Puppet Theaters, Women's Day, and Off the Beaten Path

On Sunday, I went out with one of my friends from work, Hongda. We went back to Vinzavod to the Best of Russia Photography exhibition. Vinzavod is an old factory that has since been converted into a number of art studios and an art school. It is a really neat location, though the quality (and cost) of exhibits vary. Many of the exhibits were closed, but it was fun anyways.

After Vinzavod, we met up with Lisa, one of the other SRAS students, Josh (my boss), and his wife for a puppet show. Now, before you laugh, the puppet theater is one of the best in the world and is quite acclaimed. The one we saw was an opera based off a Pushkin poem. It was really interesting though difficult to understand as they were singing in the Russian equivalent of Shakespeare style.

After the theater, I went to one of my friends dorms for a party in celebration of Women's Day. One of the guys bought Soviet champagne, which was hilarious, and we hung out and talked for a bit. I left around 3.30am, but fortunately had Monday off due to Women's Day.

One Monday, I was supposed to go out with Joe, but he had to bail. I went out anyways in search of stuff for my Off-The-Beaten-Path list and made a couple of good finds. First, I headed out to the Red Square and walked towards the Kitai-Gorod (one of the oldest parts of Moscow). Along the way I found a couple of interesting churches and, secreted between a couple of these churches, the old palace of the Boyars Romanovs. I think it may make the list. I was surprised that it is not well-known considering the fact that it is just a 10 minute walk from the Red Square. But that is one of the cool things about Moscow – there is always interesting, hidden places to see right off the tourist traps.

After the palace, I continued on to Kitai Gorod where I promptly got lost. I was trying to make my way to Lubyanka (close to the Mayakovsky museum), but ended up is some random part of town. Of course, as is often the case, I found more interesting places I might not have found otherwise. The first was this old Jewish Synagogue and, diagonal to that,a convent that was once the dumping grounds for unwanted wives and sisters of the czars. Unfortunately, the convent is under some serious construction, so I couldn't see a lot of it. Yet, what I did see was very interesting. One of the nuns (former royalty) has a casket right in the middle of the church. Odd, but interesting.

I finally found my way out of Kitai-Gorod and to Lubyanka. I decided to (finally) go see the Mayakovsky Museum. It is absolutely crazy – literally. Melted chairs and wardrobes make up many of the exhibits with poems and descriptions randomly littered around. I didn't understand most of it, so I will be going back later. This is definitely one to see.

Finally, I headed back to the metro. But first, I stopped by the Perlov Tea House – an old tea house designed by a merchant in hopes of receiving a visit by the czar – which is gold plated and crawling with painted dragons. They sell an assortment of teas, coffees, and pastries. A bit on the expensive side, but worth a trip just for the decor and wonderful smells.

Thanks to Women's Day, I had one more day off, which started with a visit to Stalin's Bunker...