Ice, snow and Sochi

Winter Arrives

The first snow arrived on 27th November.  For the last several months we have had varying degrees of snowfall.  Due to its maritime climate and its urban micro-climate (I used to teach all of this stuff when I taught geography), Saint Petersburg doesn't experience the same kind of harsh conditions like Moscow, or even the countryside in the Leningrad District.  Not long after the first proper snowfall, the temperature began to plummet.  When it reached -8 degrees Celsius, I exclaimed to various people how cold I felt.  My Australian flatmate agreed.  In fact, he felt it worse than me.  As for my Russian colleagues and students, they brushed it off as being a rather mild start to the winter.  "Just wait until February" they said.  "It will get down to minus twenty five at least."  At the time of writing this, February has already passed, and it never got below minus twenty one.  Still bloody cold though!

First snowfall in St Petersburg - view from my window

Trudging through the snow carefully so as not to slip on the ice below, I could feel the icy wind on my cheeks.  It felt like my face was being eaten by the air (with a slight burning sensation).  I was grateful to have my new beanie hat on.  This weather is really not good for bald men like myself.  And the snood around my neck kept the cold out further.  But, my boots were really suffering.  I had previously taken advice about applying a water-proofing spray to them, however, the mixture of the salt and water would always leave a white deposit on the surface of the leather.  "The Russian winter will eat your boots" said one student.  How true!  Face and boots, both devoured by the weather. 

By the way, if you do come to Russia in the wintertime, do buy some of that spray.  It will prolong the life of your footwear.  And make sure you spray it onto your shoes or boots outside, or at least with the windows wide open, if you apply it indoors.  And it reeks!

Here's a little minute-long video I shot on the way to work.  This is around Ploschad Vosstaniya, just near the metro station, as already mentioned in an earlier post:

 

 

 

 

Traditional Russian winter headgear - The Shapka Ushanka (шапка-ушанка):

 

 

 

шапка-ушанка

 

The 2014 Winter Olympics - Sochi 

 



Years of preparation, marketing and hype later The Winter Olympics finally arrived in Russia.  Although I had no plans on travelling all the way south to Sochi, I was kind of looking forward to it.  I had this idea of getting addicted to watching the skiing and the biathlon and feeling the spirit of the games.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.  I watched the ceremony and was impressed by the spectacle.  I liked the fact that the British team wore shapka-ushanka headwear, and how I laughed at the American and German teams' gaudy designs.  The intention was there - yes, I will follow it properly this time.  I am in the host country afterall.   However, my timetable clashed with the events I wanted to follow and I soon lost interest.  Oh well. 

   



 

He also looks familiar


But wait....here comes The Empire!