I just discovered yandex.ru, which is something like google.com; in particular, it has a detailed maps feature, which can be overlaid with some geo-tagged photos. Here's a yandex map, centered on the Sovietskaya Hotel in the center of Kotlas. Compare that to the Google map in this earlier post of ours. The cool thing about the yandex map is the sheer volume of the overlaid pictures.
So here are some pictures of Kotlas taken by other people, but ones I wish we had taken.
Here's the Kotlas City Hall; it's right across the street from the hotel. We did get more than one picture of the City Hall, but this one's taken with snow on the ground, something we didn't see.
This is apparently a picture of a branch, but it's taken in the small park right next to the hotel on a nice sunny day. I took a few pictures in the park here, but they were all at the end of the day when the light was failing. This picture makes the park look much more inviting.
This building in a couple blocks south of the hotel. The first floor has a supermarket we went to more than once (the upper floors have apartments). Wandering through a supermarket is actually a good way to learn a little about the place where you are. The supermarket here was well-kept and well-stocked. The colorful banner on the outside is advertising.
This is a better picture than the ones we took of the train station, showing the locomotive on display and the statue of Lenin.
Speaking of the locomotive, one thing I wish we'd done is get pictures of Elena in the city of Kotlas (not just in the orphanage); in front of the locomotive would have been grand. But we didn't, so we'll have to make do with this picture of someone else's little girl. She's watching a cat.
This is a little park just north of the hotel. It's taken in the fall, and I just love the yellow light from the birch leaves.
Here's a vernacular wood-sided house. The clapboard arrangement is really beautiful. We went past this house in the car a number of times (on the way to and from the airport); I tried to get a picture of it, but the only one I got was dark and blurry. This one's nicer.
On the outskirts of town are a bunch of what you'd call dachas, I think. Many are wooden fram or log construction. This one's on the way to the airport.
Dachas nonwithstanding, most people live in apartment blocks like this one. Russian families do their own improvements to their living quarters, so you often see a patchwork facade, like the assorted balcony colors in this photo. This particular apartment is on the way to, and not far from, the orphanage.
Here's a sunny summer view of the river, taken from a point near the orphanage. We have pictures like this one, but the high summer shows better greens and blues than our photos.
So here are some pictures of Kotlas taken by other people, but ones I wish we had taken.
Here's the Kotlas City Hall; it's right across the street from the hotel. We did get more than one picture of the City Hall, but this one's taken with snow on the ground, something we didn't see.
This is apparently a picture of a branch, but it's taken in the small park right next to the hotel on a nice sunny day. I took a few pictures in the park here, but they were all at the end of the day when the light was failing. This picture makes the park look much more inviting.
This building in a couple blocks south of the hotel. The first floor has a supermarket we went to more than once (the upper floors have apartments). Wandering through a supermarket is actually a good way to learn a little about the place where you are. The supermarket here was well-kept and well-stocked. The colorful banner on the outside is advertising.
The brown section on the first floor of this building is the bookstore we visited on our second trip, with our interpreter Valentina. It was actually a really nice bookstore, with an extensive children's section. Even though it was only a block from the supermarket, we probably wouldn't have found it ourselves, and I'm glad we has a chance to go here.
This is a better picture than the ones we took of the train station, showing the locomotive on display and the statue of Lenin.
Speaking of the locomotive, one thing I wish we'd done is get pictures of Elena in the city of Kotlas (not just in the orphanage); in front of the locomotive would have been grand. But we didn't, so we'll have to make do with this picture of someone else's little girl. She's watching a cat.
This is a little park just north of the hotel. It's taken in the fall, and I just love the yellow light from the birch leaves.
A little war memorial in a park a little farther north yet. We didn't quite walk this far, and now I wish we had.
Here's a vernacular wood-sided house. The clapboard arrangement is really beautiful. We went past this house in the car a number of times (on the way to and from the airport); I tried to get a picture of it, but the only one I got was dark and blurry. This one's nicer.
On the outskirts of town are a bunch of what you'd call dachas, I think. Many are wooden fram or log construction. This one's on the way to the airport.
Dachas nonwithstanding, most people live in apartment blocks like this one. Russian families do their own improvements to their living quarters, so you often see a patchwork facade, like the assorted balcony colors in this photo. This particular apartment is on the way to, and not far from, the orphanage.
Here's a sunny summer view of the river, taken from a point near the orphanage. We have pictures like this one, but the high summer shows better greens and blues than our photos.
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