So, this time last week I was in Moscow, having taken the overnight train from Petersburg. That in itself was an adventure, but one that probably can stand to remain at the moment without further explanation. Instead I’ll talk a little about what I did in Moscow, which considering the rather short duration of the visit was really quite a bit. Immediately after disembarking our train and leaving the station we herded onto a tour bus and were shown various points of interest in the city. Unfortunately I slept through most of this tour, but I do recall seeing some very gothic, soviet-style buildings through the foggy, rainy skyline. I do remember very clearly our breakfast, which was at some buffet-style “cafe” called My-My (pronounced moo-moo) where I had the best jell-o fruit cup ever. Or it seemed to be at the time. I’m pretty sure this restaurant/cafe would be super popular in the states, fitting right in with the likes of Golden Corral.
After our meal we headed to our hotel. Three stars of pure modern comfort. And I also commend the place on its water pressure; it actually hurt my ears to turn the faucet on in the sink.
Thursday evening we saw the opera adaptation of Eugene Onegin, which definitely ranks up there with best shows I’ve seen in Russia (the other being Swan Lake, the only other show I have seen). The set for this production was amazing, the singing was good, and I liked the ending. Definitely worth the ticket provided to me by the Bates College Extra Funds for Random Study Abroad Programs (I’m almost 100% positive on the name).
Other highlights from Moscow include seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, Church of Christ the Savior, St Basil’s in Red Square, aaaaaaaaaaaand… Lenin. Going inside his mausoleum felt like what I imagine going inside one of the Great Pyramids would be like. There’s a guard at every turn, and when you finally get into the room it’s all dark except for the glass case with the man himself inside. I suppose it’s a little strange, but I found the whole experience incredibly fascinating. And they do keep him looking impeccable.
I also saw countless amazing works of art at a gallery the actual name of which escapes me. Russian artists seriously knew what they were doing. It makes all those other European artists just seem like infants with paintbrushes. Just compare Vrubel to, like, anybody else. No contest.
So, yeah, all in all Moscow’s a pretty swell city.
which as far as I can tell is straight pig fat. In other words, it’s the stuff you’re really wanting to eat when you have some American bacon but you know people will think you’re absolutely disgusting if you said so. Then you get sorta pissed because you know they just want to eat the pork fat, too. Anyway, here in Russia, they like to buy pig fat in slabs and slice it off into more manageable pieces for eating. I had some tonight with bread and grated garlic–absolutely amazing.