My Favourite City

My favorite city

I’ll be damn short (but in the end, I wasn’t!). I could pinpoint Saint Petersburg, my hometown, as a great tourist attraction. But… it is boring to me. You can check it out without my assistance. 

I will talk about a place once considered a Russian town, called New Archangel. It was named after a famous Russian town, Archangelsk, situated on the banks of the White Sea up in the north of Russia.

New Archangel, or Sitka, or Shiitka, as Tlinkits named it in times immemorial, back to the Ice Age, is a nice place located in South East Alaska. According to some reports, it is one of the US 10 most small beautiful towns. 

Oh boy, it is nice! It is located on the banks of the North Pacific, surrounded by mountains, with Mount Edgecombe dominating the whole area with its snow-capped top.

There are forests of Sitka spruce that surround it. Plus gorgeous St. Michael’s cathedral as the Sitka’s main landmark, a paramount symbol of the town. A talk of the town. This temple is situated on Lincoln Street, which is Sitka’s main street. It was erected in 1866. in 1967 it burned down, but then it was fully rebuilt by Sitka’s people because it was – and still is – an essential part of Sitka’s Russian heritage. 

There are mighty rain forests surrounding this small town that I used to walk with a camera enjoying my lone trails… There are fantastic totem poles erected by Tlingit artists inspired by thousand-year-old history. Similar totem poles exist on the Kamchatka peninsula, a thousand miles away still sharing the same ancient traditions going back to the Beringia epoch…

Sitka is full of Russian history, beautifully combining it with Native Alaskan and contemporary American eras. This is why I call it my favorite Russian town. You walk the streets, and you feel the Russian spirit, just like in fairy tales: it is unbelievable, it is intangible! You can’t describe it rationally, it is just something in the air…

At the beginning of the 19th century Alexander Baranov, Alaska’s first governor, as acknowledged by Americans, too, established this place right on the remnants of an ancient Alaskan’s Native Tlingit Shiitka village. A very ancient place that smells of history… Two bloody conflicts between Russians and Aleuts on one side, and Tlingit tribes on the other, took place in 1802 and 1804 before a truce was established that determined Russian America’s (and Alaska’s) history for decades to come…

…walking Sitka’s streets under clear blue skies, if you’re a Russian, you can check out some Russian toponymic, like Baranof island, or something else. But, as I said, this beautiful fisherman’s town, surrounded by mounts covered by northern trees, is speaking Russian though not so many Russians live here. There is a Grandpa Frost souvenir shop. There is the temple, St. Michael’s. There is Castle Hill with Russian cannons that is full of history. In the Russian period, it used to be called ‘North Pacific’s Paris’ with gorgeous balls organized by Russian nobles back in colonial times. 

On Alaska Day, October 18, they celebrate a ceremony of Alaska’s purchase by the United States from Russia. I was there on its 150th anniversary, October 18, 2017…

I’ve been twice to Sitka. The happiest time of my life. It feels very Russian though it is now purely Alaskan and American. It is really hard to say but it feels like home, though thousands of miles, a continent, and an ocean away from where I currently live.

It is magnificent… When I’m old, I want to spend my last years in this tiny town squeezed between a great ocean, and great mountains and forests. Cold, clear, and beautiful. Just hearing the ocean’s breath…

P.S. 

Don’t forget to check out the Baranoff Island Brewing Company beer spot!

My favourite city

It would be so easy to say “London” because it surely has everything you could ever want; theatres, shows, pubs, attractions, a brilliant transport system and most other things.

But it doesn’t have something that my favourite British city has – charisma, charm, eccentricity and a satisfying blend of history and renaissance.

Bristol is a city in the south western part of England. It was a hugely important port, from which John Cabot, in 1497, became the first European to land on mainland North America. It has an international airport, a rail centre, is close to the junction of two of England’s longest motorways, and to this day, remains a distinctly quintessentially British city.

So, what’s so special about Bristol? Well, firstly, it gives its name to over 30 other places in the world, with mostly America responsible for stealing it, having 29 Bristols there at the last count.

This city is renowned for capturing the hearts of photographers, musicians and artists, and leaves a lasting impression on all visitors. It offers a warm welcome to people from all walks of life, and has a strong LGBTQ+ community.

Bristol is draped in charm and wonder. The iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge, across the Avon Gorge, designed by the incredible Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, should be another wonder of the world. Surrounding it you will find and enjoy charming pubs, quirky music venues, and fun festivals, and you can learn about its very special relationship with hot-air balloons! 

It’s also a city that you can, with just a reasonable amount of energy, walk around to take in the street art and incredible architecture, and to learn about its deep-rooted and fascinating history. The aerospace museum there contains the last-ever Concorde to fly.

The legendary BBC Natural History Unit, famed for its series like “The Blue Planet” and “Life on Earth”, has been based in the city since its inception in 1957. To cap it all, my most desired drink of my childhood, Ribena, was invented right here.

Bristol is a masterpiece and somewhere you should visit while you can. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

My Favorite City

First of all, I’m a small-town person. But after some thought I decided not to talk about the little places where I have lived. That’s because you will have never heard of any of them. What’s the point? But I do like them and I have lived in several small towns on different continents. They all share the important qualities I look for.

Here’s my criteria for this article:

• It’s big enough that people know what I’m talking about
• Decent climate (I love Florida & Texas but hell no)
• Beautiful skyline
• Good economy
• I have to have been there myself

That last one lets out Hawaii and North Dakota. I’m also going to throw out Nevada. Those guys always say “It’s hot but it’s a dry heat.” Two issues: First; they’re lying bastards and second; I’m precious and could wilt. But that’s OK, America has several beautiful cities and I have a decent list to choose from.

So I ended up with two from which to pick…

Denver, CO. OK, nobody ever went wrong betting on the mile-high city. With the Rockies as a back-drop you will certainly love the views. The place is loaded with personality and history. Even the NFL team is called the Broncos. 

If you drive outside Denver, you’ll discover honest-to-God ghost towns. Real Cowboy/Western towns that look like a movie set, except they are real and nobody lives there. I’ll take those memories to my grave. Colorado is a place you will never tire of. If you live here, you’ll need a tent and camping gear. You’ll discover fresh air and mountain Aspen speaks to your very soul.

Seattle, WA. Denver & Seattle have totally different personalities. This city looks across Puget Sound. Damn… this is easily one of the prettiest places on Earth. 

If Denver is about the Wild West, Seattle is all about technology. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing call the area home. Love coffee? This is your Mecca. These folks are serious about coffee and gourmet coffee shops litter every street corner. Of course, Starbucks is from Seattle. The Pacific Northwest is simply enchanting.

To my mind, it’s not so much about which town is better, it’s more about your personality. Do you want to watch Broncos or Seahawks (human or animal)? Like your coffee from a tin cup hot off the oak fire or with your name written on the outside and a tasty blend inside?

Both places are amazing but I must chose. For me, its Seattle: I love the ocean, the ships, the sea smell, and the islands. The city has impossibly tall, thin, glass skyscrapers and a sophisticated, urban personality. Of course, I would pick some small place outside town.