Travel and Photography | Winter in Saint Petersburg

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Winter in Saint Petersburg | Russia

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

– John Steinbeck –

I choose to travel to Russia in winter for a reason, I know that the best time to visit Russia or any four season country is during summer, that’s when most of the tourist flocking into the city and summer is consider as a high season in tourism industry, and that’s why most of the times you really can’t get cheap air travel ticket for traveling and in some places the hotel price will goes up because the demand is so strong in summer compared to winter.

Those who comes from four season country sometimes travel to Asia, to escaped the cold harsh of winter, so does those who came from tropical country like Malaysia like to travel to Japan, Korea or European country to have a taste of winter, especially those who like to play with the snow, like snow boarding or ice skating in the open.

When I was in Moscow, I share a room with this one tough Russian, he is Russian but living in Montenegro and currently traveling here and there for business reason. While having a conversation with him, he told me that Russian winter are “Strong,” that was coming from the Russian native, and I couldn’t agree no more.

Yes, I’ve been to Kashmir and Istanbul during winter and I have to say that Russian winter are very different, it was so strong, there was a time when I was in Saint Petersburg in my hostel room and I just get out of the hostel door downstairs and just a few minute outside, I could not tolerate the cold winter no more, and immediately I get back inside, I was afraid that I will be  freezing to death.

Those photographs above were taken just a few hundreds meter from my hostel, I was staying at Soul Kitchen Hostel and within a walking distance I can reach The Hermitage and few other interesting place in Saint Petersburg. After I take a couple of photographs, I immediately get back to my hostel, maybe I was not fully prepared to face the sudden heavy snowfall in Saint Petersburg, maybe next time I should get an umbrella, I mean I need something to shelter my camera since my Fujifilm X100T is not weather sealed.

One of the reason I like taking photograph in winter is because sometimes I can get a dramatic shots, bad weather usually offer a dramatic shot, it may not be  beautiful but there is something that attract me, I like moody landscape, dark gloomy sky are my best friend. For some people they will avoid traveling in winter simply because they have a limited daylight to explore the city, the sun rose around 10 AM in the morning and sunset by 4 PM (End December 2014).

High season in Saint Petersburg is during White Night in summer, which usually happen from June to July where the sun does not descend below the horizon enough for the sky to grow dark. You can explore the city from morning until midnight minus the thick down-jacket. In summer also there is various activity happen in the city. White Night in Saint Petersburg happens in June where the sun rise at 3:30 AM and sunset around 10:20 PM, about 18 hour of daylight compared to just 6 hour of daylight in winter.

If I have a chance again to visit Saint Petersburg, I’ve no doubt that I will still come in winter but with fully prepared, I mean I will get the best winter clothing and maybe bring an umbrella with me and fully explore this beautiful city on foot with my camera in my hand.  For Russians, enduring the cold frigid winter is seen as a sign of strength, and they’re proud of their city’s icy temps. Some people said that if you were to have a taste of “Real Russia,” you have to come in winter, and I’ve just did that.

“Tell mother that however dogs and samovars might behave themselves, winter comes after summer, old age after youth, and misfortune follows happiness (or the other way around). A person can not be healthy and cheerful throughout life. Losses lie waiting and man can not safeguard against death, even if he be Alexander of Macedonia. One must be prepared for anything and consider everything to be inevitably essential, as sad as that may be.”

– Anton Pavlovich Chekhov –

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