St. Petersburg: A Whirlwind of History, Weather, and Unexpected Coordinates
ugh, okay, so i’m still trying to process everything. i’ve been staring at this data for hours, and it's…a lot. it’s about St. Petersburg, apparently. never really thought i’d be writing about a city based on coordinates and weather data, but here we are. oh, and there’s a random number at the end? who knows.
first off, the location. it’s in western Russia, around 60 degrees north. basically, smack-dab on the Gulf of Finland. 59°56′15″N 30°18′31″E - i’m not even kidding. it’s on 42 islands! can you even imagine? it’s all about the Neva River delta. they say it’s 606 square kilometers. feels… expansive, i guess.
The weather. oh, the weather. i just checked and it’s...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the temperature is -11.93°C, feels like -16.35°C. pretty brutal. the high for the day is also -11.93°C. it's humid, 85% to be exact, and the pressure is 1027. they say it's humid continental (Köppen Dfb). basically, cold winters and mild summers because of the Baltic Sea. apparently, winters can get really cold - below -40°C. i’m trying not to think about that.
apparently, it's famous for the white nights. mid-may to end-july, the sun barely sets! that’s wild. and the daylight hours are… extreme. five hours fifty-three minutes in winter to eighteen hours fifty minutes in summer. my circadian rhythm is already confused, and i haven’t even been there yet.
and the neighbors! it's close to Finland and Estonia. if you get bored, Helsinki and Tallinn are just a short drive away. Moscow is way further south-southeast, like 625 kilometers. that’s a trip, just to visit. i bet they have different weather there, though, hopefully a little warmer.
history-wise, it was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. it was called Leningrad during the Soviet era. and it’s Russia’s second most important city. apparently, it’s been a cultural, scientific, and industrial center for ages. someone told me that the city’s island geography is really unique - built on 42 islands instead of solid land. fascinating, right?
the data also mentions some…gaps. apparently, there’s not a whole lot of info about local cuisine, famous people, or the culture beyond the geographic and climate stuff. that’s a bummer. i was hoping for some recommendations. i heard something about local dumplings, but i don’t know if that’s true. it feels like there's so much to discover.
overall, st. petersburg seems like a place of contrasts - harsh winters and incredible daylight, a rich history and gaps in the information. it’s a whole lot to take in. i’m officially tired. i should probably go find some tea.
1643616350
You might also be interested in:
- https://topiclo.com/post/istanbul-where-continents-collide-and-i-lose-my-mind
- https://topiclo.com/post/just-another-day-in-paradise
- https://topiclo.com/post/santiago-shenanigans-a-messy-travel-diary
- https://topiclo.com/post/smoke-and-concrete-and-sweaty-crowds-surviving-kowloon-with-one-functioning-brain-cell
- https://topiclo.com/post/havana-a-sensory-overload-and-the-weathers-something