Oto in Motherland: a (huge) photo log

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Otohiko
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Oto in Motherland: a (huge) photo log

Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:51 am

THE MOTHERLAND
(or Oto returns to his hometown)

As some of you may or may not know, I was born and raised in Russia, and I've only been living in Canada (and, consequently, speaking/writing/reading English) since just before high school. Since then, I hadn't been back there - until this summer.

The circumstances of my trip to Russia weren't the best - I went there to look after my grandmother whose health has been getting increasingly poor, and noone else in the family could or would go to help out. Still, I knew I’d make the best of it – coming back to a place where you’ve grown up after not seeing it for 8 years is quite something. All the better since my best friends were still there, and we’d been in contact.

I grabbed a cheap digital camera with a big memory stick, intending to take pictures. Of all and everything. That intention I certainly fulfilled. As I took over 7,000 pictures and have nothing better to do with them, I shall post some around here. No, not all of them. But a lot.

Mind you, most of them are of one city, St. Petersburg, but that is accurate to my own experience of Russia through my life there. During the 14 years of my growing up there, I very rarely left that area.

Anyway, I’ll start this at the very beginning.


***
July 1st, 2006

Radies and gentremen,
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Point of departure (Oto's actual house in Canada). This is where I’m posting from presently.

It’s ironic that I left the country on July 1st (Canada Day).

After a ceremony-free goodbye to the family, I set off alone on a rather mundane bus ride to Montreal, some two hours away. Getting into the airport was surprisingly simple (so much for the security scares), and soon I was staring at this:


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The aircraft involved in the incident, Montreal's Pierre Trudeau Airport.

I mean the plane I flew on.

As it also may or may not be known, I’m a huge fan of airplanes – flight simulators, models, films and what have you.

I had a ticket for the regular Czech Airlines flight between Montreal and Prague, from where I would transfer to St. Petersburg. Ironically, this may well be the same plane that brought me to Canada more than 8 years earlier.

Czech Airlines is an excellent carrier, known to be the best in Eastern Europe, and certainly living up to the title. Have nothing but good things to say for them – good service, pretty good food, good flying, very reasonable pricing.

The plane is an Airbus A310 with its slightly chubby football shape. A good un-fancy trans-atlantic ride.

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An hour-some later, I was in the plane, snapping off pictures of the neighbouring Air France jet.

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Soon we were moving and lining up for the runway.

That's right. I violated the rule of not using electronic devices aboard during takeoff.


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And off it was!

…for all my love of planes, I soon discovered that flying was a mixed pleasure for me; in fact it was a mixed pleasure BECAUSE I knew too damn much about the things.

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:52 am

Continued...
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Whoosh! The whoosh on takeoff is unmistakable. You can feel the exact moment the plane transits from being a rolling-down-the-runway vehicle and becomes an aerodynamic flyer.

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Parking lots at the airport.

My bus passed this interchange just a couple of hours earlier.
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St. Lawrence river, near Montreal suburbs.
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The plane climbed through a light layer of condensing fog before leveling out. A bit of shaking; it was a typical hot and humid Eastern North American day.

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Southern Quebec, about 20,000ft altitude. Starting to level out.

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:52 am

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Clouds over Maine.

Amusing Oto fact: This happens to be the only time that I violated American airspace for longer than 1 minute in my life (that's right, I've never been to the States :shock: I promise to fix that next year with AWA)

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One funny thing about this: the slant is accurate to what my inner ear thought was the right way up in the plane. For the entire flight I felt like I was sitting at exactly that slant.

As I said, flying the plane was a bit of a mixed pleasure for this airplane fan. Through the whole flight, I was nervous as hell, in fact. The problem is that I think I knew too well what was going on. I’d sit there measuring bank angles and mentally bitching at the pilot for doing something I found unexplainable. I’d twitch every time I saw one of the control surfaces move or heard the engines changing thrust. I’d telepathically try to communicate to the pilot my desire to avoid this or that cloud in a passing cold front, and otherwise play backseat pilot. The periodic flashing of flight data on the screen in front of me and my having an atlas in hand only made it worse.

But to sum it up in one word – it’s freaking terrifying to know a little too well what’s going on and have absolutely no control over it.

Gulf of St. Lawrence, from 30,000ft:
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Newfieland's west coast:
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*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:52 am

Finally getting somewhere – or out of somewhere…

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Labrador. Last sight of Canada for Oto for 2 months.

Sunset over the North Atlantic:
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*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:53 am

Twilight over the North Atlantic:
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(the colors here are untouched by the way. I particularly loved that creepy red glow which lingered at the northern horizon for over an hour at our northernmost point in the journey, somewhere in the middle of the ocean. The world feels both huge and small when traveling by air)

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Dawn over England

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:53 am

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Wonder if anyone who has some idea of geography recognizes this coastline?
The Netherlands
Note one of the infamous hi-tech dikes at the bottom in picture 2
Deutschland:
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Lens flares over the Czech Republic!
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Note the deployed spoiler. Not the plot kind, the aerodynamic kind.

Czech countryside:
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I love this shot (note the little church steeple!)

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:54 am

Czech countryside, continued:
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I also officially love Europe with its red-roof villages.

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FLAAAARE!!!!
(it’s a term for the plane pulling up just before touching down to smooth its descent. Quite dramatic at times – note the flaps and spoilers fully deployed)
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Landed, looks like my camera didn't screw up their ILS and make the plane crash :roll:

Goodbye plane!
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*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:54 am

I was in Prague. Seriously.
The pictures prove it:
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(advertisement for Czech tourism at Prague-Ruzyně Airport)

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I actually didn't go to Prague since my transfer was in 5 hours.

But that's 5 hours that I had to stay awake after a Trans-atlantic flight. Since I was alone, falling asleep was not an option but rather a scary possibility.

So, I resolved to walking in order to stay awake. I spent the next 4 or so hours walking back and forth through the terminal. By my calculation, the total distance I ended up walking back and forth ended up being over 12km (7.5 miles). Ouch.

This describes my state rather precisely:
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(an advert for Czech Tourism)

My hat + chair:
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I never understood what “Free Zone” means, or whether my aimless wandering about there was true freedom. :roll:

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:55 am

Oto’s hat and glasses, challenging fire safety codes:
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Challening international phone systems:
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Czech car:
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At last! Back in the plane, this time and A320 bound for St. Petersburg, a 2-hour flight away:
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*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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Otohiko
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Post by Otohiko » Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:55 am

Noon, June 2nd 2006

Onwards again!
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Gdansk, Poland - known at some point as Danzig, Prussia/Germany:
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My first sight of Russian territory in over 8 years :o
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A spit in the Baltic Sea, off Kaliningrad (Formerly Koenigsberg, East Prussia)

Riga, Latvia
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(never realized the place was so small. I’ve heard lots about this city, and was surprised that from 30,000ft up, it was so… tiny. Apologies for graininess – had to dial up contrast on this one)

*to be continued*
The Birds are using humanity in order to throw something terrifying at this green pig. And then what happens to us all later, that’s simply not important to them…

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