The Summer turns into a heatwave
For about 6 weeks, from the end of June, right the way through July and into August, the temperature had hovered at around 29 degrees Celsius in the daytime and never dipped below 20 degrees at night. On occasions it did go above the 30 mark. But, it wasn't so much the heat that was unbearable, it was the humidity. Just sitting in your flat doing very little was enough to bring on the sweat. Even lying in bed, trying (unsuccessfully) to get to sleep was no better. And when the time came to wake up from what little slumber you had that night, you were greeted with the uncomfortable sensation of a wet pillow. Fortunately, at the time of writing this blog entry I am happy to report that the crazy temperatures have dropped to a very comfortable 20 to 22 degrees in the daytime with a marked drop in humidity. Now that we have 'normal' summer weather in Saint Petersburg again, going about your daily business is not the sweat-fest, clothes-clinging-to-your-back kind of affair anymore. Hallelujah!
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| Putin and Medvedev were thinking of some effective campaigning techniques, but all they managed was to bounce a couple of ideas off each other! |
I get the impression that most Russians rather like the summer. That's hardly surprising since the winter is rather long. When the sun comes out it's time to don those sunglasses, expose some skin, and when the opportunity arises, head to the nearest beach or a dacha outside the city to bask in some golden rays. While the men opt for some wacky t-shirts with the most bizarre of slogans in English (I sometimes wonder if they really understand what is actually written on their clothes). The funniest I have seen so far was a middle-aged man wearing a t-shirt that had the words 'I've been banged' on it. Suddenly, my left-eyebrow started to go upwards and my mouth had to contain a full-size grin. It really is not advisable to burst out laughing at anyone on the street. As for the ladies, bizarre takes on a different mode. While it is certainly not unpleasant to see a good-looking woman wearing little more than a bra covered by a gauze-like shirt on top, it becomes weird to see a much, much older woman wearing similar attire. During one particular journey home on the metro I saw such an older woman...minus the bra....what is seen cannot be unseen! And one last thing about summer clothes in Russia: what is this fashion wearing anything with a British union flag on it about? I asked this question to a student. His reply was "it's a good design, isn't it?" Award-winning. I was kind of hoping of this instead: "Well Martin, this trend (wearing the British flag on our shirts, tops and bags) symbolises our strong historical and cultural ties with the United Kingdom and our desire for peace and friendly relations between our two great nations." Nah! It's got the same colours as the Russian tricolour and it's a nifty piece of graphic art.
Here are some pictures of some summer-loving ladies:
Not crazy and perfectly normal:
Crazy:
And if lying in a large, dirty puddle dressed in nothing but a bikini doesn't cool you down, you could always convert your living room into a swimming pool like these young lads did:
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| I wonder how their neighbours felt; the ones below |
The White Nights
The time before and after Midsummer's Night, on 21st June is known as the White Nights here in Saint Petersburg. Due to its northerly geographical location, the city experiences its longest days with just a couple of hours of darkness. Even at midnight it is still quite light.
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| Midnight on Nevsky Prospekt |
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| The River Neva |
The Russian Barbecue (shashlik - шашлык)
Another summer tradition in Russia is to eat shish kebabs grilled on a barbecue. If you are unable to grill your own, then there are always plenty of food outlets where you can buy them. With no barbecue areas in the city centre, I opted to eat mine at a restaurant. A Georgian restaurant. And I have to say that the Georgian-style shish kebabs, with their subtly-spiced sauce, were excellent and some of the best food I've eaten since my arrival in Saint Petersburg.
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| Shish kebabs Georgian-style |
For a Russian-style recipe: everydayrussian.com/?p=50
Enjoy the rest of summer while it lasts. There's not much left it.
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