Today for the first time the Mercury (or rather an electronic sensor) breached the “magic” zero degrees F; it is now (in the mid-sunny-day) -1F; but, if the trend of the last few weeks is to continue, by the evening the temperatures will climb up to teens, or even to a “heat wave” - 20’s.
I moved a month ago out of the university hotel into rented apartment in an 8-story “Khrushchev era” building, i.e. vintage of 1960’s. Russians have this peculiar way of categorizing their buildings’ age and quality by the corresponding “era” of their ruler. “Stalin’s” buildings (pre-1960’s) are the best, with thick, well isolated walls and high ceiling airy rooms with large windows. “Khrushchev’s” are second-best; still with thick walls, but a bit lower ceilings. “Brezhnev’s era” buildings are the worst; that was the era of stagnation and cutting the corners (windows don’t fit and walls develop cracks, cement mortar crumbles, roofs leak, etc.) More recent structures are supposedly better.
My one-bedroom apartment’s biggest advantage is probably its location – 5 minutes leisurely walk from my office at the university. It is in the very center of the city with all the shops I’ll ever need right around the corner. Well – I can’t complain – it is warm, well insulated and the city-wide water-based central heating keeps it constantly at the comfortable 70F. A wild array of furniture, some of it probably remembering Stalin’s era complete the picture.
But – the internet, Wi-Fi and Skype all work…