VODKA GLASS BEACH

07 Feb 2017 By David Fuhrmann-Lim

Vodka = Russia. But What Happens to All Those Bottles When It’s Discarded on the Beach? In Ussuri Bay, Eastern Russian, Something Magical Happened.

Even established dumping grounds can, over time, become beautiful.

A Russian beach, known locally as “Glass Beach,” has transformed from a ruin of discarded vodka, wine, and beer bottles into a shoreline mosaic of smooth, colourful glass pebbles.

Russia Vodka Glass beach Ussuri Bay

The beach is along the shoreline of Ussuri Bay in Eastern Russia, just above North Korea. In the Soviet era, glass bottles and porcelain would be transported and left next to the water on the volcanic black sand. Shards of sharp glass kept locals away. But after decades of gently pounding waves from the Pacific coast, angry edges have smoothed and the beach has become a tourist destination year round.

Russia Vodka Glass beach Ussuri Bay

Authorities in Russia took notice of the change and swooped in to claim it as their own “natural” preserve. Glass Beach is now a protected area sanctioned by the Russian government.

Russia Vodka Glass beach Ussuri Bay

So the next time you see something you think is impossibly broken or dangerously ugly, have faith that, just maybe, it will turn into something beautiful over time.

Like this? So, turns out vodka is cool, again

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