The coldest stroll in the park

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It is Misha's birthday today, I asked him how he was going to celebrate it. "Me and some guys are going to have a bbq" baring in mind it is -11/12 outside! Olga tells me this is his tradition and he does it every year. After breakfast Olga took me to Peterhof to the great palace. The palace gardens are full of fountains, however in winter these are covered with boxes for protection and in turn these boxes are covered in snow. So if your looking for a scene you see in most of the brochure shots then winter is not the time of year to
visit. I found myself almost alone in the garden, you can walk right out to the sea front looking over the frozen gulf of Finland. It was the first time I had seen any sea that was completely frozen solid, it was an amazing view of nothing but that was the attraction. I found it very difficult to take pictures though, as soon as I took my hands out of my pockets I had maybe 30 seconds to get 2 or 3 shots before my fingers became painful from the cold. Olga kindly picked me up from Peterhof and took me back to their place for tea and cake to celebrate Misha's birthday, I met a couple of his friends and ended the evening after they left.

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