covered by scarves or masks.
And pulling up the rear there was the Russian Imperialist Movement, which I believe is a small Orthodox political party advocating the reunification of "historically" Russian lands under the banner of the Russian Empire. They may be associated with the small monarchist parties. They were chanting "Россия - русская власть!" or "Russia means (ethnic) Russian power!" They had two other signs, one which said "Russians are getting fewer, immigrants are becoming greater" and "Deportation, not legalization." Next stop Arizona. Their site is down, but there's a cached version here.
Soon after waking up, I opened my window and almost immediately heard chanting and marching bands coming from the direction of Nevsky Prospekt. I headed over, enjoyed myself despite the weather. The flags made for nice blotches of color on a gray morning and it's rare that you get to see giant portraits of Stalin in public:
(Brought to you by the Movement of Stalinists, really)
All the major political parties were there - United Russia, A Just Russia, the Liberal Democrats. And of course the Communists, which sounds sexy to outsiders but is often a parade of the elderly.
The fun got started with a group that may have been the outlawed National Bolshevik Party, (at least by matching their symbols to those on this site). I don't remember which slogans they were chanting, I was too terrified by their flags - the incredibly imposing black hammer and sickle, and a white circle on a red background containing a grenade (sorry if you can't see that because of the picture quality, but scroll down on the site above for copies).
They were soon followed by an anti-fascist bloc who carried signs saying "Freedom. Equality. Solidarity" and "Against Racism." They tended to be young and often had their faces covered by scarves or masks.
And pulling up the rear there was the Russian Imperialist Movement, which I believe is a small Orthodox political party advocating the reunification of "historically" Russian lands under the banner of the Russian Empire. They may be associated with the small monarchist parties. They were chanting "Россия - русская власть!" or "Russia means (ethnic) Russian power!" They had two other signs, one which said "Russians are getting fewer, immigrants are becoming greater" and "Deportation, not legalization." Next stop Arizona. Their site is down, but there's a cached version here.
Last day of April
Went for a nice long walk through the city today and I could almost smell organic matter, spring upon us as it is. I wore just my wool turtle neck and felt quite comfortable with the breezes on the canals. Now that I have a camera of sorts (the one in my old phone) I'm on the lookout for things of interest. Two, today -
Pushkin getting a soap down in front of the Russian Museum:
And the'yre already rehearsing for the Victory Day parades on Palace Square. I sat and watched as the military band played continuously for about 20 minutes and teenagers with automatic weapons marched past.
Pushkin getting a soap down in front of the Russian Museum:
And the'yre already rehearsing for the Victory Day parades on Palace Square. I sat and watched as the military band played continuously for about 20 minutes and teenagers with automatic weapons marched past.
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