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Russia
in the Wintertime
Dave Francis It is January, and I am in an apartment in St. Petersburg Russia, looking outside at the snow, the blue sky, white clouds wafting by, and I am thinking of an idea. Why don’t more tourists come to St. Petersburg, and to Russia, in the winter? It is an interesting idea, once you get past the obvious, “BECAUSE IT’S COLD!” It is cold. Damn cold. Shivering, stinging, eyes-watering-in-the-wind cold. If you aren’t prepared, you could be miserable. Trust me, I know. There is a Russian saying, ‘There are no bad winters, just bad clothes.’ That is very true. If you put on the right kind of, and sufficient quantity of clothes, you can be comfortable outside. I’m from Texas, so I have been going out in my iguana-skin cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and thin, leather gloves. Bad idea. It is getting as low as -22 farenheit, and that is no weather for vanity. Now, when I leave the house, I am wearing a furry hat, (I wanted bear or wolf, my wife says rabbit is best. Can you imagine wearing a bunny hat?…) fur-lined boots, and trust that my swagger identifies me as a Texan. If it doesn’t, I think my lack of Russian will help. I usually wear a long, black leather coat, a sport coat, a shirt, and an undershirt. Longjohns and wool pants. Like that, I am ready for anything. Let it snow! Let the wind blow!(OK, the wind is still damn cold…) But, you get the idea. Proper attire makes all the difference in the world. The very bright side of coming to Russia in the winter is that nobody else does it. It is bare here. In June or July, the lines to get in the Hermitage are around the block, St. Isaacs, the same. Any of the really popular sights are, well, popular. They are crowded. Right now, if you want to go to the Hermitage, you walk up to the door, and go in. As you walk around inside, you can hear the echoes as you tour the 300+ stately halls, taking in the wonderful art and ambience as it was meant to be. There are more than 15,000 paintings and 12,000 sculptures here. Great masters such as Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rafael, and many many others are here. In the winter, it feels like the palace is yours. The staff is there, and has time for questions. They seem almost glad to be of help. You will see the occasional school group, but this is a big place. You can still be alone when there are a few dozen school groups inside with you. If you want a real treat, something a bit out of the ordinary, take my advice and go to the Fire Museum. The staff is fantastic, and the exhibits are very unique. Find out about how they fought fires during the siege. I was told by one of the staff that the rivers had frozen solid that winter, and some shells had hit Gastino Dvor, catching the building on fire. With no water,the firemen cut the buildings walls, knocked them over into the snow, doused the flames with the snow, stood the walls back up and reattached them. The fire museum may not be on anyones list of top attractions, but if you go, you will enjoy it a lot. It is off-beat, interesting, and the people are very friendly. St. Isaacs has no buses parked outside. Church of the Spilled Blood is empty. It is fantastic. You have the city to yourself. Besides the lack of lines, there is another, major reason for coming here in the winter. In the summer time, a lot of the performing arts close their season, or are winding it down. Right now, the ballet, the symphony, everything is going full tilt. It is the high point of the cultural program. Prices in the winter are substantially less than the summer. You can save a lot of money, or even better, spend more time here. Sure, it gets dark early, but in June it doesn’t get dark at all. I think I prefer nightfall at 5 to nightfall next month. One last reason to come in the winter. You get to look at your friends shocked faces when you tell them you are going to Russia in the winter. Trust me, it is fun. The shocked look of horror and disbelief is something to be seen. St. Petersburg is a lovely city, and has a lot of wonderful things to see and do. If you come in the spring, summer, or fall, you will love it. If you come in the winter, and DRESS WARM, you will be taken in by it. The pace is slower, the atmosphere more natural, less touristy, and the people have more patience with us foreigners when there aren’t so many of us around. I am going to put that Russian proverb to the test soon. We are planning a train trip to Murmansk, which is inside the arctic circle. I figure, if you are going to do it, you should do it in the winter, don’t you think? Keeping warm, Dave |