News: 2007-02-16

St Petersburg winter 

After incredibly warm November and December (eight degrees above zero centigrade) winter came to our city at last: 18 degrees below zero centigrade!! But if you think we spend our days off sitting in front of TV or drinking beer in warm apartments, you are mistaken (though for many it is a usual way of spending their leisure time)!

Even when it is -20C you can see people sunbathing, standing against the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. But more spectacular are the ice swimmers, also known as the "walruses" of St Petersburg. If the Neva is frozen you can see a12-square-meter pool cut into the ice near the fortress. Here the walruses are taking a short ice bath- you never know when; they will dive in whenever they fancy! Russia has along tradition of ice swimming-also after banya (a Russian sauna) people like to take a quick dip in cold water or in the snow. Ice swimmers believe it is good for their health, preventing colds, flu and other illnesses (though other cultures think it can causes heart attacks!)Ice swimmers don't always like to be pictured!

The tradition of ice fishing is for many Russians a way to survive winter by selling the caught fish on markets and along highways, but it is also a professional sport. If you want some catching action of your own, here's what to do. Buy an iron hand drill, a wire, some bait and some vodka, put on your warmest clothes, and head out on the Neva River, Ladoga Lake or the Gulf of Finland and look for the other fishermen, because that's where the biggest catches will be. It's a men's game, for women are said to bring bad luck.