It’s been so
long between blogs recently because I’m spending my evenings defrosting. I’m
not quite sure what I expect -7 to feel like, but we must be getting used to it
because it’s only the frozen hair and bright red face when I enter a building
that tells me just how cold it is outside.We’ve got basically permanent snow
now; it spent most of today snowing. The Russians seem to be very resiliant to
it; we saw a babushka today shovelling snow. However she uncovered a layer of
ice underneath which is condusive to no-one’s life.
I’ve been
spending my time buying copious amounts of Petrozavodsk/Karelia souvenirs and
doing translations for rusbase.com. Mostly we’re all just feeling nostalgic that
we leave in 1 week 6 days. I’d probably shed a tear if it wouldn’t freeze on my
face the second I do so.
This blog is
going to be dedicated to the many wonderful sights that Petrozavodsk has to
offer. Many of them are, in fact, places to eat; but this is what we spend our
days doing. And we’re not even the slightest bit soz.
Lake Onega
The lake is
probably the most defining feature of the city. Probably what the Arts Tower is
to Sheffield. You can navigate your way along the length of the city by the
lake. I live about 30 metres away from it so if I can see water I’ll be able to
find my way home. It has free wi-fi so when the weather’s nice in September you
can sit there and do a few cheeky Skypes along the lovely view. There’s a small
port where you can get the ferry to Kizhi which is a very pretty island
apparently. It’ll cost you £50 for a day trip there, but there’s free
entertainment on the boat. I believe in the form of clowns and paparazzi.
Walking along the lake is really nice; there’s a whole bunch of funny statues
that serve very little purpose other than a photo opp. But there’s a
secret-telling tree. You tell it your secret and apparently it comes true. I’m
not holding out much hope for mine. During September the lake-side cafes are
open, so I’d recommend paying a visit until it gets to close and they all shut
down for the season. They’re run by creepy Azerbaijanian men who will pay you
inappropriate compliments, but if you like the attention, I see no issues
there.
 |
| On our first day, oh the nostalgia. |
 |
| Curious statue in the background |
 |
| The tree of wishes |
Petrozavodsk State University
Of course if
you’re studying here, this is where all your classes will be. When it gets to
winter time the guards won’t let you up the stairs, without serious begging, in
anything but a light jacket so we go in through the side door opposite the
лотос supermarket. It’s mostly just an act of rebellion, mixed with pride as we
exit through the main entrance after classes, mocking the guards that we
managed to get through in coats. But also the queue for the cloakroom wastes a
lot of time every day. There’s a small library, and you have to know the book
you want to get out by searching on it through the computer and then asking
someone to get it for you. The uni also has a canteen which is cheap if you don’t
have meat, but the vegetarian options consist of rice, pasta, grechka, mini
pizzas and pastries. Not a great choice, but if you’re lucky they might have a
vegi main dish which is yummy.
 |
| By sunny September day |
 |
| By Christmas November night |
The Museum
The
Petrozavodsk museum is free to get into with a student card, but more expensive
for foreigners than Russians. It’s slightly insulting. It’s quite interesting
and there’s quite a bit to see, plus a nice little gift shop for the end. But
you can get souvenirs cheaply from the kiosks on every street corner and
souvenir shops in most торговый centres.
The National Theatre
Even if you’re
not much of a theatre person at home (because I’m not), I’d recommend going to
see something. It’s quite small, but lovely inside. Tickets cost from £5-10 and
even being at the back doesn’t give you a bad view. They have a whole range of
shoes; I’d recommend The Nutcracker myself.
In the big square outside the theatre they have regular donkey rides available
if that’s your type of thing. For one week in October there’s also a market
which is definitely worth a visit. Whilst a large majority of produce sold is
cabbage and potatoes, they have a few souveniry stalls.
 |
| Nobody needs these in their life |
Church
There’s a
cheeky little church at the top of the city. If you’re facing the uni, it’s in
the direction of behind it and is in the middle of a very pretty park. It’s
free to go in and they provide headscarves at the entrance for women. They also
have a giftshop. Money to be made at every given opportunity.
Train Station
The train
station is at the very top end of Prospekt Lenina. There’s ticket machines that
don’t involve you having to talk to any annoying assistants and it does
everything in English too, and you can pay by card. The only way to get across
platforms is over the tracks themselves. Amusing if you’ve got a large
suitcase. Probaby even more amusing when we attempt to go back home carrying 3
bags each in the snow. Sleeper trains are also a must. The extra you pay to go
on one is roughly the same amount as a night in a hostel. Plus you don’t waste
your days travelling. When booking tickets, odd numbers are bottom bunks and
even numbers are top bunks. Trust me, you don’t want to be on a top bunk. It’s
horrific trying to get up there and once you are, you can’t sit up. They do
have free hot water so bring teabags and a mug for a more pleasant experience.
Ruskeala
Ruskeala is
one of those places that probably has to be organised for you by the
university. It cost us £25 for the 4 hour coach ride and the 1-2 hour tour once
we were there. I use tour in the loosest possible manner as the guy walked 10
metres in front of us the whole time in silence. It is, in essence, just rocks
and water and intricate piles of rocks. But it’s very pretty and there’s plenty
of photo opps available.
Ostrich Farm- other side of the lake
The ostrich
farm is about 10 minutes away on the number 4 bus; not very noticeable unless
you’re walking along the beach (which is also a must-do). There’s ostriches
(страусы), and none of us will ever forget that word as it’s used in every
conversation at least twice a day. It’s a really nice walk along the beach and
you basically just follow the water all the way around to the other side. You
end up walking through residential areas which consist of houses made of wood
mixed in with houses which are definitely just IKEA flatpack. Each house seems
to have a dog in their garden making you wish you’d paid the £100 to have your
rabies injections. There’s a really nice church on the other side and we got
lucky and saw some dancing adult baptisms going when we went there one Sunday.
 |
| This was the best day of my life to date. Ostriches are so cool. |
Art-Cafe
Art cafe is
probably one of the closest places to a club you’re going to find here. There’s
lots of the usual seating area, but a fully active dance floor pretty much
every night of the week. It’s free, except for some weekends when it’ll cost
£4-5 to get in. It’s mostly defined by the very steep steps leading up to it;
not enjoyable to navigate when they’re covered in ice. I’d recommend going down
on your bum. Not excessively cheap except for the house pint, as in most
places.
Begemot
It’s means
hippo. It’s pretty similar to art-cafe in every way. Sometimes costs on
weekends but free most other days. There’s a dance floor and a wide array of
cocktails, but again not all that cheap.
Cafe Blues
This is just
off of Prospekt Lenina, by the pyramid half-way down. The cheapest pint we’ve
found so far (£1.20!). It’s really small and I’ve never heard any form of blues
music there. The food is pretty cheap, but it’s very small so not recommendable
for big groups of people. We were there last night and they seemed to have
opened up a competing Friday night karaoke evening. The only hindrance to it
would be the fact that it’s a very small venue.
Sigmund Freud
This brings
me onto Sigmund Freud. Possibly the most amazing place on earth the first time
we went, but hearing the same people sing the same songs week-in week-out gets
a bit dull. However it does attract the better singers of Petrozavodsk so you’re
not forced to listen to people sing, who can’t actually sing. It tends to be
packed so it’s definitely worth popping in there during the day to book a table
for the evening. But if you ask the manager really nicely he will get you a
table, or at least some extra chairs from the back. People tend to be really
friendly, especially when you become a regular so you can just sit with anyone
really. It also has the best vegetarian menu I’ve seen here. Prices range from
£2-3 per meal, and their falafel wrap is incredible. With 4/10 being vegis here, we are best
pleased.
Maksi
Apparently
Maksi wasn’t here last year, but now it’s the most defining feature of Prospekt
Lenina. It has a McDonalds which has a window open 24/7 and a cinema on the top
floor. There’s a whole bunch of shops, including an Accessorize, but they add
on another £3 to the prices they are back home. There’s a joyous shop called
Modis which is pretty good for cheap clothes in case you find yourself in
desparate need of new clothes.
Jewish Monument
On the way
home from Lenta the Jewish population (consisting only of me) is represented by
an archway with a Magin David and a small menorah just by the cemetary behind
it. I’m not really sure what it’s about because there’s no writing or plaque.
There was also a pack of wild dogs playing in the cemetary a few days ago so I’ll
need to make a return visit for better photos and a selfie.
Kivach
Kivach is
basically where we spend the majority of our time after lectures every day. It’s
apparently a popular student hangout as it’s just opposite the uni, but we seem
to be the only students there. Our teacher, Sasha, also seems to be there
often, occasionally doing an acoustic gig which is every Tuesday night. On
Thursdays they have 2 for the price of 1 on beers. Seemingly an unlimited
offer. Portions of food aren’t that big and you get about 2 sips worth of a
drink but it is cheap. I’d recommend either a pizza (although it has actual
tomatoes instead of tomato sauce), or the блины. They’re only 40r with a
topping and so yummy. It’s also 24 hours so after going anywhere you can pop
here for middle of the night food and bad service. The waiters deliberately
avoid catching your eye and you’ll wait at least 30 minutes for anything. It’s
still somehow a favourite.
ЦУМ
ЦУМ
is a cafe at the top of the building which has the burger king opposite the
uni. At 5pm it turns into a bit of a nightclub with flashing lights, and they
play very inappropriate, verging on porn music videos all day long. The food is
really good, cheap and you get a big portion.
Moscow Cafe
At the start
of the year they had happy hour which meant it was 30% off each afternoon, but
they’ve recently got rid of that offer, as well as the menu with photos in so
now it’s just expensive and you have to actually read the menu to decide on
what you want. Not good.
Sigma/Lenta
These are
the 2 main supermarkets here. There’s a Sigma in the Maksi which is good for
convenience, and the Lenta is about a 10 minute walk. I’m a fan of the Lenta
because it is cheaper, but the Sigma has an even bigger hypermarket down at the
end of Chapaeva street. It’s probably best to get a loyalty card in each if you
plan on shopping there regularly as there’s 2 different prices for if you have
a card or don’t. If you’re buying something expensive, the person behind you in
the queue may lend you their card. Or they may tell you where to go.
Good Meal
We only
discovered this a few weeks ago, but it’s the oddest place you’d expect to find
in Petrozavodsk. It’s in the Derevyanka district which is just over an hours
walk away from the University, but the number 14 will take you straight there.
It’s been described as a place where civilisation goes to die. There’s some of
your typical Russian old-fashioned shops and then Good Meal in the middle of it
all. An American diner with a soundtrack of modern songs in a dineresque style.
Not particularly cheap, pretty much on par with typical British meal prices,
but they do have a Vegan burger which is mainly why we go. Yummy food and
definitely worth the trek to get there.
