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Russia
2007 Street Scenes |
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| Moscow |
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Old Arbat Street was turned into a pedestrian mall in the 1980s, and it seems to get lots of use from tourists and natives alike. It has souvenir stores, restaurants, small grocery stores, and lots of art. |
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The same street, very early in the morning, when nobody is out and about yet. |
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This is a small lane off of Old Arbat Street. There is a little grocery store on the right, where the stairs go down, next to the Subaru. (Japanese imports! Another sign of post-Soviet openness.) |
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Our group takes a look at the painted tiles on Old Arbat Street. |
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Ben, Elaine, and Jeffrey soak up the Old Arbat atmosphere. |
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Around our hotel is a residential district with old apartment buildings and villas dating from before Soviet times. This is a typical street scene in the neighborhood. |
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A typical modern Soviet road. Moscow is ringed with several concentric circular roads, several of which are giant wide ones like this. |
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Another view of one of the ring roads. |
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Moscow seems to be experiencing a lot of growth. Here you can see a modern building (on the right) fitting in with the older buildings. |
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This is outside the entrance to one of Moscow's subway stations. |
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| St.
Petersburg |
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One of the pleasures of
traveling is spending lots of time on foot, trying to get as wide and
varied an impression as possible of the place you are visiting. This
picture shows the map I used of St. Petersburg during our week there.
The orange highlighting is where I walked, either with the group or by
myself. Click on the picture for a larger version of the map. |
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St. Petersburg is laced with canals, as you can see in this map. (Warning: large image.) The canals are the dominant feature of the city. There are tour boats that cruise the canals to offer water-level views of the 18th and 19th century buildings. |
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This is Nevsky Prospekt. Prospekt is the Russian word for avenue. Nevsky Prospekt is the main street in St. Petersburg, and today it is lined with modern stores, including the latest fashions from Western Europe. |
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Another canal view. |
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As in much of Europe, there are restaurants in the downtown section that offer outside seating. This pedestrian-only street is a perfect place to enjoy al fresco dining! |
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A normal street scene outside our hotel. |
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Occasionally the intersections of canals and streets create the need for interesting architecture, like this building on the left. |
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Modern shopping opportunities have taken over this busy St. Petersburg intersection. |
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Cobblestones and rail lines. |
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St. Petersburg is filled with old apartment buildings, many of which are in need of renovation. There is a lot of work going on, but it is going to be a long process. |
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Another rainy view of Nevsky Prospekt. |
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Here you can see the variety of boats that ply the canals. |
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Wherever you walk in downtown St. Petersburg, you get views like this one. |
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| Go on to the Group Members page. |
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