Wednesday Walk. The Neva embankment on a grey November day

November is not a month when walking is a lot of fun. More often than not, it is otherwise. The rain falls from the sky (and sometimes the snow melts in flight), the icy wind gets under your jacket, the sun hides in thick clouds. It's grey and gloomy. On one of such November days I decided to go for a walk along the Neva embankment.

Usually a walk along the Neva embankment means beautiful palaces and mansions, majestic monuments, luxurious gardens and parks, but not this time. Instead of walking around the historical part of the city, I went for a walk in one of the new urban districts. Although, if you think about it, it's not so new... There has been mass housing construction here since the 1960s, so even if I consider this period the beginning of history, it's no longer new buildings. Even the metro station is over 40 years old, it was opened in 1981.

Perhaps, I consider this neighbourhood new only because the main development of the district at the moment is typical buildings. But before the beginning of mass housing construction this neighbourhood was not deserted and deserted at all. In the XVIII - XIX centuries several industrial enterprises were located here, and during the walk you can meet beautiful red brick buildings, monuments of industrial architecture. There are also old residential houses, hotels, inns, but quite rarely - these types of houses were more often built of wood, and such houses were dismantled in the XX century to make way for brick and concrete buildings.

Near the metro station there is also one unusual building, which is considered to be an architectural monument of the Constructivist era, although later rebuilds have distorted its appearance. The Palace of Culture was built in 1927-1929, and it still retains its original purpose. A luminous advert above the entrance to the building invites to a free concert.

The long embankment of the Neva River in this place used to be used as the main parking place for river cruise ships. The River Station was located nearby. But for reasons unknown to me this building was demolished, and the main berths are now located upstream of the river. But the low embankment has been preserved and is a great place for a walk.

Granite seagulls appeared on the embankment recently, about ten years ago. It is the work of one of the winners of the city sculpture competition. To be honest, I don't always understand modern art well, and some works stump me, but these seagulls are a different matter. They fit perfectly into the landscape.

A red-brick building surrounded by a newly built block of flats, this is a factory building. The Imperial Card Factory had a monopoly on the production of playing cards. The proceeds from the sale of playing cards went to orphanages.

I tried to stick to the route along the embankment, but it was not always possible. Several times I had to retreat inside the neighbourhood, some parts of the embankment were closed for free passage. After overcoming another fence, I found myself on the grounds of an office complex. The area on the bank was reserved for car parking, and there were several dog kennels near the wall of the building. An unknown artist had decorated one of the booths with views of the city. The source of inspiration was the Neva River - but not in this place, but near the mouth, where the river flows into the bay.

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Smartphone	Google Pixel 3a
Location	Saint Petersburg, Russia

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