Sunday, February 27, 2011

X-Country Ski Day...

We broke in our new skis today!  We met a great couple who took us XC skiing, (Eric works for Nike, Carly is a former Nike employee).  Another Italian couple joined us for a fantastic day!
With Carly and Nadia....church high on the hill...

Passing ice fishing tents...we were skiing on a frozen river.

Preparing to catch "the big one"!

This vessel skims atop the frozen river a million miles an hour, skidding into circles...

Ice hole for taking a dip - a large woman in very small undies took the plunge...

Me and Carly at the end of the trek...

Brand new equipment - could not figure out how to unlock my boots from the skis - so I hopped out....boots stayed on...(and I had the aid of 3 other experienced skiers!).

Sledding park...

A perfect landing...

The crew...hot soup, hot chocolate and beer!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Doggie Delight...

Every once in awhile we’ll see very well behaved dogs roaming the streets of Moscow, solo....typically keeping up with the fast pace of the human foot traffic.  I’m always amazed at how disciplined they are -  never run into traffic, never sniff or approach people, never bark.  Who are these dogs?  Where are they going?  They seem to have a route.  Are they going to the grocery store?  Taking in a museum?  Perhaps on their way to see their buddy at the Bolshoi?  
I mentioned this to a friend recently and she said - “Oh yes, they even get on the metro by themselves and typically sit quietly in the corner”....???  Nothing like catching a train across town to spend the afternoon with Rufus.  How can this be?

Saw this guy on Saturday - on his way to pick up a date?

After a long day at the office...

Too much vodka...

Waiting patiently for his train...

    Monday, February 21, 2011

    The Moscow Metro!



    Word to the wise...do not...do not walk through the “out” turn style at a Moscow metro station!  Steve and I were metroing home from a dinner party Saturday night and discovered that, at 12:30 a.m., the metro authorities start to close down certain metro exits, (each station typically has two ways to enter/exit).  We discovered our exit was locked - so we turned around to make our way to the other end of the station.  Since our end of the station was closed, I made the fatal conclusion that  it surely wouldn’t matter which turn style I walk through (the “out” or the “in”).  In the photo below, you can see there is nothing stopping a person from walking through the "out".............so I did............and oh my goodness.............



    The dreaded "out"...



    Have you ever had your knees simultaneously clocked by a sledgehammer????  The Russians make it very, very clear when they don’t want you to do something...the slats on the sides of the turn style (above) have this device that shoots out in an attempt to fully maim anyone trying to beat the system - or, in our case, trying to find their way to the nearest exit.  A taser may have felt better.  I had to hobble around and walk it off for a minute until I regained consciousness......and......bonus round....I set off the metro alarm in the process.  And that puppy is no tinkling bell either.  Blaring sirens!!  I thought for sure Steve was going to have to bail me out of the slammer...  Alas, we made it home without authoritative incident.

    The Moscow metro system is renowned for its incredibly beautiful stations  - they are on the "must see" list for visitors, (more to come in a future blog with details).  The metro carries 8 million people every day (more than the subways in NYC and London combined) and is extremely reliable - a train arrives every 2 minutes, on average.  It truly is the best way to get around town...

    Most stations have very long escalators (used as bunkers in war time)

    Typical sign in a station - nyet Angliski (English)! 

    Another sign showing which lines transfer at which stations...

    Kiosks found outside most stations with clothing, pastries, etc...

    Sunday, February 20, 2011


    The wings of love!

    Perhaps my favorite spot in Moscow...the Luzhkov Bridge!  Located next to our apartment building - it’s a traditional stop for Muscovite brides and grooms on their wedding day...


    Tradition has it, after the wedding, the bride and groom, along with their closest friends, (and lots of vodka), load into a long stretch limo for wedding photos at Moscow’s most famous landmarks.  This bridge is always one of the stops.  The city erected numerous metal trees on the bridge to house the traditional “lock of love”.  The bride and groom place a lock on the tree that has an inscription of their names and wedding date - then throw their key into the river as a sign they are locking the key to their hearts and forever throwing away the key. 
    On several Saturdays, I've planted myself close to the bridge to watch the parade of wedding parties - the best people watching in town! 
    Here’s what I saw this Saturday....

    The trees with the Kremlin in the background...

    A bride in her fur...

    Another bride in fur and boots...

    The friends and family to witness the ceremony...

    Throwing the key into the river (it bounced since the river is presently frozen...)

    The locks of love...

    Several have defied authority and placed their locks on the bridge...

    Fake money thrown on the ground as a sign of wealth to come...

    Another bride and groom getting ready to toss their key...

    The fur...the boots...

    Apparently a bride and groom making note of their wedding day in the snow on the river....crazy!

    Looking for just the right spot for their lock....

    Another bride in fur...

    The limo taking the party around town...
    Not from Saturday - but impressive nonetheless...

    You go girl!  Love the Russian driver's expression...

    Words fail...





    And...a little video of the traditions (this is in St. Petersburg).  You'll hear chanting "vodka, vodka, vodka!" and fireworks which Russians love...





    Saturday, February 19, 2011

    The 'hood...

    I took my camera with me on my walk to the gym today.  I realized there is so much amazing architecture and rich culture all around us - wanted to share more in the blog.  I picked a random street to walk down - here’s what I saw:

    Snow accumulation in a great park next to our building...

    We often see people sitting on these benches and strolling through the park, even in this negative degree temperature!  (It was -15 F while on the walk - amazed the camera continued to operate...)

    A view of our apartment building from afar - one of the largest in the center of Moscow... Power plant and great sushi restaurant to the left (not one in the same)

    One of the thousands of cathedrals in Moscow - found on almost every street!

    The cathedral doors...

    A very old wooden door outside a gated office building...

    More of the white stuff piled high...

    Beautiful fence around another cathedral...

    Another great wooden door leading into the cathedral...

    The cathedral...

    Yet another cathedral with office building right behind...

    Subway - eat fresh!!

    The entrance to our gym...pronounced "Onegin"

    And walked home a different way down a busier street...