Oto in Motherland: a (huge) photo log
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
Estonia:
If you look really hard, you'll see the huge sprawled-out mass of St. Petersburg, Russia - the most northern city of over 1,000,000 people in the world (and it has over 5 million):
aka. Oto's hometown!
In Soviet Russia... (note the characteristic communist block apartment blocks):
Pulkovo Airport, St. Petersburg. Approaching Terminal 2:
Tu-154 of Pulkovo Airlines:
In August, a Tu-154 of Pulkovo Airlines crashed in the Ukraine. Maybe even this one. Creepy.
*to be continued*
If you look really hard, you'll see the huge sprawled-out mass of St. Petersburg, Russia - the most northern city of over 1,000,000 people in the world (and it has over 5 million):
aka. Oto's hometown!
In Soviet Russia... (note the characteristic communist block apartment blocks):
Pulkovo Airport, St. Petersburg. Approaching Terminal 2:
Tu-154 of Pulkovo Airlines:
In August, a Tu-154 of Pulkovo Airlines crashed in the Ukraine. Maybe even this one. Creepy.
*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…
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
Fuck:
After 22 hours of no sleep and constant travelling, I had to stand in line for 2 hours to this shit. Nervous as hell due to some paperwork issues which I’ll mention more later, perhaps.
After that I fell asleep and stopped taking photos for a while...
The next photos came the next day, after I arrived to my grandparents apartment.
Soviet Russian living conditions
Actually, that was my first and only culture shock when I arrived there. The apartments are amazingly tiny. The pictures can't really convey it. I had the reverse shock when I returned to Canada some two months later. It just hits you.
Which is all the stranger since, while growing up in Russia, I spent nearly every weekend in that exact apartment.
Certainly it isn’t true of all living conditions, but as Russia lacks a true middle class – all but a small elite live in cramped quarters to say the least. The buildings are also in horrible condition, though it doesn’t seem like their mere 35-year age is all that much. But they are honestly incredibly stupidly-constructed pre-fab concrete block card houses. Sometimes there's odd noises coming from the building; the rumble from traffic seems unreasonable and the 9-storey block sometimes shakes. By the time I left two months later, two doors located in the same area stopped closing at all (I suspect because the building slightly deformed while I was there). Disturbing to say the least, but that’s normal real estate for most Russians.
Oh, I’m only beginning to scare you up. Before I go any further, allow me to disclaim that – as my pictures show – I love that city and don’t think Russia is hell at all, but there are many facts of life there that have to be adjusted to.
Some pictures from a typical Soviet Russian kitchen:
*to be continued*
After 22 hours of no sleep and constant travelling, I had to stand in line for 2 hours to this shit. Nervous as hell due to some paperwork issues which I’ll mention more later, perhaps.
After that I fell asleep and stopped taking photos for a while...
The next photos came the next day, after I arrived to my grandparents apartment.
Soviet Russian living conditions
Actually, that was my first and only culture shock when I arrived there. The apartments are amazingly tiny. The pictures can't really convey it. I had the reverse shock when I returned to Canada some two months later. It just hits you.
Which is all the stranger since, while growing up in Russia, I spent nearly every weekend in that exact apartment.
Certainly it isn’t true of all living conditions, but as Russia lacks a true middle class – all but a small elite live in cramped quarters to say the least. The buildings are also in horrible condition, though it doesn’t seem like their mere 35-year age is all that much. But they are honestly incredibly stupidly-constructed pre-fab concrete block card houses. Sometimes there's odd noises coming from the building; the rumble from traffic seems unreasonable and the 9-storey block sometimes shakes. By the time I left two months later, two doors located in the same area stopped closing at all (I suspect because the building slightly deformed while I was there). Disturbing to say the least, but that’s normal real estate for most Russians.
Oh, I’m only beginning to scare you up. Before I go any further, allow me to disclaim that – as my pictures show – I love that city and don’t think Russia is hell at all, but there are many facts of life there that have to be adjusted to.
Some pictures from a typical Soviet Russian kitchen:
*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…
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
View out the window:
It might look OK, but actually, that area is rather ghetto. It hadn’t been so obvious to me when I was younger. I sincerely disliked it, thought it was unsafe and always snuck off to another part of town (where I mostly grew up and went to school) to see my friends.
A big part of it was that there was a disturbing number of groups of young shady-looking men talking loudly and consuming alcoholic beverages (people drink on the streets. All the time. It's amazing, but you can't walk 10 meters without seeing someone with a beer bottle.)
My main fear walking on the streets in that part of town, though, was stepping on a [medical] needle. These were also encountered with disturbing frequency – not used for medical purposes, if you know what I mean.
Later in that area, I was also treated to the pleasure of standing for 5 minutes waiting for someone to open the door for me - while a few meters away, two somewhat intoxicated men were arguing loudly and threatening each other with bricks.
And if that’s not enough – about 10 years ago, the same apartment block was partially evacuated after some explosive stored by terrorists in the basement blew up, ruining a two-floor section, about 50 feet wide. It was repaired and the building still stands. Only one person was injured in that incident – an old lady who was sleeping in a first-floor apartment and was reportedly blown out of it with her bed.
I wrote a story about that in an English class in Canada – saying “man, I wish I was there when it blew so I could see that old lady flying through the air!” My teacher was bepuzzled and dismissed it as some nonsensical fantasy, perhaps for fear that one of her students might think of something so obviously wrong, I think. At the time I didn’t think of it as anything incredibly wild.
That’s shady areas for you.
It might look OK, but actually, that area is rather ghetto. It hadn’t been so obvious to me when I was younger. I sincerely disliked it, thought it was unsafe and always snuck off to another part of town (where I mostly grew up and went to school) to see my friends.
A big part of it was that there was a disturbing number of groups of young shady-looking men talking loudly and consuming alcoholic beverages (people drink on the streets. All the time. It's amazing, but you can't walk 10 meters without seeing someone with a beer bottle.)
My main fear walking on the streets in that part of town, though, was stepping on a [medical] needle. These were also encountered with disturbing frequency – not used for medical purposes, if you know what I mean.
Later in that area, I was also treated to the pleasure of standing for 5 minutes waiting for someone to open the door for me - while a few meters away, two somewhat intoxicated men were arguing loudly and threatening each other with bricks.
And if that’s not enough – about 10 years ago, the same apartment block was partially evacuated after some explosive stored by terrorists in the basement blew up, ruining a two-floor section, about 50 feet wide. It was repaired and the building still stands. Only one person was injured in that incident – an old lady who was sleeping in a first-floor apartment and was reportedly blown out of it with her bed.
I wrote a story about that in an English class in Canada – saying “man, I wish I was there when it blew so I could see that old lady flying through the air!” My teacher was bepuzzled and dismissed it as some nonsensical fantasy, perhaps for fear that one of her students might think of something so obviously wrong, I think. At the time I didn’t think of it as anything incredibly wild.
That’s shady areas for you.
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…
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
Those who know of my affinity for military history can easily guess the first attractions I went to see...
A Torpedo Boat on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, set up as a monument to WWII sailors. Defitely was top-of-the line in WWII - even has a pretty good radar on it!
D-2 submarine, also from WWII.
I took a LOT of pictures of it, and perhaps I'll post more later. Just some key ones now.
F'n kids
That's right. Oto with a periscope.
*to be continued*
A Torpedo Boat on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, set up as a monument to WWII sailors. Defitely was top-of-the line in WWII - even has a pretty good radar on it!
D-2 submarine, also from WWII.
I took a LOT of pictures of it, and perhaps I'll post more later. Just some key ones now.
F'n kids
That's right. Oto with a periscope.
*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…
- Otohiko
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 8:32 pm
Chilling in the boat’s officers’ mess:
Loading dem torpedoes:
*to be continued*
But somewhat later. If people want to.
Do I keep this up or am I boring you already?
Loading dem torpedoes:
*to be continued*
But somewhat later. If people want to.
Do I keep this up or am I boring you already?
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…
- Arigatomina
- Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 3:04 am
- Contact:
- downwithpants
- BIG PICTURE person
- Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2002 1:28 am
- Status: out of service
- Location: storrs, ct
montreal airport is gotta be the worst airport i've been to.
the airplane pics are cool.
the airplane pics are cool.
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- Minion
- Joined: Sat May 22, 2004 10:16 pm
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- Vlad G Pohnert
- Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2001 2:29 pm
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada