Since I’ve checked out everything I wanted to see, I decided to get out of town.

I took the red-line all the way to the end, outside of Saint Petersburg, to a small town called Мурино (Murino), in Leningrad Oblast.

An oblast is like a little state within the nation. Like DC or Rhode Island.

This was the first “subway” that wasn’t underground, being much like a regular train station platform. Also, every other station has the platform between the tracks, this had the tracks between two platforms, which also means you couldn’t just get on the opposite train and go backwards. All doors led out, returning requires another ticket.

First thing I noticed was these huge apartment buildings, larger than anything in the city.

I walked along, having no destination, just trying to get lost. Hard thing to actually do.

There were many single family houses. Many were interesting, but everyone had a corrugated steel fence or wall, I wasn’t going to get good pics. Whether for noise or privacy, probably both.

Despite the first real graffiti, it did seem to be a decent place to live. Quiet, not too much traffic.

I passed by a small memorial for the aviators lost in WWII, with a cemetery behind it. The cemetery had fences around all the grave sections, perhaps to show the family’s area. It was somewhat overgrown, not weeds, but trees and bushes. You couldn’t really see far away.

Between the fences, you had about a foot or so to walk through. Interesting, most of the tombstones had photographs or etched images of the deceased. That is somewhat new in America, so to see it on 50+ year old graves, is surprising.

There was a small park, overlooking the Reka River. The sketchiest bridge I have ever crossed, lies over the river. I passed a small pond, with a mallard duck. I quacked to it, but it didn’t understand my accent.

I browsed through the local garden center, not like I can buy anything. It was larger that the supermarket, the Лента (Lenta). Lenta had more beer, wine, and spirits than anything else. I suppose that tells you something about the life there.

The buses in town were very modern, but the few I seen here were 1960’s at least, if not war era. Surprising, since most everything here, except houses, looks newish. The houses do need some work.