Digital Wanderer | Student Life

Student Life - Ice Hummocks

2004-12-31

Ice Hummocks

HUMMOCK - A block of ice formed by the compression of ice in seas, lakes, rivers. A ridge of hummocks.

Not so long ago, my friend Shurik suggested taking a trip to Jūrmala. It would all be fine, but it was the month of March outside. I've always had a soft spot for all sorts of crazy, out-of-the-box ideas, so I didn't have the slightest objection and agreed right away. Shurik, however, turned out to be more forward-thinking than I had thought: as it turns out, you can admire the sea at any time of year.

So that you don't get the urge to send us all en masse to the loony bin, I suggest taking a look at the photos.

It all started a week ago. The weather was just wonderful, sunshine, blue sky, what else does a person need? Well, you need very little — to go to lectures. At least occasionally it's better to do that, otherwise you might get completely rusty. That's why the trip was postponed until better times, which didn't take long to arrive. Just a week and a half later, Shurik brought the topic up again, and we firmly decided that on Saturday we would go admire the ordinary Baltic beauty after all. However, on the night from Saturday to Friday I was occupied by an exceptionally important issue, namely the configuration of [censored by anti-computer censorship so the reader doesn't get bored] under Linux. Having messed around with it until 5 in the morning, I learned a ton of nuances about [censored by anti-computer censorship so the reader doesn't get bored], but couldn't solve the issue. Saying to hell with it all, I dug into a completely different area, and, according to Murphy's Law, everything was sorted out in 5 minutes. And so, at 5:15, an exhausted half-corpse collapsed into bed.

Exactly 5 hours, 37 minutes and a certain number of seconds later, I was viciously woken up by comrade Razgulyaev. All I had the energy for was to ask what time it was. Having found out, still half-asleep I quickly grabbed my cell and started calling Shurik. Nothing good could come of this, and, quite naturally, I got the wrong number, scaring a completely different person with a terrifying yell of "Where are you?". When I heard the answer "In Daugavpils", I was totally dumbfounded and, no longer grasping anything at all, astoundedly uttered the brilliant phrase "And what are you doing there?".

Fortunately, having figured out the situation fairly quickly, I corrected the mistake, and calling back on another number, I found out that the traitor Shurik was already rolling along in a trolleybus to the train station, without even letting me know.

Grabbing my clothes, a "Skara" bun and a carton of milk with my teeth, I rushed to the bus stop, where I was struck by the lucky idea to flag down a minibus, which I did, as a result ending up at the station faster than Shurik. I must say that he didn't show up alone, but with a girl named Olya.

Having waited for the rest of the event's participants in the form of Artur Miller and his girl named Zhenya, we successfully loaded into the electric train and after some half an hour were already walking along the platform of the Dubulti station.

This is still Centrala stacija. That is, the Riga train station. Left to right - me, Shurik, Olya, Artur.

Soon we found ourselves on the coast.

An icy landscape.

Artur Miller

Zhenya

Four people in winter clothing stand on a vast snow-covered and icy plain under a clear blue sky, with a strip of forest on the horizon on the right.

Shurik, Olya, Artur, Me.

A snow-covered winter landscape with dozens of people walking and playing on the uneven, ice- and snow-covered surface of a body of water, against a dark pine forest and a clear sky.

Vacationing beachgoers are basking in the gentle spring sun.

Panoramic view of a historical city with a mosque and minarets on a hill overlooking the water surface. Many vessels are moored near the shore, all under a bright, overcast sky.

Miller on a block of sea ice. Behind him is dangerous melting ice.

Periodically, a siren would go off and demands to leave the danger zone would ring out.

A young man in glasses sits on a snow-covered ice ridge, with a woman standing to his right. In the background, a frozen shore with a pine forest and several buildings can be seen, all lit by the bright winter sun.

Shurik sprawled out like he was at home. However, that's typical of him.

All jokes aside, practically melted ice.

A man on a bicycle stands with his back to the viewer on a sandy lake shore, while another person sits on the grass right by the water. In the background, a dense forest and a clear blue sky with white clouds can be seen.

A cute couple.

Four young people in winter clothing stand smiling on the snow by a frozen body of water. In the background, an endless icy expanse stretches under a clear blue sky.

Conquerors of the North Pole, heroic polar explorers.

Three people peek out from behind a large snow hill against a clear blue sky, and in the background in the distance, small figures of other people can be seen.

Only heads sticking out.

Three young men pose, peeking out from behind a large snow mound against a clear blue sky.

Warm. No irony.

Four smiling young people stand on the observation deck of a spiral staircase with yellow metal railings against a clear blue sky.

The bucket of a prehistoric excavator.

A curious contraption, it wobbles and sways, I really don't care though, I'm not afraid of heights.

Two young men descend a high spiral staircase with yellow railings and a turquoise pillar, set on a snow-covered shore against a clear blue sky, while a third young man looks up at them from below.

Here's such a little ladder.

Actually, this structure is meant for anchoring the classic "Tube Slide" ride in the summertime.

Four people stand on a snow-covered field, photographed from above. In the foreground, a long shadow from a tower or other structure is visible.

Advanced youth.

I like this photo so much that I even put a large-size, high-quality copy on the server.

A vast winter landscape with a frozen surface under a clear blue sky. In the foreground stand two people, and in the distance, several figures, one of which is in red clothing, are walking along the icy plain with small hilly formations.

Ice hummocks in all their glory.

Five young people sit and stand around a large bronze statue of a turtle. There is snow on the ground, and leafless trees and a multi-story building are visible in the background.

The famous turtle.

We walked to it from Dubulti to Majori. It's quite a short distance. Then we went into a cafe. The folks drank cherry beer, which was more like cider, and I had my favorite drink — hot wine. There we also ate amazingly delicious crepes, and afterwards, having watched the patrons enough, we grabbed some donuts for the road too.

I must say that the prices in most cafes, despite the supposedly unsuitable season for tourists, are quite touristy. Everything is calculated for German burghers, for whom it turns out to be a cheap paradise.

A chop (just a piece of meat, no side dish) - 2 Ls ($4.5).

We got lucky, and got off with two lats a head for a really decent snack. The cafe was "Pingvīns", which is actually famous for ice cream, but, as it turned out, the rest is also up to par there.

Ice hummocks and piles of white and bluish ice on a frozen body of water under a clear light blue sky.

Looks like a desert. However, that's a common comparison.

A hooded crow sits atop a large pile of ice hummocks under a clear blue sky.

Someone unknown carefully chopped up huge blocks of ice and stacked them in uneven piles. The magpie in the background is given for scale.

Three young men in winter clothing stand atop ice hummocks against a clear blue sky, with the guy in the red jacket victoriously raising his hand up.

We are joyfully looking into the future.

The same chunks in all their glory.

Several people are walking along a railway platform under a bright sun, against the background of snow-covered tracks and a covered overpass. A man in a red-and-gray jacket on the right is looking directly at the camera.

Returned back.