"Touring Russia in winter has enormous rewards. Imagine being in a room with twenty Matisses...and you're the only person there!"
Donad
Gibson
Landscape Architect,
Antique Shop owner
Related:
Valenki (felt boots) Factory in Vyshny Volochek >>
At -35F cars can still be used to tie horses or to store things.
Attention! If you have to resort to a horse in extreme temperatures do not allow her to run! Or stand on snow without moving for any length of time!
This turned out easier than I thought. Get on your knees first, then on your
feet, and you can get the best apples and prunes without bothering with the
ladder.
Worried about the safety of winter travel? I am not "worried". I'm positively paranoid about freezing to death in a ditch in a deserted road in the company of vocally upset clients. That's why I have two telephones from different operators. That's why the car has a portable heater with enough gas to last for at least 24 hours. And a box with food. And a sleeping bag. And an extra coat. And a bag of candles. And some drinking water. And a tent. And a gas stove and a metal cup to make tea. And telephone numbers of towing trucks serving the region where we are travelling. And the car is equipped with two batteries and an engine heater. And... And...
This is just some of the winter survival stuff. A heater, a stove, lots of candles, at a six-pack of gas, two bottles of vodka, knives, cups, two pans, a bucket, soap..
No, this gear does not take the whole car. Food, drinks, pans, forks, knives, cups, and two corkscrews just in case fit in one small case. The rest is hidden in the nooks and crevices of the car. The Chow-chow is not intended as food! Because her owner Alexandra often checks these pages I cannot say what I really think of dogs and of this breed in particular.
With a pan, frying oil, some good soy sauce, and a few spices I undertake to make a dead crow edible! Anywhere! Any time!
Page thought up in the
winter of 2005
Put together August 21 2011
Updated .....
Let others try to combat the low season by offering better deals, or just closing their offices and flying to Turkey or Egypt, the local equivalent of Mexico and Cuba. I will endeavour to make Russian winter itself into a marketable product.
Thus this page. It is here to convince you that the "true" character of the land comes out when days are short and snow is everywhere.
DISCLAIMER
&
a glimpse into my
dishonest methods:
I'm a cheater of the worse sort. I deceive not by
honest straight-forward lying but by giving technically true information that is
almost certain to result in an impression that is the exact opposite of reality. Here, in the Russian
winter series of photos, I deliberately aimed to generate that warm and cozy
feeling that's far and in fact opposite to reality. Don't say you haven't been warned. Take two pairs of footwear and
LOTS of thick socks.
.