Khortitsa. Beauty is just around the corner

Rumour has it that BBC will shoot our island of Khortitsa in May for its documentary about famous islands. This can do us a lot of good. If foreigners take notice of our natural resources maybe our people will finally appreciate them. To start with, I would be glad if they didn't throw rubbish all around the island when camping, hiking, eating kebabs or whatever they do there. 

Here are some of my mobile photos from Khortitsa from last week.

The Church of the Saviour on Blood

The Church of the Saviour on Blood stands in the very heart of Saint Petersburg, easily visible from the Nevsky Prospect. Colourful and fancy, it looks like a birthday cake.

The Church of the Saviour on Blood, film photo, January 2015 

It drew my attention from the first sight, but it took me two weeks to make up my mind to go inside. I have seen it numerous times both in daylight and night. Still, it was a bit pricey for me and I didn’t have any discounts as I wasn’t a Russian student.

Leningrad of 80s

I have found several old postcards of St. Petersburg of around 1980’s at home.

Cover of the set, 1980

But to tell the truth this is not St. Petersburg, but Leningrad. It is in the air, in the flowerbeds, in the buses. See it for yourself

One hundred and one ticket to Hermitage

I have found some of my tickets form Hermitage lately. These are not all of them. To tell the truth I have lost count of the times I have been to Hermitage late December 2014 - beginning of January 2015.

Going to Hermitage in the late December is absolutely fine. You get in, take your ticket and relish the art you came for. Besieging Hermitage in the beginning of January can be the worst decision of your life. As Orthodox Christmas is on the 7th of January everybody is on holiday. After a few days of New Year's feast people are suddenly eager to see art. This mass craving is still a mystery for me. You have to stand in a queue for several hours to get in. You get a very nasty weather into the bargain. Cold, soaking wet, bored to death you are finally in, but you have something about an hour before the museum is closed.

A sunny winter day in Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, 2015