Ice Bar

June 11, Russia's Independence Day, we went to Lyod (also known as Ice Bar in English). The bar is kept at about negative 8 degrees Celsius. Not sure how that calculates in degrees Fahrenheit. When you go in, they give you a big furry eskimo coat and boots and gloves. The outfits are quite adorable! Makes you feel like a true Russky. Then you go into this door- basically a big freezer. The place was very small yet unique. The bar, tables, couch, walls, and glasses were made of ice. There was a fur on the couch to sit on. The walls and tables had stuff frozen into it, such as flowers, bottles of colored alcohol, and caviar. The drinks were served in frozen glasses. People were licking the walls and tables, yet the brochure said it was all made of lake water, and you can't drink tap water in St. Petersburg. Hmm... no one reported being sick though. After we left, they threw out the glasses we used on the sidewalk. Easy clean-up! They played fun techno and dancing in the outfits was great. It was pretty cold, although not as much as I thought. You couldn't spend too long there, we were there maybe an hour or so with Irina (the director of the program) and Jeff (one of the professors) and Masha (my second favorite, definitely the most energetic, tutor). It was our experience of Russia in winter.