Wednesday walk starts with coffee

OK, I'll be honest - the walk didn't start with coffee, but with a visit to the shops. We were in search of a demi-seasonal jacket for my good friend. Several small shops with original assortment are located on the Petrograd side, and we visited them all. Nothing suitable was found, but one of the doors of the last shop leaded to the courtyard with a small coffee-shop, and a cup of good coffee was very pleasant.

The coffee shop is so small that only a couple of people can fit inside. That's why visitors to the coffee shop prefer to spend their time outside in the courtyard. I don't know how they cope on those days when it rains. The courtyard is small too, with only flowerbeds and those interior elements that could be placed on the walls. In the corner of the courtyard I notice a still life, the sight of which immediately makes me want to say "Cyberpunk, which we deserve".

After a coffee and some rest, we decided to take a little stroll around the courtyards of the Petrograd side. The main development of Petrogradsky Island took place at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, after a permanent bridge had been built to connect the island with the rest of the city. The area's attractiveness grew by several points, and a boom in Art Nouveau buildings shaped the island's appearance. If you walk along the streets, your attention is drawn to the Art Nouveau facades.

And if you peek into the courtyards, you'll come across a lot of unusual details. You might see old wood barns converted into offices or old carriage barns with art workshops or small shops inside. Sometimes you can see concrete bowls in the middle of the squares. What was it, a fountain or a rose garden?

Glimpses of windows and shadows on the walls of buildings... You don't have to look for anything out of the ordinary; the simplest architectural landscape gives you a visual experience too.

The shadows are so dense that they seem to be an integral part of the buildings. The chimney and the shade of the tree - they even have a similar curve.

The walls speak to you. "Once" - once what? There's no explanation.

"Oh, those people!" - complains another wall.

Gauguin's Two Sisters awaits you outside, and in the courtyard, on the wall of the garage, a Red Horse by an unknown author.

A huge snow mushroom hides in the next yard. It's probably the last greeting of a bygone winter. Although no guarantees, of course - a sudden snowfall could still happen.

While we were walking, a quiet evening gave way to a bright spring day. In the slanting sunlight the decorations on the walls of the buildings look unusually embossed and attractive. Grapes and pineapples decorate the entrance to house number 22. Even the walls seem to be starting to remind me of food... Isn't it time to move closer to dinner? The final touch of our walk is the triangular courtyard.

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Smartphone	Google Pixel 3a
Location	Saint Petersburg, Russia

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