blue flower

saint-images homepage

Curiosities

Stuff I saw that I found curious. In other words, you probably don't care. :)
A lot of them are put there so that the next time I visit these places, I could check if the thing is still there.


03.12.2022

New Zealand proposed flag

A wine store in a local mall is (perhaps unknowlingly) using a proposed flag, specifically the "Silver Fern Flag", on the New Zealand wines shelve. I wonder how they ended up using it, given that it's not even the most widely used version of the flag.

20.10.2022

A pipe with a thermometer

A power plant pipe in Murmansk that has a functioning thermometer on it. (the photo is not mine)

18.10.2022

Fine tableware

A few pieces of tableware from the apartment I stayed at in Murmansk. I think these look really cool.

09.10.2022

Unexpected Hopper

A large piece from Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" on a derelict ad stand in Saint Petersburg near J's house. They don't call it the cultural capital of Russia for nothing.

05.10.2022

A yellow folder

A folder in my local clinic. The text label on it says, with large letters, "Yellow Folder". Most of you don't know Russian, so you'll have to trust me on this one.

30.09.2022

A picture in an elevator

A picture on a small display in a random elevator I used. I just found it mildly amusing and curious.

14.08.2022

A cat ad

Not all of the advertisment stands in Saint Petersburg metro are occupied by actual ads, so sometimes you can see some cute stuff on them, like this one on Zenit station, which is literally just a picture of the very respectable Mr. Cat.

29.04.2022

A duck among pigeons.

The security guards of our office building love feeding the pigeons by throwing stuff out of the windows in the background. One time I saw a duck pretending to be a pigeon to get a slice of such a generous pie.

02.02.2022

A broken toy revolver.

A broken toy revolver on the sidewalk. A kind of a sad sight.

22.01.2022

An aquarium in a clothing store.

While my mother was busy picking a robe for her sister, I was busy pondering these fishes.

07.01.2022

A jukebox

A jukebox used as a decoration in a cafe in Saint Petersburg. I don't know whether it's in a working condition or not.

06.01.2022

A toilet not for the lonely

A toilet room in the cafe in Saint Petersburg. It has a truly interesting floor plan; the two water closets are not separated by any wall, and there are two entrances on the opposing sides of the room. The person entering from one of them has a clear overview of both water closets. The first door is seen on the second photo; the second one is behind my back and a bit to the left.

I Speak Very England

This housing project's name is "Zalive", which is a Latin transcription of the word "Залив", meaning "a bay". In order to comply with the local laws, they gave the "translation" of the "word" "Zalive", making it look like "Zalive" is indeed the word for "bay" in English. It's like how as a kid I used to think that English language is just Russian written in Latin letters.

05.01.2022

Contactless Card Insert To Gain Power

An amusingly translated enscription on the card holder in the hotel I stayed at in Saint Petersburg. As you can see on the photo, I've Gained The Power.

As of 09.10.2022, the last time I stayed at this hotel, the enscription is still there.

26.12.2021

A bottle of vodka

A bottle of vodka seen in a trash bin in a toilet cabin at the main railway station of my city.

11.12.2021

Empty mall

A newly opened mall near the city centre with it's second floor almost completely devoid of any shops or customers.

22.10.2021

Scattered price labels

A pile of price labels was discovered at an electronics store.

A concealed bottle

A bottle hidden in some kind of a utility compartment in one of our office's restroom.
The bottle looks quite dusty and old; the label says "Russian Troika". There's little doubts that it must have been vodka.

17.07.2021

Doorway people

Some more doorways with sculptures surrounding them. All of these are on the same building.
The first one depicts what I think are fishermen, and the other 2 look like some goddeses.
The ad on the last door offers treatment of PC and internet addiction for kids in middle/high school.

04.07.2021

Camera-shaped building entrance

A store entrance shaped like a photo camera. You enter directly into the lens. *_*
As a kid I saw this store quite often, and I remember it was a Kodak photo shop. It's long gone, but the entrance is still there.
These days this place is occupied by a pharmacy.

the store in 2010, back when it still was a photo store (although no Kodak branding is visible anymore)

the store in 2016

the store in 2021

03.07.2021

An ambiguous toy bus

My little cousins's toy bus. The driver's seat is on the left, like on an LHD car, but the passenger's door is also on the left, which would have been ok should the bus have been RHD, but it is incorrect as the door should be on the right side.

23.02.2021

Enscribed tree

An old tree in a forest near Pravdinsk. It has a lot of carved tags and messages, some of them rather high. The oldest one I found was carved in 1978 by a man named Valera. I wonder where's Valera now...

31.05.2020

A jar of pickled tomatos

A jar of pickled tomatoes left by someone on the roof of a car, presumably to punish the owner for asshole parking.

16.10.2019 - 20.10.2019

Abandoned thermoflask

A thermoflask abandoned in a nearby yard. It's been there for 4 days and then disappeared. On the third day it fell down, but on the fourth day, it found the power to stand up and occupy a concrete block.

05.10.2019

GTA San Andreas cheat on a fence

Someone wrote the invincibility cheat from SA on a fence.

22.08.2019

A very small excavator

This excavator is very small and very cute ^_^.

14.06.2019

Talking fellows doorframe

This building's entrance is framed with a bas-relief depicting people talking on the phone. The building was built in 1928 and, apparently, served as a place where people could use a telephone. These days it's a typical Soviet-style office&business center.


Upd. 24.10.2021: the talking fellows are feeling much better now that the atrocious signs on the doors are gone.

31.08.2018

Abandoned bumper car

A bumper car found abandoned in, at the time, one of the least known villages of Kaliningrad region. Features a shark artwork, rawr.

28.06.2018

English football fans

English fans spending their time in local cafes before the England-Belgium footbal game that took place in Kaliningrad during the 2018 World Cup. The World Cup was indeed a very exticing time for Russia.