Oto in Motherland: a (huge) photo log

[Otohiko]

And this, radies and Gentleman, is where I lived at age 6:


Yep. My bedroom was right above that… hole.

There was a hole in the floor, too. Below was a seemingly-bottomless basement with a permanent layer of water. We had to keep it covered with a huge box. At night, rats would scratch against the box’s bottom. Occasionally, though, they’d find other ways to get into the house. We had to borrow a cat to keep them out.

Windows.

Yep, that’s the apartment. The ceilings there were HUGE, though. Twice the height of a normal house you’d expect.

Same windows.

To interpret:
Skins = skinheads, aka. Neo-Nazis
Majors = spoiled rich kids
Clearly then, graffiti by Antifascist kids (yep, there’s such groups in Russia too), whom in principle I support

And that’s what the view from those windows would be like.

Just imagine. Waking up every morning to THAT


View off to the right of the windows.

Graffiti reads “Rap is shit”

*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

External elevator shaft.

Ancient elevator attachments, the kind which were added to houses built before elevators were invented. I wouldn’t be caught in one of those deathtraps though!

Trash bin with graffiti


Courtyard


Courtyard window


Same courtyard


*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

River, near the fortress


A chapel next to Troitsky Bridge


Troitsky Bridge


Neva delta from the Troitsky Bridge



*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

Fortress, from the bridge



Troitsky Bridge, from the other side


Lamp post


One of the buildings that serves as storage for the Hermitage


*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

Buildings on the Palace Quay


An elaborate lamp post in front of the Scientists’ House on the Palace Quay


Windows of the Scientists’ House


A lion on the Admiralty Quay and the Kunstkammer across the river


Statues

I won’t say anything about boobs I won’t say anything about boobs I won’t say

*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

Buildings on the Admiralty Quay


Cheap Chinese food place on the Admiralty Quay


y halo thar?


The admiralty building in its usual decrepit state



*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

Another wedding party near St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Admiralty

Note where they appear to be coming out of

One of the doors to the St. Isaacs Cathedral. You can see how huge this is.


Columns

Oh hi

(again, good size comparison)

Moo


*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

A spiral staircase leading to the upper colonnade of the cathedral, the most popular observation deck in an otherwise-low-built city.




Coming up to the Colonnade…



*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

One of the 4 small cupolas on the corners of the cathedral


Astoria Hotel from above


Birds’ eye views:

The high-rise buildings you see in the background of this one are the newer part of Vasilievski island where I lived.


Neva and the Menshikov Palace at the centre


A locked spiral staircase leading higher still.

(too bad it’s locked )

*to be continued*

[Otohiko]

Looking down at the traffic below


Kazan Cathedral at centre


Winter Palace in the middle, Admiralty and the fortress on the left, Palace square and Alexander’s column on the right


Isaakeevskaya Square below, with the statue and city hall


Square, slightly right. The large wooden cupola of the Ismailovsky Cathedral, seen under restoration on the right, was destroyed in a fire just before I went back to Canada


*to be continued*