Children’s Railway

In June, I finally crossed off an activity that had been sitting on my summer must-do list for two years: visited the Children’s Railway. Shortly, it’s a special part of the railway in the city designed for and operated by school students. Here, teenagers do all the adult stuff: they drive and maintain the trains, manage traffic, and serve as cabin crew. And only in summer, you can hop aboard as their passenger.

On a rainy Saturday, my friends and I boarded a train, charmingly named Pioneer. The ride lasted just 10 minutes, but we had a great time there: we listened to a brief history of the railway, watched the greenery roll past the windows, and made ourselves comfortable on slightly smaller chairs – after all, the main audience is kids. This short trip soothed our inner children, and we couldn’t help but admire the passion these teens have for their hobby they’ve taken to a near-professional level. Looking forward to sharing more details about the location in my upcoming article! – Elizaveta

Architectural wows

Not a cue to go to bars, but this month, I found a very peculiar spot around town. It’s called Bar Vitya; it’s your regular bar, but the peculiar part is in its very St. Petersburgian twist – it’s located inside an old-day entrance hall of a revenue house, or a paradnaya as we call it here. As it is the case with the many local historical buildings, the venue has a statement-making glass chandelier, decorative moldings on the ceiling, an elegantly hidden fireplace, and a staircase leading to the second floor landing. It’s the architectural wonder you’ll experience there alone that makes it well worth dropping by the place when you’re around. – Marina

Traveling rediscovered

I hope you won’t judge me too much, but in general, I’m not a big fan of traveling. It feels like it’s everyone’s favorite leisure, but not mine. Going somewhere involves too much planning, decision-making, commuting… And it’s not always worth it. That’s why I normally go for staycations.

However, this month I traveled to Kazakhstan. And what do you know, I loved it! The red-eye flight I had to catch was, as expected, not super enjoyable. Other than that, it felt great to find myself in a whole new environment. I explored wonderful locations near Almaty, such as the breathtaking Charyn Canyon. So yeah, maybe traveling is not that bad. Now I want more. – Kseniia

Swimming training

As someone who can’t run (for health reasons), for a long time, I envied runners a little. It seemed that for them, it’s so easy to find communities to train with or other runners who’ll understand their pains and triumphs, plus there’s a ton of races held throughout the year. Little did I know that you can have all that as a swimmer as well – and now I kind of do. This month I joined a swimming school for adults, with an entire community of weathered athletes who compete in open water races every summer. Though open water is a whole new challenge I am yet to tackle, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying two intense training sessions a week. I learned that I can take on longer distances than I thought and already feel the boost for my mental health and perseverance brought by just one month of regular training. As I look forward to new discoveries, I remind you that ITMO students can join the KronBars swimming club – and find the community I craved right at the university. – Catherine

Perm

As a resident of St. Pete (the Northern Venice, the former capital, probably, the most poetic of all Russian cities, and blah-blah), I have formed a certain snobbery towards all other places – there are plenty of them, they are amazing and different, but how can they impress a person who grew up in the best city on earth? :) What a fool I was! Curiosity and love for all forms of art brought me to the Diaghilev Festival in Perm, a Siberian city of a million people I knew barely a dozen scattered facts about. And I was surprised and completely charmed by it! A green, well-kept and modern city, full of interesting places, urban legends, slightly dark humor and people, who adore their land – so inspiring! Now I dream of going to Perm in winter to enjoy the real Siberian snow-white beauty and visit all the cultural venues in the full bloom of theatrical season. – Maria