Daily life for Petersburg residents

In two weeks you are able to observe at least some aspects of daily life of Petersburg residents.
The very first thing you encounter while finding your way around in Russia, is the communication with the Russians. Russians do not smile. At least not when they meet you or when they talk to you. If you smile, like I am used to in the Netherlands, people will foremost think that there is something funny about them. Politeness is shown by saying "here you are" and "thank you" and not all kinds of difficult constructions that I am used to like, "would you please..., could you be so kind...", Russian style: say what you want and add "thank you"! When you come across people in the street you don't say "hello". Now here's the challenge for me. When I entered my apartment the other night, someone else entered the building as well. I just said "hello" in Russian and... he said it to me too. We went in the elavator together and when I left, I looked at him and said "goodbye". I had the man smiling and saying "goodbye" to me too :). My teacher said that I must have met a quite nice Russian guy then.
In earlier pictures you have already seen some of the buildings surrounding our apartment. Nastya showed us a little different way of living during one of her pratica. Small alleys and many courtyards, where people get together. Tey either sit together on a couch in a small parc or in a childrens playing ground.

 

Find the cat

This is another old/new example: take a look at the elevator on the left on the outside of the building and the elevator on the right.

Besides the small parcs there are many spacious parcs. One example is the Mikhailovsky yard, where you can watch many newly wed's taking their pictures of their Big Days.

Mikhailovsky yard surrounding the Russian Museum

Bride and groom with their guests

Not only the parcs, but basically all the streets are very very spacious here in Saint Petersburg. You must be really carefull though crossing the street, because people are driving like it was the German highway. And of course there are traffic rules, but why bother following them?
In the streets of Saint Petersburg you'll find all kinds of public transportation: busses, small busses called marshrutka, trams and taxi's. The main transportation remains metro however, the one in Saint Petersburg being the deepest of the world, because of the rivers and the canals.

While walking the streets of Saint Petersburg you have a big chance of reading a love message written by a boy in front of the house of his lover, something typically Russian.

"Ja lublu tebja" (I love you)

Speaking of typically Russian, being here can not go without having tasted Russia's most famous dish, accompanied by a typically Russian drink, both worth trying:

Borsj en mors

Well, that was a short and certainly incomplete description of Russian residential life, but it reflects my acquaintance of the Saint Petersburg people and I hope you liked it!