I was putting away the Christmas decorations in a box this morning - they'll go to the mezzanine to await the next holiday. And while I was doing this simple and monotonous task, I caught myself thinking that I didn't feel regret as I said goodbye to the holidays. I felt grateful for those wonderful days, I warmly remembered the holiday and seeing friends and family. But at the same time, I was happy that more than half of winter is behind us - which means that there is not much time left before nature awakens again.
With the same feeling, I started to sort through the photos taken while walking during these holidays. I combined several locations into one post, and I want to start my story with the figure of Grandfather Frost. This tall fairy-tale statue with a bag of presents in his hands is especially dear to me. The exact same sculpture used to appear on winter holidays at this location during my childhood. Over time, the old sculpture became dilapidated and was no longer installed. Instead, other sculptures and decorations appeared on a small spot near the main entrance to the Gostiny Dvor department store.
A few years ago enthusiasts made a new sculpture of Grandfather Frost and installed it on the traditional place. It was the most delightful gift for New Year and Christmas imaginable. Sometimes you look at old photos and dream of returning to that city even for a few minutes - to see a streetcar again on a street where the streetcar rails have long disappeared or to ride an old bus on a defunct route. When I see this Grandfather Frost, it's like I go back to my childhood for a little while. Grandfather Frost, a Christmas tree, and me and my mom going to the department store to buy sparklers, garlands, and firecrackers.
However, there is one difference - the Christmas tree in those years was alive. It was brought from the forest, not from a warehouse. At the beginning of the millennium, artificial Christmas trees displaced live fluffy beauties from the streets and squares. At that time it seemed to be an excellent solution, environmentally friendly and economically justified. Over time it turned out that it is a little bit wrong. Now the city installs mostly artificial Christmas trees, but there are a few exceptions. On the main square of the city, Palace Square, for a few years now they have started to re-install a tall live fir tree. So I will continue my walk and head towards Palace Square, past the Admiralty.
The Alexander Column is covered with frost. To the left of the Alexander Column, you can see the slide from which I went sledding, in early January. The slide is no longer working, but it hasn't been dismantled yet. To the right of the Alexander Column a garland on a tall fir tree shines with warm lights. I want to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress, for this I need to cross a bridge over the Neva River, and then another bridge, over the Kronverk channel. The winter day is short, and I approach the bridge across the channel at dusk.
Not far from the outer wall of the fortress, a man is preparing a hole in the ice of the Neva. This is a traditional place for winter swimming. People who like to swim in the ice-hole in winter are called walruses usually, they have organized the Walrus Club (but I have met in literature and alternative name - polar bear club). The St. Petersburg Walrus Club has a long history. It is believed that the area near the fortress walls became the base of the Walrus Club "Big Neva" in the 1960s, but I have heard more than once that people used to swim here before.
The lanterns in the fortress are coming to light up, and their yellow light shades the blue twilight. Near the main cathedral I see another Christmas composition. Meanwhile, the winter twilight is turning into winter night. I walk through the fortress to come out the other side and catch a bus to take me home. I take the final shot standing at the bus stop: at the last moment I notice another Christmas tree nearby.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |