I think I’ve mentioned we live in a Soviet-era building which on the outside is not an impressive structure. In fact, it’s pretty ugly and the words that comes to mind are: “drab, utilitarian, soviet housing, etc.” I’ve also described our man-eating elevator in a previous post that is no doubt the original machine installed whenever the building was constructed – I’m guessing sometime in the 50’s or 60’s. On the inside, however, the apartments that the Anglo-American School have are modern and spacious and very comfortable, especially if you are lucky enough, as we are, to have a two-bedroom place. “Amanda’s room” when she is not here (most of the time although she insists we call it her room in her absence) doubles as an office and photo processing studio.
In order to refurbish these apartments there must have been a complete “gutting” of the old apartments down to the basic structure of the building. I suspect however, because it is very expensive to remove and install pipes and drains embedded in walls, the original plumbing was left intact and the new fixtures in our modern kitchen and bathroom were tied into the old lines.
Very often when someone in the apartments above us (we’re on the 5th floor of 9) flushes a toilet, takes a shower or uses the washing machine (we’re fortunate that each apartment has its own washer and dryer) I frequently hear a gurgling sound especially in our bathtub drain. Having built two additions to our house in New Jersey, including doing most of the plumbing myself, I know that gurgling drains are usually caused by partially stopped up drain pipes.
While this doesn’t happen every day, often in the afternoon somewhere between 1 and 4PM the drain in our bathtub and sink belches and as you walk by the bathroom door you pass through a wretched, sometimes putrid odor that grabs your attention. Nancy says she doesn’t ever notice the smell but for me it causes fond memories of when I had to install a new drainage field on our septic tank. The smell is foul and kind of knocks you off your stride for a minute. After we come home from a week-long holiday the windows need to be opened for about 20 minutes.
I’ve discovered a quick fix for this which involves pouring a few milliliters of bleach into the bathtub and sink drains. Within 10 minutes you feel (and smell) like you’re sitting next to a chlorinated swimming pool which is considerably more pleasant than rancid sewer gas.
My theory about why this tends to happen most often in the afternoon is that when people start coming home from work and school the plumbing starts getting used more often than in the morning hours and hence the belches. I’ve also noticed an interesting correlation between the frequency of the belches and a large, obviously used plumber’s snake that sometimes sits outside the front door of our building – not right in front but within site..
When we first moved into the apartment last August, I noticed the snake was there and at the time didn’t think too much of it. At the time no belches were emitted – the pipes must have just been snaked pending our arrival. Eventually the snake disappeared. In late fall and right now in March the snake has reappeared and I’ve noticed that the belching has been much more infrequent. I’m guessing that when the blockages in the pipes reach (literally) a critical mass the snake is hauled out to remedy the problem. The times between uses are roughly every 3-4 months so the maintenance guys must store the snake away until enough residents complain and then it’s brought out again.
The snake is right there by the door now, the belches are much less frequent at the moment which seems to confirm my original hypothesis. The bottom line: Tying new, modern, sparkling plumbing fixtures into old worn out Soviet-era pipes and sewer lines is not a old idea…less expensive, but still not a good idea…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
On Saint Petersburg
22 март 2011
Two weeks ago we took a 4 day trip to Saint Petersburg on a faculty exchange trip at Nancy’s school. The Anglo-American School of Moscow has a sister school: The Anglo-American School of Saint Petersburg. We took a speedy bullet train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. The trip took a comfortable 3 ½ hours and it’s the only way to “fly”. I wish we could get everywhere by train; it was comfortable, easy to get on and off with none of the other hassles you experience when flying.
Saint Petersburg was founded and literally designed by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 along the Neva River on what was then marshy swamp land. The land where the current city stands was dredged up and fortified all under the direction of Peter the Great.
Saint Petersburg (Петербург) was formerly called Lennigrad (Ленинград) and was Russia’s former capital because Peter hated Mockva. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire the city reverted back to Saint Petersburg in 1991.
Today Saint Petersburg sits beside the Neva River with canals leading from and to it and has been referred to by some as the “Venice of Russia”. The architecture is decidedly European, also a detail the Peter the Great insisted upon. It’s a very walkable city and has the deepest (90 meters) Metro (subway) system in the world.
Walking along the streets of Saint Petersburg “feels European". English speakers are quite comfortable there making it doubly easy to navigate the city.
Peter’s enormous Winter Palace along the river is now home to The Hermitage, a world renowned museum with opulent collections of art by the great masters and other art forms of all types. The interior itself is a work of art and adds a powerful impact as soon as you enter one of six buildings. You could easily spend a week touring all of the buildings and still not see everything.
In the center of the city along a canal is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The building is similar in design and style to Saint Basil’s Church on Red Square next to the Kremlin in Moscow (see a previous post). Every inch of the church is covered from top to bottom with intricate mosaic scenes depicting Jesus, his disciples and stories from the Bible. Each stone was hand-cut and assembled creating beautiful mosaics, in themselves fabulous works of art.
If you’re interested, I’ve posted 3 slideshows: one includes images from the city; another from the Hermitage; and the third includes interior and exterior images of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. All can be seen on my site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ – click on the “RUSSIA” link and scroll down to the last 3 postings. Or, the easiest way to now view these and future shows is to click on these links: http://vimeo.com/38940121; http://vimeo.com/38972067 and http://vimeo.com/38972693. The shows will pop-up in real time and can be viewed with any machine (i.e., PCs or Macs) working on any operating systems.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Saint Petersburg was founded and literally designed by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 along the Neva River on what was then marshy swamp land. The land where the current city stands was dredged up and fortified all under the direction of Peter the Great.
Saint Petersburg (Петербург) was formerly called Lennigrad (Ленинград) and was Russia’s former capital because Peter hated Mockva. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire the city reverted back to Saint Petersburg in 1991.
Today Saint Petersburg sits beside the Neva River with canals leading from and to it and has been referred to by some as the “Venice of Russia”. The architecture is decidedly European, also a detail the Peter the Great insisted upon. It’s a very walkable city and has the deepest (90 meters) Metro (subway) system in the world.
Walking along the streets of Saint Petersburg “feels European". English speakers are quite comfortable there making it doubly easy to navigate the city.
Peter’s enormous Winter Palace along the river is now home to The Hermitage, a world renowned museum with opulent collections of art by the great masters and other art forms of all types. The interior itself is a work of art and adds a powerful impact as soon as you enter one of six buildings. You could easily spend a week touring all of the buildings and still not see everything.
In the center of the city along a canal is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The building is similar in design and style to Saint Basil’s Church on Red Square next to the Kremlin in Moscow (see a previous post). Every inch of the church is covered from top to bottom with intricate mosaic scenes depicting Jesus, his disciples and stories from the Bible. Each stone was hand-cut and assembled creating beautiful mosaics, in themselves fabulous works of art.
If you’re interested, I’ve posted 3 slideshows: one includes images from the city; another from the Hermitage; and the third includes interior and exterior images of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. All can be seen on my site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ – click on the “RUSSIA” link and scroll down to the last 3 postings. Or, the easiest way to now view these and future shows is to click on these links: http://vimeo.com/38940121; http://vimeo.com/38972067 and http://vimeo.com/38972693. The shows will pop-up in real time and can be viewed with any machine (i.e., PCs or Macs) working on any operating systems.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, March 15, 2012
On Wadi Rum Jordan
15 марта 2012
Wadi Rum is a desert area in Southern Jordan. If you’ve ever been to Death Valley in the US you will feel similarities. The sand is dotted with colorful rock formations, canyons and water holes which have been known to man for at least 4000 years.
Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon for obvious reasons. Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T E Lawrence maintained a headquarters in Wadi Rum during World War I during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans and is the site of the filming of the classic movie Lawrence of Arabia.
We toured the desert in a 4-wheel drive jeep (the only way to get around) driven by a local guide. Along the way we took on a backpacking hiker who has been hop-scotching around the world for the last several years. He had decided the deep sand was too tiring to hike across and so we offered him a ride.
If you’re interested check out a short slide show of images from Wadi Rum on my Web site at: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ , click on the “RUSSIA” link and download and view the file called wadi_rum.exe
As I mentioned in a previous post I have a new way to view slide shows regardless of type of computer or operating system (i.e., the show will play on PCs, Macs, with Windows, Apple and Linux operating systems, etc.). The slide show appears at the bottom of the RUSSIA download page or may be viewed simply by clicking on this link: http://vimeo.com/38567011 This will bring directly to http://vimeo.com/ Mouse-over the video player and click the run arrow to start the show. The music is from the original sound track of Lawrence of Arabia.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon for obvious reasons. Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T E Lawrence maintained a headquarters in Wadi Rum during World War I during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans and is the site of the filming of the classic movie Lawrence of Arabia.
We toured the desert in a 4-wheel drive jeep (the only way to get around) driven by a local guide. Along the way we took on a backpacking hiker who has been hop-scotching around the world for the last several years. He had decided the deep sand was too tiring to hike across and so we offered him a ride.
If you’re interested check out a short slide show of images from Wadi Rum on my Web site at: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/ , click on the “RUSSIA” link and download and view the file called wadi_rum.exe
As I mentioned in a previous post I have a new way to view slide shows regardless of type of computer or operating system (i.e., the show will play on PCs, Macs, with Windows, Apple and Linux operating systems, etc.). The slide show appears at the bottom of the RUSSIA download page or may be viewed simply by clicking on this link: http://vimeo.com/38567011 This will bring directly to http://vimeo.com/ Mouse-over the video player and click the run arrow to start the show. The music is from the original sound track of Lawrence of Arabia.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
On Jerash Jordan
13 марта 2012
A few kilometers south of Amman Jordan is the present day city of Jerash. Within Jerash are the ruins of the ancient city of Jerash which may date back more than 6500 years. Ancient Jerash was under Roman rule during its golden age. The city may have the most extensive examples of Greco-Roman architecture in the entire world.
Over hundreds of years the ancient ruins were nearly completely covered by sand and lost to history. During the last 70 years the ruins, which included impressive stone gates such as Hadrian’s Arch, paved streets, colonnaded buildings, baths, theatres, a cathedral and the like, have been excavated revealing this large and impressive city. While hundreds of structures have been unearthed, additional ruins remain buried either partially or completely. Extending beyond the sandy surface are the tops of corinthian Roman columns of undiscovered buildings surrounding what has been uncovered to date.
If you’re interested check out a short slide show of images from Jerashon on my Web site at: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com, click on the “RUSSIA” link and download and view the file called jerash_jordan.exe
As I mentioned in a previous post I have a new way to view slide shows regardless of type of computer or operating system (i.e., the show will play on PCs, Macs, with Windows, Apple and Linux operating systems, etc.). The slide show appears at the bottom of the RUSSIA download page or may be viewed simply by clicking on this link: vimeo.com/38415492 This will bring you directly to vimeo.com Mouse-over the video player and click the run arrow to start the show.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Over hundreds of years the ancient ruins were nearly completely covered by sand and lost to history. During the last 70 years the ruins, which included impressive stone gates such as Hadrian’s Arch, paved streets, colonnaded buildings, baths, theatres, a cathedral and the like, have been excavated revealing this large and impressive city. While hundreds of structures have been unearthed, additional ruins remain buried either partially or completely. Extending beyond the sandy surface are the tops of corinthian Roman columns of undiscovered buildings surrounding what has been uncovered to date.
If you’re interested check out a short slide show of images from Jerashon on my Web site at: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com, click on the “RUSSIA” link and download and view the file called jerash_jordan.exe
As I mentioned in a previous post I have a new way to view slide shows regardless of type of computer or operating system (i.e., the show will play on PCs, Macs, with Windows, Apple and Linux operating systems, etc.). The slide show appears at the bottom of the RUSSIA download page or may be viewed simply by clicking on this link: vimeo.com/38415492 This will bring you directly to vimeo.com Mouse-over the video player and click the run arrow to start the show.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Petra Southern Jordan
4 марта 2012
Two weeks ago we headed for Jordan in the Middle East during Nancy’s school’s winter break. One of our stops was Petra in southern Jordan where we spent an entire day hiking and exploring Petra.
Petra (near the current city of Wadi Musa) is an ancient city that was carved into the walls of sandstone canyons 2000 years ago by the Nabataeans. Many of the facades and building interiors have survived to this day. The Roman Emperor Trajan eventually claimed Petra as a part of the Roman Empire. The Roman influence can be seen in many of the sandstone carved structures.
Petra was said to be “lost to the west” in the 14th century until 1812 when a Swiss traveler named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt “rediscovered” Petra revealing the ancient city again to the west.
Today Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is visited by Jordanians and visitors from all over the world.
If you’re interested I’ve posted a slideshow of some images from Petra. Go to www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com then click on the “Russia” link. The filename is petra.exe. I’ve also posted the show on Facebook.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Petra (near the current city of Wadi Musa) is an ancient city that was carved into the walls of sandstone canyons 2000 years ago by the Nabataeans. Many of the facades and building interiors have survived to this day. The Roman Emperor Trajan eventually claimed Petra as a part of the Roman Empire. The Roman influence can be seen in many of the sandstone carved structures.
Petra was said to be “lost to the west” in the 14th century until 1812 when a Swiss traveler named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt “rediscovered” Petra revealing the ancient city again to the west.
Today Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is visited by Jordanians and visitors from all over the world.
If you’re interested I’ve posted a slideshow of some images from Petra. Go to www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com then click on the “Russia” link. The filename is petra.exe. I’ve also posted the show on Facebook.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
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