Beautiful Moscow!

Today's blog is simply beauty...

Istanbul!

I had the joy of tagging along on one of Steve's business trips to Istanbul, Turkey, last month.  Fascinating, crowded, colorful, fast-paced all come to mind.  And,  ohhhh the food!  I didn't meet a dish I didn't like.  Apparently Istanbul is one of the most re-visited tourist cities in the world - we now know why!

When I think of Istanbul....I think of the "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" smell that comes from these street vendors... 

Produce like none other...

The Spice Market!

Thread and fabric that went on for days near the Grand Bazaar....

Inside the immense Hagia Sophia mosque...

Our view of the Blue Mosque at a roof top cafe...

Lovin' Turkey!

Beloved Tchaikovsky

Russians are a very educated people...95% graduate from high school...ask them to recite poetry and most can deliver on the spot.  They are also passionate about the arts... love theater, opera, ballet, (can you say “Bolshoi”?). During Soviet times, artists were driven underground but have since re-emerged with a very high standard of excellence in art, music and literature.  

Over the last 2 weeks I had the honor of volunteering with the International Tchaikovsky Competition...held in Moscow every 4 years, (this year, part of the event was held in St. Petersburg).  Competitors from all over the world compete in piano, cello, voice and violin.  I have been working with the piano and cello juries and have had the pleasure of getting to know some of the most esteemed artists in the business.  Several on each jury have been past winners of this competition, all have extremely extensive resumes....take Sir Clive Gillinson on the cello jury...he was the past Director of the London Symphony Orchestra and is currently the Executive Director of Carnegie Hall.  These jurors are extremely down to earth and quite fascinating to talk to.

Crowds gathering before the competition...

Between performances I’ve wandered down the creaky hallways of the Moscow Conservatory, (built in the 1800’s - Tchaikovsky himself taught in this building).  There are small practice rooms on the top floors and to stand and listen outside the door - it’s actually difficult to describe the heavenly sounds.  There is quite a mystique surrounding the building.

Beautiful sounds coming from these open windows...

The first competition was held in 1958 and a surprise to everyone...a young Texan, Van Cliburn, took first prize.  Here is a brief video of his win:

We are down to the 3rd and final round...5 competitors left (out of 30) in the piano competition.  Tonight, the competitors will play with a full orchestra - exciting!  You can watch via webcast if interested, per the link below, (competition starts at 7 p.m., Moscow time, for the next 2 days and 1 p.m. Wed and Thurs):


http://preview.tchaikovsky-competition.dievision.de/en/press/webcast

I have a new love and appreciation for classical music.  Thank you Moscow!

Friday sites...

Ventured out for a cappuccino this morning and snapped some shots along the way...

Explosion of flowers

I’ve got to hand it to the Russians.  They do flowers very, very well.  Not only immaculate flower beds in every park....the flowers change almost weekly.  Tulips...then marigolds...suddenly tall rose bushes - on and on...

Nike!

Nike is alive and well in Moscow.  We have good friends who work for Nike in Russia.  Very interesting to hear them talk about this market vs. the U.S. market.  I’ve noticed that the running shoe you and I are familiar with hardly exists here.  We’ll call it more of a ballet running flat of some sort...

Night-Night

People sleep in cars here....lots and lots of people sleeping in cars.  It’s not the “this is my home” kind of sleeping...it’s "I’m a workman and I think I’ll take a break now" sleeping.  Or, "I drive someone important and he’s at a business lunch, so I’ll just take a short siesta..."

Asleep at the wheel...

Laying down reading a book...

The ever-popular police making a random “show me your papers” check.  This is really never a spot you want to find yourself in....the end result may involve a Ruble payment of some sort...

Black car - blue light

These little ditties are sprinkled all over the city with very important people in the back seat (usually government officials and the like).  When you see them, it’s usually a complete blur as they tend to put the pedal to the medal 100% of the time and....more good news...traffic regulations do not apply to them.  

Sweet babushkas!

Women carrying flowers...

I love this part of Russian culture!  You see women carrying flowers everywhere.  If it’s a birthday - friends often give flowers and they are carried around all day.  It’s almost obligatory to give a woman flowers on the first date (and really the first few dates).  The bigger the bouquet - the more the guy is interested.  Every restaurant has extra vases for the table to put the flowers in....really quite charming.

And my final destination...

I know, I know....did I have to pick Starbucks in one of Eastern Europe's most cosmopolitan cities?  Well....it had been 5 months since I set foot inside and I just needed a good 'ole shot of Americana this morning...

Sasha, the young Barrista!

I wear my sunglasses at night...

Glorious St. Petersburg!  

Steve and I made our inaugural trip (we will be back) to romantic St. Pete last weekend.  Dubbed the “Venice of Russia” it surely stood up to its reputation.  The best time to visit is June/July as we had front row seats to the magnificent white nights!  (Angels singing...).   I am a sunshine girl through and through, and so it makes perfect sense that we live in Russia where there can be no sunshine for weeks at a time in the dead of winter...but that’s another story for another time.  Well, actually, that’s part of this story.  If there are fewer hours of daylight in the winter....that means....there are gloriously long days in the summer.  Right now in Moscow, the sun rises at 4:30 a.m. and sets at 10:30 p.m. which provides for a whopping 18 hours of daylight!  (More angels singing...).  St. Pete is the most northern city in the world and with an 8 hour train ride northwest of Moskva, it plays host to over 19 hours of daylight...and actually, at 2 a.m., it feels more like dusk rather than a full dark night sky.

Sunshine after dinner at 11 p.m.!

About that train - we opted for the overnight train to St. Pete and took the high-speed train back to Moscow.  The overnight train seemed like a good idea, (turns out it was a bit more exciting right out of college).  This ride - sun up at 4 a.m....sheer train curtains...speeding by light posts that provided  a blinking strobe effect....the perfect equation for a peaceful night’s sleep.  I actually bought Steve an eye mask as he has an even more difficult time with light during sleep hours....I made sure it was pink and paisley - he looks darn cute wearing that thing, (but we won’t tell him that).  

The train left Moscow at midnight and we hit the streets of St. Pete at 8 a.m. The palaces are truly magnificent and ohhhh,The Hermitage!  I’m not necessarily one to spend a whole day in a museum - but I definitely could have here.  Not only is the 3 million+ art collection impressive, the rooms in which the art is displayed are magnificent.  

Lenin overseeing the goings-on at the Moscow train station...

A palace fit for a queen... a few czars...and some Peters, Alexanders and Nicolas's...

The grounds...

The Venice of Russia = caviar and vodka rather than pasta and chianti...

The Hermitage!

This sweet dog was hanging out solo with a change bucket...

A-A-CHOO!

Just when we thought snow was in our rear view mirror ... mother nature punked us with “PUKH”!  (Rhymes with Winnie the Pooh).  This, my dear friends, is pollen of an unprecedented kind and volume.  Apparently, the story goes that Stalin wanted to pretty-up Moscow and ordered the planting of a slew of beautiful trees that would bloom early ... and apparently often.  Thousands of Poplar trees, (I believe of the Cottonwood variety), were planted all over the city with one small oversight....only female trees were planted.  This means, these “frustrated” female trees pollinate....and pollinate....and pollinate....and then, pollinate some more....for about 3 weeks every June.  It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen....as if Mother Nature blew on the mother of all dandelions...

It gets in your eyes, up your nose, in your mouth, in your hair.  You should see what it does to my sticky, what I call “fly paper”, lip gloss....fur lips comes to mind.  Men with day old beards = instant Santa!   Sunglasses become battle goggles - my swim googles are backup.  We have friends without air conditioning. Open windows = pukh fest in the house!  Piles of pukh in every corner - like massive, oversized dust bunny piles.   A-a-a-a-a-choo-pukh!

On the street....

Only appropriate to include the beer bottles...

Banya Time!

Check the box!  One of my goals this spring was to try the ‘ole Russian tradition of Banya!  Banya, best described as a steam room or sauna followed by a freezing cold plunge and a healthy dose ‘o torture, actually plays a significant role in Russian culture.  

The Banya, traced back to the 1100’s, is believed to deliver health benefits of better circulation, pore cleansing, de-toxification (great after long vodka benders), improved oxygen flow to muscles, possible skin removal and good plain relaxation.  Many Russians hit the Banya on a weekly basis as part of their health routine.

Here’s how the experience went down:

Met up with a group of fun ladies from the American Women’s Org at the famous Sandunovsky Banya very close to the Kremlin, (we were all newbies to the “sport” except for our fearless leader).  The changing area was beautiful - marble floors, dark wood lockers.

We purchased our recommended head gear - the famed felt Banya hat!  And who doesn’t look good in one of these gems?  We’ve decided it will also serve well as a party hat, an extra thermal layer in extreme weather conditions, and possibly a good piece with which to dust the apartment. 

It’s a good thing men and women have separate Banyas as clothes really were not an option.  We started with the sauna...and you haven’t experienced extreme heat until you’ve been in one of these babies.  The Russian Banyas can reach up to 200 degrees F which is why you have the felt hat on - to protect your head from the scorching heat (sounds like fun - yes?).  The wood benches in the sauna are also hot as hades, but apparently a little burned flesh never hurt anyone.  

After the furnace, you take a full body plunge into an ice...ICE cold water tub which is big enough for one at a time, or an attendant pours a huge bucket of freezing water on your head.  In the winter - you have the tough choice of flailing around in the snow or jumping into ice water in a carved out ice hole over a lake, (these choices are only good and better).  After the ice shock, you then submerge into a cool pool which actually feels down right warm after the arctic blast.  

Ice water built for one...

They say rolling in snow is actually colder than jumping into freezing water...

Fun times...

My friend, Katie, and I mustered up a dose of courage to try the popular venik - branches and dried leaves from birch, oak or eucalyptus used by a strong, muscular attendant to pummel the living life out of you while laying down in the sauna.  Let’s just say you definitley feel invigorated and well circulated after 10 minutes of this thrashing.  (The memory of the pain does go away).

Once your heart rate returns to a normal level, you retreat back to the beautiful locker room for tea, juice and a light snack.  And then repeat the entire process until you feel completely relaxed...or beaten up...whichever comes first.

All kidding aside, it was a fascinating experience and one I would do again...perhaps next time in the dead of winter - swimming hole or snow?