My Russian Apartment Tour

I can't believe it has taken me this long to do a post like this. Well, when I first moved in it took me a while to get acclimated to the new place. Then, soon after, I got a roommate. I wanted to respect his privacy and his things, so taking pictures of my apartment was never something on my list. Recently, he moved out, and I'm living here alone. It got me thinking that I really should do an apartment tour, especially since I have my (5) Christmas decorations up!

These first two pictures are my entry way. This apartment is a Stalinka, meaning, you guessed it, it was built during the Stalin era. Characteristics of this home are large windows, thick walls, and high ceilings. It stays pretty warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There is no elevator in this apartment, but there are only 4 floors, and I live on the second so I can't complain.



The first room is my bedroom, and, yes, that is a rug on the wall. Actually, for the first year my room was in the living room (my choice when my roommate moved in). In May, he asked if we could switch rooms, and I've had this room since. The apartment came furnished when I moved in, so most of what you see is not mine, but I did bring along a few things, like the dog I bought in Mexico. There were also some Harry Potter books that were here when I moved in. I was so excited when I saw them. I wish I could understand Russian!

The next room is the living room (my old bedroom). The couch pulls out into a nice big bed. When I first moved in the women who picked me up from the airport pulled out the bed and set it up for me, so the first few weeks I was in this room. I think I chose it as my bedroom because it was somewhat comforting for me. Now, that I've lived here for over a year, I don't mind just keeping this room as a living room. I wish it wasn't so expensive to come to Russia because I'd welcome you all to stay here!

The next few pictures are of the hallway. I tried my best to give you a good understanding of the layout. When you walk in the front door you look straight into the living room. To the right of the living room is my bedroom door. If you are standing in the doorway of my bedroom, with your back to it, you look straight into the kitchen. On the left you have two doors for the bathroom, and on the right you have a door for the third room. It's locked because it's my landlady's room, but this apartment is three rooms. It's actually a pretty big apartment for Russian standards.

My bathroom is pretty strange. It's broken up into two rooms. One room has the shower, sink, and a washing machine. The other room is just the toilet. This is common in Russia but definitely strange. I prefer everything in one room because I hate having to go into another room to wash my hands. You might think, "Well, you can go to the bathroom when the other person is in the shower," but you can't flush the toilet until they get out. String hangs from the ceiling like a clothes line so I can hang my clothes to dry. It's really convenient to have. 
The last room is my kitchen, and it's my favorite room in the house. The bedroom and living room look out into a parking lot. I like the way my apartment is set up because even though it looks out into the parking lot, it's not a big parking lot and there are trees that keep it feeling private. However, outside of the kitchen is a grassy area. You can see other apartments and a street, but they aren't very close. Pigeons come to the windows a lot to hang out. The kitchen is also the brightest room in the apartment, so it always puts me in a good mood.
When I first moved in my director kept asking me if it was okay because apparently it wasn't up to American standards. It's definitely old and the decor isn't my own choice, but I loved that it had a homey feeling. The newer apartments feel so cold and bare. This apartment is also in a pretty good location, so I can't complain about that either.

What do you think of the apartment tour?