Beautiful Sunday in the Catherine Park

It was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to take a walk around the suburban park. I was worried that the weather might suddenly turn bad (it happens in the spring!) and I chose the park for the walk so that I could get there as quickly as possible. The most reliable way to get to suburban parks quickly is by suburban train. So I came to Vitebsky railway station to get on the nearest train and go to the park. The journey takes about half an hour.

I had about 15 minutes before the train departed, which was enough time to buy a ticket, go up to the platform and take a comfortable seat by the window. I had no need to hurry and took a few minutes to look at a new art object that was recently installed near the station. The idea of this "Monument to Time" is to show the time in different cities at the same time, but when I looked at the dials closely, I noticed that the time was not set correctly. Well, this clock looks nice - but you can't trust it when you're in a hurry to catch a train!

We are in a transitional period between seasons, it is no longer winter but not yet full spring. Much of the snow has melted, but not all of it, there is still a lot of snow and ice. During the walk I went to the far side of the park to breathe fresh air and watch nature awaken. I took my time approaching the central part of the park, where the main attractions are concentrated and most visitors walk.

I find the modest sights on the far side of the park very nice. They do not sparkle with gilding and do not strike the imagination with complex architectural forms, but they are perfectly blended into the surrounding landscape. For the winter, some of the monuments are put away in protective cases to protect them from bad weather conditions. At the beginning of spring, these protective cases are still in place. This is not an unnecessary precaution, as a sudden cold snap can occur.

Some sights can be overlooked unless you look closely at the scenery on either side of the path. For example, the Tuff Bridge is a small dam bridge in the form of a small grotto. In summer, this bridge cannot be seen behind the foliage of the trees. The dam system helps to regulate the water level in the ponds.

I made a small detour to approach the girl sitting on the stone. This is my favourite fountain monument in this park. But the girl was hidden from the weather in a protective cover, and I had to limit myself to looking at the stone. Well, I'll come back to it in the summer!

The bridge is called "Small Caprice", it connects the two parks. Unfortunately, free passage along this shortcut to Alexandrovsky Park is now closed, the entrance to the second park is quite far from this place. But I climb this bridge anyway to take a panoramic photo at the end of the walk. Straight ahead is the Imperial Catherine Palace, and to the left is the regular part of Alexander Park. This concludes my walk for the day. I go back to the station to catch the suburban train in the opposite direction - and in half an hour I'm back near Vitebsky railway station.

This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.