I Pay for Autumn, I Buy My Winter

It’s September 1.  Considered as the start of the BER-months, this is usually the day I would start getting excited about my purchased autumn or winter season.  Yes people, since I live on a spot where there are only two climate periods in a year, I buy my autumn and winter seasons.

Living and growing up in the Philippines which only has wet & dry seasons, my childhood is deprived of knowing what it’s like during autumn and winter.  And because I live in a climate where it is either hot or hotter, donning on thick coats, a beany and earmuffs would result to some fatal heat stroke.  Instead of owning trendy coats and jackets, me and my friends grew up possessing either a plastic rain coat or the mighty umbrella.

me and my sister love osaka!

And guess what?! During my early childhood days, I thought countries where snow falls are wealthy because that is where Santa Claus lives.  I would often wish that snow would fall in the Philippines so that it can finally get rich and Santa would have easier access getting here!

Now that I am old and my silly childhood wish for a cool autumn and frosty winter in my country will never ever occur, I purchase these seasons for me to personally enjoy and experience.  How do I do my purchase?  I simply apply for an elusive travel visa, book an airline ticket, reserve a cheap hotel and file my treasured vacation leaves so as to journey to a chilly northern or southern hemisphere spot on the planet.

Here’s some of my purchases…

happy at a snow festival in hokkaido!

braved trekking the ihlara valley in turkey during winter! 

my recent purchase! a chilly autumn in st. petersburg, russia

have always been a fan of autumn in koyasan, japan

Yeah! I envy people living on places where the leaves turn bright orange and where fine white snow falls. I guess, folks who say “people long for things and places they do not have” are so correct.  But for those who got yet hate these seasons, you just don’t know how blessed you are!  I so envy you that I even spend heaps of time and money purchasing it!

St. Petersburg Metro Stations & the Budgetarian In Me

Visiting and journeying to an out-of-country place entails a lot of readings and research.  I would usually explore the internet on how to go the cheapest and most convenient way so as to reach my hotel from the airport – should I go by train, by taxi, by bus or by other modes of transportation. 

Because I turn “budgetarian” when I travel abroad, it is a must that I have to know the Philippine peso conversion rate to that of the currency of the country I am to visit.  It is also essential to know the weather so that I can plan what appropriate clothes to bring.

I don’t join expensive, tiring and time consuming tour groups unless it is for free.  I would simply research on various tour packages and do it myself.  My point of reference during my DIY expedition of tourist spots are the hordes of Chinese tourists.  As soon as I see them, I know that I am in the right place. 

I do my own touring and not join tour groups because aside from its being cheap, I can control the time being spent on these tourist spots. I can leisurely stay as long as I want or simply pass by if such a sightseeing spot is plain and mediocre.

One classic case of venturing into a DIY-tour as based and followed from an online tour package was my touring the interesting metro stations in St. Petersburg, Russia. Available in the internet are tour packages wherein you got to be see and experience various beautiful underground metro stations within St. Petersburg dubbed as masterpieces of underground architecture.  This 90-minute duration tour package is worth 33 US dollars per participant.

Pushkinskaya station

 I spent only 45 rubles or 75 US cents when I did it by myself!  45 Rubles is the entrance fee to get inside the metro train system! Hahaha! Here are some of the photos I took when I did my own touring of the most beautiful metro stations in the world!

Ploshchad Vosstaniya station

Kirovsky Zavod station

Avtovo station

Here’s a video slideshow to further entice you to go on a DIY journey!

Magnificence of Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

One of the many highlights of my St. Petersburg, Russia adventure was the visit to the magnificent Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.  This icon had so much history in it as well as an overwhelming visual treat!

glorious!

One unique attribute of the amazing interiors is that the design on the walls were not paintings but intricate work of fastening and gluing together colorful tiny-tiny tiles so as to create massive and extravagant mosaics.  As I enter, there was a spine-tingling sensation because of the visual indulgence that this church offers.

Though I did not have the time and facility to measure, I found out in my readings that the interior’s breathtaking mosaic covers a total of 23,130 square feet, considered to be one of the largest in Europe. Can you just imagine the amount of time, passion and creativity it took to create this massively handsome building?

unbelievable!

i don’t know but this brings chills in me

sensory overload!

stunning!

selfie

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is not all appearances.  It was actually born out of an assassination that shook Russia.  This monumental structure was built on the very spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by a group of revolutionaries who threw bomb at the Tsar’s royal carriage.  And in honor of his father, Tsar Alexander III built this insanely gorgeous-looking church.  Thus, making this beautiful building a marker of significant history.

Now, have a visual feast from the video I created.

The Wishing Toe of Atlas

I happen to bumped into one quirky superstition while reading articles and editorials online about Russia’s cultural capital, St. Petersburg.  One irrational belief by the locals is about the magical powers of the huge and hard-to-miss Atlas sculptures near the Hermitage, one of the striking and imposing symbols of this lovely city.

The Sculptures of Atlas has been around since 1848 and surprisingly stayed standing even during the bomb-filled events of the Great Patriotic War.  Because of obtaining only minor damage during the war, locals reaffirmed on the unorthodox mystical nature of these sculptures.

super massive sculptures of atlas! look at how small people has become at the lower left portion of this image.

proof! hahaha!

People now would troop to these sculptures to touch the toes of Atlas which is believed to bring protection to those who rub it.  Also, locals and tourists alike come to the area to hold the big toes of Atlas because it is believed that it will bring good luck as well as make their wishes come true.

I actually got the chance to pass by three times in the area.  And three times did I go up so as to touch the wishing toe of Atlas.  One actually already came true prior to touching the wishing toe.  It is the awesome blessing sent by the heavens of seeing, feeling and smelling the charming city of St. Petersburg, Russia!

Here’s a video slideshow of photos & clips I took during my exploit with the Sculptures of Atlas.

Free Entry at the Grand Winter Palace & the Hermitage

Craving, salivating and hankering.  These are the major emotions and sensations that builds up when I had to control myself from entering the Winter Palace and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Though just a stone throw away from my hotel, I had to postpone my entry into the former winter residence of Catherine the Great as well as the world’s second largest art museum.  I had to wait and properly time myself so that my entry would basically be FREE and complimentary.  Thus, in the first few days of my stay in St. Petersburg, I was left to drool and gaze outside the magnificent palace.

I was lucky enough that my journey to St Petersburg, Russia fell on the 3^rd week of the month.  And very few tourists know that on every 3^rd Thursday of each month, entrance to the Winter Palace and the Hermitage is free.  Thus, I had to wait and postpone my visit for me to avail of the free entry.

i was one with the locals

grand!!!

majestic!!!

And when the 3^rd Thursday of the month arrived, I was one with the multitudes of people who patiently lined up so as to get inside the famous palace.  And what is so amusing and amazing about my queuing and falling in line is that I was with the many locals who well-planned their visit.  I guess only the locals knew about the free entrance.

I was unlike the usual and clueless tourist who paid for their expensive ticket online so as to cut through the queue and enter right away.  Patient and unwearied locals lined-up were actually telling me (in broken English) to simply show my printed online ticket to the guard so that I can pass through and enter the palace right away.  I simply smiled and told them that just like them, I am without a ticket.

regal!!!

imperial!!!

opulent!!!

And upon entry, you would really feel the true sophisticated Russian vibe.  Its aristocracy, its grandness as well as the splendor of Russian elegance indeed resonates within the walls and exhibits of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage.

Here’s a glimpse of the free yet super grand Winter Palace & the Hermitage.

A Beautiful Place in that Side of the Planet

Di ba nakakatakot? A question if translated in English would be “Isn’t it scary?”  This is the very question I often hear and receive from people and friends who found out that I have recently been to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Well, my usual answer would be… “It is a beautiful place in that side of the planet.”

who wouldn’t want to smile with such a blessing?

Here’s a glimpse of my Day 2 at St. Petersburg.

Rebooting My Notion About Russia

I have been watching so much American movies and reading so much American novels that my preconceived idea about Russians is that they were the antagonist.  These has always been the grand old tradition by American movies and novels  that resulted to my brain’s default that Russians are the nemesis, the traitor, the spy and the infuriated.

jet-lagged, tired and hungry (didn’t felt all that after having a glimpse of the St Petersrburg Square)

All these notions and impressions were completely wiped out from my awareness when I got to step and venture into the Russian soil, Saint Petersburg, that is.  Russians from my new appreciation are just quiet, unobtrusive, calm and subdued.  They are not the smiling kind like my people or the gregarious like the Americans, there seem to be calmness in their core that makes you be so intrigued on what they are thinking and what they really feel.

I know I just spent more than a week in St. Petersburg for me to totally dissect and explore the Russian psyche.  I had a limited exposure but at least my initial unfair idea about the Russians has been totally purged and eradicated.  Russia and their people are beautiful.  And because of this new understanding of the Russians, I will definitely be back in this fine-looking country.

Here’s a slideshow video of my first day in St. Petersburg, Russia.

First Post & Last Day at St. Petersburg

If everybody thought that Nengkoy Blog is done, dead and finish, I also thought it was.  But lo and behold! I am still here to plunk excesses in the blogosphere and exploit lots and lots of waste of internet space!

I may have suspended my blogging activity but my world travel continues.  Let me then post a Youtube slideshow video of my last day in amazing St. Petersburg, Russia!

Trip to St. Petersburg was one unforgettable journey.  Expect posts in the coming days about this adventure.

still breathing…

I am back peeps!