Market Friday: Happiness coins, books and chocolates

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This past weekend @qwerrie and me took a fascinating walk; our goal was to visit the International Book Fair. We also stopped by other interesting places. Two days ago I began to tell you about our challenging route on the way to the books. Today I want to continue and finally get to the book stalls.

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Here is a place where you can buy money

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But first, I'll make a quick stop near the young blacksmiths' street counter where you can buy money. Here you can make your own coin, and it's not some virtual token, but a real metal coin with weight and volume.

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The blank for the coin is clamped in a vice, a shape with a suitable pattern is chosen (it can be the sign of the zodiac or a good luck charm), and then you have to take a long lever to stamp the pattern on the metal. Considerable effort is required, and young blacksmiths help with the task.

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Coins are a popular tourist attraction, and we would have passed by if not for the amusing figurines of animals, birds, and insects adorning the counter. Handsome little creatures! I can't decide which one I like better. A mosquito? A spider? A crow?

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Palace Square looked nothing like I had expected. Open stalls, stacks of books on the paving - I was expecting something like that. But it turned out that the organizers of the fair took into account the vagaries of the weather, and built tents to protect the books from possible rain. It turned out very sensible, but not romantic or photogenic.

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The stalls with books were hidden in the depths of the tents, and after a sunny day our eyes were not immediately accustomed to the semi-darkness. We peeked into one of the hangars and it was very crowded, so we hurried back outside to the light and air. Outside, a stage had been set up in the square for writers, poets, and publishers to perform. There were musicians taking the stage during breaks, and we took the opportunity to listen to a small concert.

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There was one wonderful detail in the organization of the exhibition space: the main temporary book room had a flat roof which was accessible to the public. From that roof we looked at Palace Square from a new angle. There was also a special place on the roof for taking commemorative pictures.

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We decided to take a short break and went to a bakery and coffee house. This format is very popular in St. Petersburg. Small cafes where you can buy coffee or tea, a cake or a sweet bun, and sit on a comfortable sofa to relax. Such bakeries can be found in all districts of the city. I took a picture of the storefront to give you an idea of the variety. Pastries cost about $1 on average, drinks about the same.

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Along the way, I took a picture of an advertisement for a catering establishment of a slightly different kind. The place is called "The Museum," but it's actually a store of various chocolate products inside. The chocolate figurines look very varied, and some actually replicate museum sculptures.

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SmartphoneGoogle Pixel 3a
LocationSaint Petersburg, Russia

This is my entry for the #marketfriday challenge by @dswigle.



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29 comments
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https://images.ecency.com/p/54TLbcUcnRm4Bw8fmw3Y3deXChf9UQSDSsMgDEZRnRp9hDU7o64uESM93PeHLTu6btw4k6humZ7j7aZFK8VNaQU3ZMjTLpBwock5GJwYMGEDQFr6z2QvTP9fGWqe6XESMc4otqkCn.webp

this one is so cool! maybe my very fave from that day. me an the chocolate lady is, like... I count it as one of your best shots of the year!!

!PIZZA

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Thank you so much:)))

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Great to see the follow up today @tatdt 🤓
Those birds are special little creatures in metal. What a wonderful place to visit. And than you can make your own coins.
What a beautiful buildings in the background. And so lively on the square. All the people having a great time. And by the looks of it you and @qwerrie had a great time too 👋🏻😁
Chocolate… yep… my favourite thing around 🍫 can’t do without hahaha bring me more hahaha

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If you happen to visit St.Petersburg one day, you surely are in the know now and will not miss that place! in fact, the city is packed with splendid museums, wonderful places and visuals! You won't regret visiting it. Hurry up, before US nukes did not fell here, bwa-haha....

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O my @qwerrie hahaha 🤣😂 you made me laugh there hahaha
Nope I haven’t been that far East yet. But one day it would be great to visit. One day 😁

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same here - I didnt visited any West too far. Poland, Warshava was the most far point up to date.

!BEER

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I went to Romania… the coast of the Black Sea… the furthest, but those where different times. With my mother, when I was a child. Must have been around ‘81 I think. Other than the photographs I don’t remember it.

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some black humour is all we are left to. ehehe. glad you understand it in a good way, and it made you laughing. 👍

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I sure did get it 😉
Yes… humour is good. We need to smile 😁 never stop!

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Yes, we had a great time! Thank you so much:)

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Do you know the legal name of @themarkymark ???? It is needed to contact his local police station. Any information to his whereabouts would be much appreciated.

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(Edited)

I was so glad to see the follow-up! That really was a great shot of @qwerrie and the chocolate lady. I can see the temptation, as a matter of fact, I am sure I hear her calling him by name.

The blacksmith a the making of coins are fascinating! Did you make a coin? I am pretty sure that would be a really popular tourist attraction. I can remember when I first started traveling in college, a small something to remind me of my time. That sounds like a perfect something!

I can't decide which one I like better. A mosquito? A spider? A crow?

Let's call it a draw! I wouldn't be able to pick! Sometimes you just have to go with them all.

Palace Square is huge! I have to agree with you that the tent really takes away the ambiance. But, if it rained, the other would have been sad to lose so many books. Fairly crowded or at least more than I have been used to lately. It is mixed here, Washington, DC isn't nearly as crowded (or as grand!) as St. Petersburg. They just don't have as many
tourists right now. The little cafes are everywhere, aren't they!? I think they are an important part of us now. Best idea ever! Well, except for that chocolate museum! That was brilliant!

Did you take your picture at the commemorative place for a souvenir? Hehe

Thank you for showing off the rest of the day! This was so much fun and I appreciate you bringing it to #MarketFriday!

Fridays are all about the #MarketFriday Challenge! Looking to take part in it? Here is how:


Rules of the Road to Join #MarketFriday!

  1. Go to the market, or anywhere that you pay money for a service.
    Take pictures! Be creative!
  2. Tell us a little bit about the market or the event. What brought you there? What did you buy? How much did it cost?
  3. Post the picture(s) Of course, you should tell a little bit about the ones you post
  4. Use the MarketFriday Community Platform to post #hive-196308 (this is not required, but appreciated)
    5. Drop the link into the MarketFriday comment section so I can find it
  5. Following me and reblogging the post so more see it would be appreciated !! Not a rule, just appreciated, more vision for more views on your posts!
    7. You must put #MarketFriday by @dswigle somewhere on your post.

As always, please remember! #MarketFriday loves you!

Upped and reposted

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@qwerrie is very photogenic, he always turns out great in pictures - even if he poses on purpose! Most people can't pose (including myself), they immediately assume one of the static unnatural poses, but you can't say that about @qwerrie:)

I was upset at first that Palace Square with its book stalls didn't look as picturesque as I had hoped. But the weather! To expect several sunny days in a row in St. Petersburg is not even optimistic... I don't know what word to choose so as not to be too harsh. I realized that tents are necessary, and I tried to find something interesting in such a cityscape:)

Thank you so much!

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I absolutely think you did a great job! The entire series was fun and hit so many things, art, history, food, fun, and people. It was a post that kept giving. I do love to go through yours for the pictures too!

The tent wasn't what I was expecting either.

By the way, did it rain that day? 😁

Thank you always! You never disappoint!

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It was a nice sunny day, a little too cool for late May, but no rain!

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Our weather has been hot and then cold all spring. Thursday was cold and rainy, and Saturday is hot and sunny. 35 degrees warmer! 2C!

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Not so with us, we have +12 to +16. But I'm not complaining, there are a lot of good things about this weather, a lot of sunny days and no stifling heat:)

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I love coins, hehehe!
The canopy /tents are so unique, especially the polka-dotted one!
One person decided to bring his cat? Hahaha!

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It's a dog:) But from this angle you really can't tell it from a cat:)))

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