(yep, you got it: backlogged)
Today officially began Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa is a very big holiday in Russia which symbolizes the end of winter and beginning of spring. Russians celebrate this holiday in a week long festival filled with lots of blini-eating (blini are crepes of sort that symbolize the sun because they are round). In other words, it's an excuse to get off work and drink vodka.
Coincidentally, today was also Men's Day! Ok, fine, so it's officially called Defenders of the Fatherland or some other such title, but everyone calls it Men's Day. Again, It is basically an excuse to get off work and pat all the guys you know on the backs for their excellent work defending the homeland. Good job, chaps! There is also a Woman's Day in March during which time men do the housework for one day and pat themselves on their backs for being such splendid, helpful creatures. Are you getting the pattern? (And, no, this is not a “feminist” thing. Ask anyone who is familiar with this and they will same the same thing – even Russians).
Anyways, we decided to go out to celebrate Men's Day/Maslenitsa by watching fireworks in the Red Square and eating lots of blini. Everyone ignored my freakish guidebook-like knowledge (completements of, you guessed it, my guidebook) about how you are not supposed to start eating blini until Tuesday and they aren't free until Sunday. By the time we got to Red Square, it was deserted. The fireworks were over and all was left was the freakish doll they are going to set on fire later in the week. Dishearted, we decided to still go get blini – again, through my ranting of “TRADITION! You must respect TRADITION!” After some admittedly tasty blini, we wandered around until it got too cold and went home. (It's getting colder. Monday was -18 Celsius. Blech.) Tuesday started official blini-eating time, at which point I ate more blini. All is now right in the world.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
More Art and Cafe Reviews
(Yet another back-logges post)
Well, today was a lot of fun. I was sitting in my room last night, contemplating over what to do for Sunday when I got a call from Dasha. Dasha's mom works with Natasha and we exchanged phone numbers through them. She called and invited me to a photography exhibit. Since I was already feeling so artsy, I decided, why not? Francesca, Susan, and I headed out and met Dasha this morning. We ended up going to this really cool exhibit which was a collection of the best photographs from Russia for 2008. It was pretty awesome. Dasha is an amateur photographer (and a snowboarder. Very interesting person.), so she acted as our personal tour guide. Francesca was as crazy as always and ended up taking over 100 pictures of random pigeons and stray dogs....
Later, we headed out to Red Square and she showed us this very cool little cafe behind McDonald's and diagonal from Red Square. It has now officially become my favorite cafe in Moscow. It is underground and designed like a flat. There is a “kitchen” with a bar, a “kid's room” with bean bag-like couches, a “bedroom” with a bed, and a “library” with records and books. The food is excellent and cheap, which is a nice change. You see, cafes have recently beome the new cool thing to do, so there is a proliferation of bad, overpriced coffee houses throughout Moscow.
Typically, the food is pretty basic and very overpriced. This cafe, on the other hand, has a great variety of unique and tasteful food (I had eggplant soup in a black bread tower and summer tea with mint and lime in a pint beer mug) at decent prices (my total came to about $8.50). Susan and I were ecstatic because they have a whole vegetarian fare that is not greasy potatoes and Greek salad. Great good, good prices, and a very relaxed atmosphere. We will definitely be going back.
For Claire and Grace: To get to the cafe, get off metro Ohotni Rod (Red Square stop) and walk away from the Square. Go a couple blocks until you see a McDonald's/Max Kafe. Take a left right before McDonald's and walk down until you see a green fence on your right. Go through the green fence and on the left there will be a yellow yawning of sorts. Go down the stairs and you're there. It's called FAQ or Cafe Prosto. Make sure you go. Oh, and get the tea...
Now, I am headed off to Francesca's room for a make-shift, Charades party. Tomorrow is the first day of Maslenitsa, so after classes I am going to go see what's going on. Maybe just shopping and blini-making. Yum...
I LOVE MOSCOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, today was a lot of fun. I was sitting in my room last night, contemplating over what to do for Sunday when I got a call from Dasha. Dasha's mom works with Natasha and we exchanged phone numbers through them. She called and invited me to a photography exhibit. Since I was already feeling so artsy, I decided, why not? Francesca, Susan, and I headed out and met Dasha this morning. We ended up going to this really cool exhibit which was a collection of the best photographs from Russia for 2008. It was pretty awesome. Dasha is an amateur photographer (and a snowboarder. Very interesting person.), so she acted as our personal tour guide. Francesca was as crazy as always and ended up taking over 100 pictures of random pigeons and stray dogs....
Later, we headed out to Red Square and she showed us this very cool little cafe behind McDonald's and diagonal from Red Square. It has now officially become my favorite cafe in Moscow. It is underground and designed like a flat. There is a “kitchen” with a bar, a “kid's room” with bean bag-like couches, a “bedroom” with a bed, and a “library” with records and books. The food is excellent and cheap, which is a nice change. You see, cafes have recently beome the new cool thing to do, so there is a proliferation of bad, overpriced coffee houses throughout Moscow.
Typically, the food is pretty basic and very overpriced. This cafe, on the other hand, has a great variety of unique and tasteful food (I had eggplant soup in a black bread tower and summer tea with mint and lime in a pint beer mug) at decent prices (my total came to about $8.50). Susan and I were ecstatic because they have a whole vegetarian fare that is not greasy potatoes and Greek salad. Great good, good prices, and a very relaxed atmosphere. We will definitely be going back.
For Claire and Grace: To get to the cafe, get off metro Ohotni Rod (Red Square stop) and walk away from the Square. Go a couple blocks until you see a McDonald's/Max Kafe. Take a left right before McDonald's and walk down until you see a green fence on your right. Go through the green fence and on the left there will be a yellow yawning of sorts. Go down the stairs and you're there. It's called FAQ or Cafe Prosto. Make sure you go. Oh, and get the tea...
Now, I am headed off to Francesca's room for a make-shift, Charades party. Tomorrow is the first day of Maslenitsa, so after classes I am going to go see what's going on. Maybe just shopping and blini-making. Yum...
I LOVE MOSCOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Adventures of Pelmini Making
(Another back-logged post)
Well, its Saturday night. Susan and I were heading out when we ran into Francesca. She was having a bad day and wanted to see some art to cheer herself up, so we abandoned the idea of Gorky-House Museum and headed off to the Pushkin Museum. Officially known as the Museum of Private Collections, it is right across the street from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and diagonal from the Church of Christ the Saviour. It was actually pretty cool. They had a lot of pieces from Monet, Picasso, and other really famous artists and actually had a lot of famous pieces. However, unlike the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov Museums, all the very famous pieces are the small ones tucked away in corners. Francesca has a great love for art and was our own personal tour guide for the afternoon.
It's really quite nice because I am starting to understand art. I was never really that interested in poems or art and always did terrible in my Humanities classes, but all that has changed since I've been here. I am buying poetry right and left and learning all that I can (both in Russian and English. I have recently discovered a Frost poem which I think has become my favorite...). And now I am starting to understand art. I was standing in the middle of a room filled with Picasso art and it started to make since. I could see the progression in his painting styles. The blue period and the green period. How in 1909 his style started to change so that by 1912 his painting was Cubanist in nature. Art I used to just think was weird I am now starting to understand the meaning and art that I used to think was just pretty I am now understanding the method and stylistic devices (yes, yes, that sentence had bad grammar, I know). It's COOL!
But I digress. After the museum we headed off to, finally, see the inside of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It was very beautiful, as always. The church was destroyed during 1933 by Stalin to make was for a Palace of the Soviets which would have a statue of Stalin at its pinnacle. But an unsteady foundation made it fall into the river. In the 1990s it was rebuilt and now stands as one of the leading landmarks in Moscow. Unlike many of the other cathedrals, it does not feel so much like a mausoleum. It has high ceilings and a very airy feel which is a nice change. But, like most other churches, there are little shops inside the actual church where you can buy candles, icons, and other church souvenirs. Hmmm, I think I read something about that in the Bible... We came during a church service, so we stayed awhile for that. It was very nice and there were actually women in the choir (gasp!). Overall, I think I liked it much better than the Danilov Monastery.
We got back and I decided to make pelmini (the Russian version of pirogis). I bought some last week and put them in my window, but it hasn't been cold enough to keep them frozen. Thus, they stuck together and it was a big mess. But they didn't taste that bad so Susan, Francesca, and I ate them anyways. It's a nice change from cafeteria food in any case. So, that was today. I am off to go make plans for tomorrow. And thus continueth Hannah's Moscow Adventures...
Well, its Saturday night. Susan and I were heading out when we ran into Francesca. She was having a bad day and wanted to see some art to cheer herself up, so we abandoned the idea of Gorky-House Museum and headed off to the Pushkin Museum. Officially known as the Museum of Private Collections, it is right across the street from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and diagonal from the Church of Christ the Saviour. It was actually pretty cool. They had a lot of pieces from Monet, Picasso, and other really famous artists and actually had a lot of famous pieces. However, unlike the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov Museums, all the very famous pieces are the small ones tucked away in corners. Francesca has a great love for art and was our own personal tour guide for the afternoon.
It's really quite nice because I am starting to understand art. I was never really that interested in poems or art and always did terrible in my Humanities classes, but all that has changed since I've been here. I am buying poetry right and left and learning all that I can (both in Russian and English. I have recently discovered a Frost poem which I think has become my favorite...). And now I am starting to understand art. I was standing in the middle of a room filled with Picasso art and it started to make since. I could see the progression in his painting styles. The blue period and the green period. How in 1909 his style started to change so that by 1912 his painting was Cubanist in nature. Art I used to just think was weird I am now starting to understand the meaning and art that I used to think was just pretty I am now understanding the method and stylistic devices (yes, yes, that sentence had bad grammar, I know). It's COOL!
But I digress. After the museum we headed off to, finally, see the inside of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It was very beautiful, as always. The church was destroyed during 1933 by Stalin to make was for a Palace of the Soviets which would have a statue of Stalin at its pinnacle. But an unsteady foundation made it fall into the river. In the 1990s it was rebuilt and now stands as one of the leading landmarks in Moscow. Unlike many of the other cathedrals, it does not feel so much like a mausoleum. It has high ceilings and a very airy feel which is a nice change. But, like most other churches, there are little shops inside the actual church where you can buy candles, icons, and other church souvenirs. Hmmm, I think I read something about that in the Bible... We came during a church service, so we stayed awhile for that. It was very nice and there were actually women in the choir (gasp!). Overall, I think I liked it much better than the Danilov Monastery.
We got back and I decided to make pelmini (the Russian version of pirogis). I bought some last week and put them in my window, but it hasn't been cold enough to keep them frozen. Thus, they stuck together and it was a big mess. But they didn't taste that bad so Susan, Francesca, and I ate them anyways. It's a nice change from cafeteria food in any case. So, that was today. I am off to go make plans for tomorrow. And thus continueth Hannah's Moscow Adventures...
Wherefore Art Thou, Mr. Sandman
(Back-logged post from last week)
Well, I just finished a long, but fun week (yes, I said week, not weekend) filled with lots of adventures and very little sleep. Joe left for the International Petroleum Conference (snicker) in London this week, leaving me with free use of his apartment. I planned for a nice, quiet week with long baths and lots of tea drinking. Oh how wrong I was. I met Natasha on Sunday night to talk over dinner and drinks. We met with some of her friends and I made plans with one of them (Valentina) to get together during the week. Monday was classes as usual and Tuesday I spent lounging around Joe's apartment and translating menus (don't ask). That night, I headed over to the IRI headquarters and, after getting lost (it is directly across the street from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and somehow I still managed to get lost), hung out with Natasha and Nastia in the office. We ate cake (it was Nastia's boyfriend's birthday) and drank tea. Then, we then went out for drinks with Nastia's boyfriend, Gosha, and one of the leading reporters in Russia. Cool, no?
Wednesday, I met up with Valentina after classes. We tried to get into the Mayakovsky Museum (for a second time) but were unsuccessful (for a second time). Instead, we went to the Polytechnical Museum (she knows the owner) and looked at lots of stuff I didn't understand but thought was cool anyways. Valentina speaks some English (a lot better than I speak Russian, that's for sure) so we spent the day trying to communicate in a weird mixture of Russian and English. I still can't speak well (i.e. at all), but my listening comprehension is getting much better.
After the museum, we went to dinner and then...the theatre! Yea! Apparently, her mother has season tickets to this small, little theater by Lubyanka and she gave us her tickets for the night. We saw “A Profitable Place” by A. Ostrovski. It was, of course, completely in Russian, so I didn't understand a lot of it. But what I did understand was, wait for it, funny. People were laughing. Regularly. There was dancing (Russians have cool dances) and singing and psychedelic dresses... It was terrfying... But, fear not, for it got depressing about an hour into the play, which made me feel much better. I did not come to Russia to see happy plays. Death! Destruction! Poverty! That is the essence of Russian theater. Not happy people who dance and smile and sing.
After the play, we went and waited for Natasha to get out of a meeting with some American Congressmen who wouldn't stop telling stories about their grandchildren. We gave up around midnight and headed back to the university. We had some adventures on the way and she got stopped by policemen twice on her way back. Policemen are paid pitiful salaries here so they will regularly stop people to get bribes.
I had work early in the morning, so I was pretty tired, but a rousing breakfast of kasha was a great pick-me-upper. I love kasha... Anyways, after work I met up with Valentina and one of her friends for ice-skating. I fell down a lot and am still sore but it was fun. We had some weird malted wine with fruit in a cafe right in the middle of the rink (only in Russia...) and I found that I speak Russian much better after a drink. Grammar? What's that? Pfft! :-)
We left the rink to meet up with Natasha for tea at the Golden Apple Hotel. You see, Joe keeps talking about this tea he had one time there that was the best he ever had. So, since it was his birthday on Friday (Happy Birthday, Joe!) I decided I would fine the tea for him and get it for his birthday. We found it at the hotel but couldn't buy it, so we went shopping, but still couldn't find it. I am going to go out this weekend to see if I can't find it in one of the tea shops around the city. Wish me luck... Anyways, after tea shopping, we headed back to Valentina's flat where we hung out, ate dinner around 1am and watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Russian. Oh yeah, and I got invited to go to St. Petersburg at midnight by a drunken Gosha. Apparently, I made the biggest mistake of my life by turning him down... Ah, drunken Russian men are funny.
I got home around 4am while Natasha headed off to pick up Joe from the airport and then headed to classes around 10ish. I almost made it through, but around 40 minutes before it was over I crashed. This might not be so bad except for the fact that I am the only student said class. So, I went home and slept. Then had dinner and slept some more...
Now it is Saturday. I had a good night's sleep and am now headed off to do the weekend exploring deal. I think we will go to the Alexei Tolstoy House, Church of the Ascension, and Gorky House-Museum today. Tomorrow, more sightseeing No plans yet, but I am thinking a day of “goolyats” sounds good. Basically, just waling around and hanging out with friends. I think we will try to hit a lot of stops on the red line and just look around. There was this tea house was wanting to check out, a couple of restaurants, and some smaller museums we missed. Sunday is also “Man's Day,” so I think all use girls are going to go do something stupid in celebration. Maybe buy lots of flowers and pass them out to strangers on the street. Hmmmm......
Monday starts Maslenitsa week so we'll plan to do something for that. I'll keep you all updated. Loves!
Well, I just finished a long, but fun week (yes, I said week, not weekend) filled with lots of adventures and very little sleep. Joe left for the International Petroleum Conference (snicker) in London this week, leaving me with free use of his apartment. I planned for a nice, quiet week with long baths and lots of tea drinking. Oh how wrong I was. I met Natasha on Sunday night to talk over dinner and drinks. We met with some of her friends and I made plans with one of them (Valentina) to get together during the week. Monday was classes as usual and Tuesday I spent lounging around Joe's apartment and translating menus (don't ask). That night, I headed over to the IRI headquarters and, after getting lost (it is directly across the street from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and somehow I still managed to get lost), hung out with Natasha and Nastia in the office. We ate cake (it was Nastia's boyfriend's birthday) and drank tea. Then, we then went out for drinks with Nastia's boyfriend, Gosha, and one of the leading reporters in Russia. Cool, no?
Wednesday, I met up with Valentina after classes. We tried to get into the Mayakovsky Museum (for a second time) but were unsuccessful (for a second time). Instead, we went to the Polytechnical Museum (she knows the owner) and looked at lots of stuff I didn't understand but thought was cool anyways. Valentina speaks some English (a lot better than I speak Russian, that's for sure) so we spent the day trying to communicate in a weird mixture of Russian and English. I still can't speak well (i.e. at all), but my listening comprehension is getting much better.
After the museum, we went to dinner and then...the theatre! Yea! Apparently, her mother has season tickets to this small, little theater by Lubyanka and she gave us her tickets for the night. We saw “A Profitable Place” by A. Ostrovski. It was, of course, completely in Russian, so I didn't understand a lot of it. But what I did understand was, wait for it, funny. People were laughing. Regularly. There was dancing (Russians have cool dances) and singing and psychedelic dresses... It was terrfying... But, fear not, for it got depressing about an hour into the play, which made me feel much better. I did not come to Russia to see happy plays. Death! Destruction! Poverty! That is the essence of Russian theater. Not happy people who dance and smile and sing.
After the play, we went and waited for Natasha to get out of a meeting with some American Congressmen who wouldn't stop telling stories about their grandchildren. We gave up around midnight and headed back to the university. We had some adventures on the way and she got stopped by policemen twice on her way back. Policemen are paid pitiful salaries here so they will regularly stop people to get bribes.
I had work early in the morning, so I was pretty tired, but a rousing breakfast of kasha was a great pick-me-upper. I love kasha... Anyways, after work I met up with Valentina and one of her friends for ice-skating. I fell down a lot and am still sore but it was fun. We had some weird malted wine with fruit in a cafe right in the middle of the rink (only in Russia...) and I found that I speak Russian much better after a drink. Grammar? What's that? Pfft! :-)
We left the rink to meet up with Natasha for tea at the Golden Apple Hotel. You see, Joe keeps talking about this tea he had one time there that was the best he ever had. So, since it was his birthday on Friday (Happy Birthday, Joe!) I decided I would fine the tea for him and get it for his birthday. We found it at the hotel but couldn't buy it, so we went shopping, but still couldn't find it. I am going to go out this weekend to see if I can't find it in one of the tea shops around the city. Wish me luck... Anyways, after tea shopping, we headed back to Valentina's flat where we hung out, ate dinner around 1am and watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Russian. Oh yeah, and I got invited to go to St. Petersburg at midnight by a drunken Gosha. Apparently, I made the biggest mistake of my life by turning him down... Ah, drunken Russian men are funny.
I got home around 4am while Natasha headed off to pick up Joe from the airport and then headed to classes around 10ish. I almost made it through, but around 40 minutes before it was over I crashed. This might not be so bad except for the fact that I am the only student said class. So, I went home and slept. Then had dinner and slept some more...
Now it is Saturday. I had a good night's sleep and am now headed off to do the weekend exploring deal. I think we will go to the Alexei Tolstoy House, Church of the Ascension, and Gorky House-Museum today. Tomorrow, more sightseeing No plans yet, but I am thinking a day of “goolyats” sounds good. Basically, just waling around and hanging out with friends. I think we will try to hit a lot of stops on the red line and just look around. There was this tea house was wanting to check out, a couple of restaurants, and some smaller museums we missed. Sunday is also “Man's Day,” so I think all use girls are going to go do something stupid in celebration. Maybe buy lots of flowers and pass them out to strangers on the street. Hmmmm......
Monday starts Maslenitsa week so we'll plan to do something for that. I'll keep you all updated. Loves!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Episode Three: Return of the Desjornias
Well, it has started to become like the Star Wars movies – you think its over and then George Lucas comes out with another one. I thought my whole dorm situation was figures out. I had contacted the international student's office tand they assured me that everythgin was in order.
Ah, no. One week later, Susan tells me that the desjornia stopped by and asked for me. The next day, I get a thretening letter posted to my door which said “Daner, Hannah. Your time allotment has passed and you must urgently turn in your naprevlenie or there will be dire consequences/” Pk, so I added the dire, but everything else is real. I try to get a hold of the office again, but cannot, again. I call to no avail. Finally, I give up and ask Lisa if there was anywhting she could do. Because I was just getting nowhere. She sends them an email. Literally within 12 hours, the desjornia is at my door, napravlenia in hand, hands it over to me with a meek smile and assures me that everything is fine. I now have a new propysk which states that I can stay here until May. All hail the mighty Lisa, retrever of napravlenias. Either I have just really, really bad luck or she is just that good. I am going for a little of both.
Ah, no. One week later, Susan tells me that the desjornia stopped by and asked for me. The next day, I get a thretening letter posted to my door which said “Daner, Hannah. Your time allotment has passed and you must urgently turn in your naprevlenie or there will be dire consequences/” Pk, so I added the dire, but everything else is real. I try to get a hold of the office again, but cannot, again. I call to no avail. Finally, I give up and ask Lisa if there was anywhting she could do. Because I was just getting nowhere. She sends them an email. Literally within 12 hours, the desjornia is at my door, napravlenia in hand, hands it over to me with a meek smile and assures me that everything is fine. I now have a new propysk which states that I can stay here until May. All hail the mighty Lisa, retrever of napravlenias. Either I have just really, really bad luck or she is just that good. I am going for a little of both.
Why, Hello There Mr. Pushkin. May I Buy You a Drink?
After missing the Mayakovsky museum on Saturday, Susan and I decided to do a full day of museums on Sunday. And what better to do than hit both Tretyakov Galleries in one day. A noble feat, I assure you. For you see, the reason there are two Tretyakov museums instead of one is that they ran out of room. After remodeling. And expanding. Multiple times. One even has a cathedral in the middle of the building. Right. In other words, its massive. And now up there with my favorite museums of all time. Perhaps even number one. The first museum includes art from around the 1200s until around the twentieth century. The second museum picks up from there and continues until the present day. So, we will start from there.
We got lat start due to an angry ticket lady who kept screwing up Susan's metro pass until Susan went off at her in Russian (with English curse words mixed in). It is miraculous how quickly your Russian improves when you are upset. Anyways... The first Tretyakov museum is about a 5 minute walk from, you guessed it, the Tretyakov metro. We got lost because, well, I mistook the museum for a very, very pretty mall (I'm serious, its huge), but eventually we found it. After waiting in line forever to put up our coats, we were able to slip on our little plastic booties and head off. Oh, and ladies (ie. Claire and Grace), don't believe the signs about ticket prices. Show your RUSSIAN student ID, don't say a word, and you will get in for a measly 60 rubles instead of the 150 rubles they usually charge.
I decided I would write down the names of my favorite artists and paintings so that I could get prints of them later. About 6 rooms in and I had run out of room to write on my hand. I wandered into one room and found the portrait of Pushkin. I mean, THE portrait. And promptly swooned. I think I scared the people around me with my high pitched squells and flailing. It was what seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time should have been. Anyways, we made our way through the museum, stopping at our favorites and making fun of others. My favorite piece (ever, not just in this museum) is the Princess Tarakanova drowning in her cell. I probably stood in front of it for a half an hour and then, literally, almost cried when I had to leave. Susan's was the painting of Ivan the Terrible holding his dying son which is also in my top 5. Look up some of these paintings online. Oh, and The Unequal Marriage as well. I ran across a full length painting of Pushkin by the seaside on our way out. Susan and I made plans to distract the desjornia and steal it... We were only able to spend about 4 hours in the museum in order to make it to the second one before it closed, but I will definitely be going back.
We decided to stop by Yalki Polki (an inexpensive, traditional Russian restaurant) on our way to the second museum, but it was very crowded. We tried a couple other Russian restaurants on our way, but they too were full. Finally, we gave up and went to McDonalds. Sigh. The world it against us.
We got lat start due to an angry ticket lady who kept screwing up Susan's metro pass until Susan went off at her in Russian (with English curse words mixed in). It is miraculous how quickly your Russian improves when you are upset. Anyways... The first Tretyakov museum is about a 5 minute walk from, you guessed it, the Tretyakov metro. We got lost because, well, I mistook the museum for a very, very pretty mall (I'm serious, its huge), but eventually we found it. After waiting in line forever to put up our coats, we were able to slip on our little plastic booties and head off. Oh, and ladies (ie. Claire and Grace), don't believe the signs about ticket prices. Show your RUSSIAN student ID, don't say a word, and you will get in for a measly 60 rubles instead of the 150 rubles they usually charge.
I decided I would write down the names of my favorite artists and paintings so that I could get prints of them later. About 6 rooms in and I had run out of room to write on my hand. I wandered into one room and found the portrait of Pushkin. I mean, THE portrait. And promptly swooned. I think I scared the people around me with my high pitched squells and flailing. It was what seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time should have been. Anyways, we made our way through the museum, stopping at our favorites and making fun of others. My favorite piece (ever, not just in this museum) is the Princess Tarakanova drowning in her cell. I probably stood in front of it for a half an hour and then, literally, almost cried when I had to leave. Susan's was the painting of Ivan the Terrible holding his dying son which is also in my top 5. Look up some of these paintings online. Oh, and The Unequal Marriage as well. I ran across a full length painting of Pushkin by the seaside on our way out. Susan and I made plans to distract the desjornia and steal it... We were only able to spend about 4 hours in the museum in order to make it to the second one before it closed, but I will definitely be going back.
We decided to stop by Yalki Polki (an inexpensive, traditional Russian restaurant) on our way to the second museum, but it was very crowded. We tried a couple other Russian restaurants on our way, but they too were full. Finally, we gave up and went to McDonalds. Sigh. The world it against us.
Clubbing, Karaoke, and Sushi at Four O'Clock in the Morning
Another weekend has passed which means...story time! Went out with Joe on Thursday for my one-month anniversary(yes, I have officially been in Moscow for a month). It later turned out to be the wrong day, but shush. We talked and ate ice cream with arctic raspberries (complements of the chef). He left for London on Saturday, meaning that I am writing this from his very comfy flat while drinking all his tea. But anyways...
This past Friday one of Susan's friends had a birthday and decided to celebrate with a night of clubbing. Since it is on my check-list of things to do in Moscow, I decided to tag along. We went to a club called Propaganda (thank you, Tiffany). As I have never gone clubbing before, I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed to be your typical club. Terrible music with lots of people dancing (or trying to dance...frog in a blender, anyone?) and a proliferation of alcohol. Being the worldly, experienced person that I am, I closed my eyes and pointed to a random drink. I don't quite know what was in it (and you really, really don't want to know the name), but it was fruity and actually quite tasty. After that, I let Susan introduce me to the world of a 1,001 beers (of which I had one. Chill out, mum) while I nodded and pretended to understand what she was saying. Dimitri (a fellow SRASer that I met at dinner a couple of weeks ago) came along.
I met another American (the first American girl not from my program) and have taken her under my wing (well, sorta). Her name is Sarah and she just arrived a week ago. Apparently, she's been so scared to go out she's been eating cereal in her room since she got here. Susan and I showed her how to navigate the scary world of Russian cafeterias, so hopefully everything will be good.
Anyways, we stayed at the club until we couldn't stand hearing the same song over and over and over and...well, you get the point. So, off we went to find (of all things) a karaoke club. We found one, but they wanted an outrageous entrance fee, so we ended up wandering the streets. Eventually, we found a sushi bar, had some sushi. Then, it was back to the streets. After another hour of wandering around, looking for something that was open (it's Moscow for Pete's sake, something should be open) and after an hour or so, found a Shocaladnitsa (a coffee house). We were going to stay until the metro opened (around 5.30-6.00), but they closed on us. Finally, after a long night of wandering around – ten minutes before the metro opens – Francesca decides she doesn't want to wait and hails a cab. It was fun. So, there is another thing I can cross off my list. Done and done.
One Saturday (after a well-earned lie in), Susan and I took off to the Mayakovsky museum. We couldn't figure out how to get in, so we ended up at this massive bookstore, trying to read Tolkien and Star Wars in Russian. I picked up a collection of Russian poems to carry around with me and after getting frisked by the guards, twice (once coming in – because, apparently, I was stealing something coming into the store – and once leaving), we took off to the Red Square. It was snowing, so it made a perfect picture day. We walked around the Red Square, went to GUM, got cappuccinos from a Japanese restaurant, and played “count the brides” (there is a Russian tradition that, when you get married, you spend the day walking around Moscow and taking pictures at all the famous sites).
It was Valentine's Day and, in celebration, the Moscow City government held a concert/freestyle skiing competition at MGU (MGU has a massive sky ramp). We met up with some friends and went to the concert/competition thing. It turned out that the skiing competition was the finals for the World Cup. Franchesca decided to desecrate a Russian flag by cutting out a Swiss flag in the Russian flag...and promptly got spit on. It was quite interesting, but we had a native Russian with us who got everyone to chill out. So, we spent the night eating kiosk food, listening to bad (in a good way) Russian pop music and random members of the Duma, and watching people throw themselves off ramps at 50 mph. An American won, at which point I ducked my head and high-tailed it out of there while all my friends pointed at me and yelled, “She's an American.”
Then I randomly threw myself in the snow and made a snow angel. Because I could.
Day 2 (well, really day 3) was a museum hopping day. We hit both Tretyakov Museums, which was AWESOME!!! I am officially in love. Will explain more later. Loves to all!
This past Friday one of Susan's friends had a birthday and decided to celebrate with a night of clubbing. Since it is on my check-list of things to do in Moscow, I decided to tag along. We went to a club called Propaganda (thank you, Tiffany). As I have never gone clubbing before, I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed to be your typical club. Terrible music with lots of people dancing (or trying to dance...frog in a blender, anyone?) and a proliferation of alcohol. Being the worldly, experienced person that I am, I closed my eyes and pointed to a random drink. I don't quite know what was in it (and you really, really don't want to know the name), but it was fruity and actually quite tasty. After that, I let Susan introduce me to the world of a 1,001 beers (of which I had one. Chill out, mum) while I nodded and pretended to understand what she was saying. Dimitri (a fellow SRASer that I met at dinner a couple of weeks ago) came along.
I met another American (the first American girl not from my program) and have taken her under my wing (well, sorta). Her name is Sarah and she just arrived a week ago. Apparently, she's been so scared to go out she's been eating cereal in her room since she got here. Susan and I showed her how to navigate the scary world of Russian cafeterias, so hopefully everything will be good.
Anyways, we stayed at the club until we couldn't stand hearing the same song over and over and over and...well, you get the point. So, off we went to find (of all things) a karaoke club. We found one, but they wanted an outrageous entrance fee, so we ended up wandering the streets. Eventually, we found a sushi bar, had some sushi. Then, it was back to the streets. After another hour of wandering around, looking for something that was open (it's Moscow for Pete's sake, something should be open) and after an hour or so, found a Shocaladnitsa (a coffee house). We were going to stay until the metro opened (around 5.30-6.00), but they closed on us. Finally, after a long night of wandering around – ten minutes before the metro opens – Francesca decides she doesn't want to wait and hails a cab. It was fun. So, there is another thing I can cross off my list. Done and done.
One Saturday (after a well-earned lie in), Susan and I took off to the Mayakovsky museum. We couldn't figure out how to get in, so we ended up at this massive bookstore, trying to read Tolkien and Star Wars in Russian. I picked up a collection of Russian poems to carry around with me and after getting frisked by the guards, twice (once coming in – because, apparently, I was stealing something coming into the store – and once leaving), we took off to the Red Square. It was snowing, so it made a perfect picture day. We walked around the Red Square, went to GUM, got cappuccinos from a Japanese restaurant, and played “count the brides” (there is a Russian tradition that, when you get married, you spend the day walking around Moscow and taking pictures at all the famous sites).
It was Valentine's Day and, in celebration, the Moscow City government held a concert/freestyle skiing competition at MGU (MGU has a massive sky ramp). We met up with some friends and went to the concert/competition thing. It turned out that the skiing competition was the finals for the World Cup. Franchesca decided to desecrate a Russian flag by cutting out a Swiss flag in the Russian flag...and promptly got spit on. It was quite interesting, but we had a native Russian with us who got everyone to chill out. So, we spent the night eating kiosk food, listening to bad (in a good way) Russian pop music and random members of the Duma, and watching people throw themselves off ramps at 50 mph. An American won, at which point I ducked my head and high-tailed it out of there while all my friends pointed at me and yelled, “She's an American.”
Then I randomly threw myself in the snow and made a snow angel. Because I could.
Day 2 (well, really day 3) was a museum hopping day. We hit both Tretyakov Museums, which was AWESOME!!! I am officially in love. Will explain more later. Loves to all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)