The Month of May: Russia

This has been an exciting month.

The sunshine is coming and staying (we hope) and there is light in my windows as early as 3:30 and as late as 9:00, perhaps even more.  The sun comes in long and low, and lights up my living room full of red light in the evening.  That is, when it isn't so cloudy like right now.  It is still spring, a bit chilly at times, wet with rain.  But, I've been out most weekends this month, and it is time to share some of the more thrilling events, sights, occasions.

This post is in 4 parts:
Creatures.
Tanks.
Ballerinas.
Cosmonauts.

Event I
Creatures.

I had been hearing a screeching noise while I sat at my desk.  I thought maybe I was hearing things for a bit, or that there was a mouse somewhere on my balcony, living some crazy adventurous life.  Rizza had eyes and ears for it as well.  It's audible when the window is closed, and even more so when the window is open.  There were some bumps on the wall, some knocks that said something was somewhere and I didn't know where... or what.

Well, I was sitting at my desk the other day, gazing out the window, and saw a bird fly almost into the window.  I walked outside to the balcony to try to have a glance, and sure enough, some pieces of a bird's nest are peeking out from the eve under the window.  I believe (and I can't see it without extreme danger to myself) that there is a little birds' nest outside my window.  And little baby birds are calling for their mama.  Aw, spring.

Rizza can hear them.

Event II
TANKS.

Victory Day was May 9, the day that the soldiers returned to Moscow having defeated the enemy.  This, apparently, leads to some pretty fascinating events.  The buzz was about the school about Victory Day and the parades.  For at least 4 times before the big day, they have rehearsals, where some streets are closed and the tanks go through the city to practice their Red Square debut.  A few times from our office window (at school), we could see the planes in formation heading up for a rehearsal as well.

I was pretty excited about the tanks.  And with this excitement, here comes something of the misadventure of the K.

I knew that there was no way to get into Red Square, because it was against the rules.
I knew that there was some way to see the tanks, and that there was a route of the parade.
I knew the approximate times for the events, but not necessarily the places for them.

So, I went out to Tverskaya (aka one huge road towards Red Square) when I knew they were having a rehearsal.  I saw a ton of people out, seeming to walk toward a parade spot, with families in tow.  And, perhaps I assumed that there was something about to happen.  I waited and waited, not knowing exactly what the situation was.  I watched a man put his fist through a display window and get removed by a small section of security guards/police.  I bought a few waters.  I enjoyed the sunshine.

I saw no tanks.

I did, however, see planes.

All the planes.  I didn't get a ton of great photos because I watched the planes and not the phone, but I think this video is decent.

I was disappointed, because after the planes, the people began to disperse and I knew that my tank experience had been thwarted.

But.
There was another chance.
That was just the rehearsal, not the actual day.

So, Victory Day rolled around, and I got up earlier than usual (because I didn't have curtains and the sun was up and bright at 4).  I had some coffee, relaxed a bit.  And decided that this day was the day to see tanks.  This would have been easier if I had, say, asked someone for help.  Alas, that was not to be.  I walked to this place near the zoo, and asked a policeman if the tanks had gone already.  He said yes.  I went to a second place, and asked the police and innocent bystanders (there are some crowds here that surprise me at times) what they were waiting to see, and if it was tanks.  It was not.

Finally, I walked to the third place, the end of the parade route, and found the policeman.

"Da," he said.  I asked a second policeman (because they were just 15 feet apart).  "Da," he says.

And so, I hunkered down with my book, at a cafe looking out the window.  Because, it was mighty cold and wet that day.  Nothing like the beautiful sunny and blue day of the planes.  I had a coffee, and waited.  They had both said 10, but 10 rolled around without any tanks in appearance.

10:15, more people, more crowds, but still cars on the road.
10:30, more people, more crowds, no tanks yet.
10:45, no more cars, more people...

TANKS.

It was 20 solid minutes of tanks. Soldiers were waving, or just looking serious. I was waving, and looking like a super happy fool.  The street was moving with the tank weight.  It was fucking awesome.

Then, that evening, we went on a boat cruise on the river to see the fireworks, and that was another beautiful (cold) evening.  Such an amazing place that I live in.

Moscow smoky with fireworks. 

Event III:
Ballerinas

There were two ballerina themed things of this month.

One, a staff trip, took me to one of the Seven Sisters (super tall buildings you see all over Moscow) to the apartment of a famed ballerina (Galina Ulanova) which was preserved with her things, her photos, and her memorabilia.

A few of my favorite photos:

Our tour guide, a ballerina herself, with some footage of Galina on the screen.

She taught, as many ballerinas do, when her dancing career had slowed.
I would love to have seen this moment. 

She had a tiny little barre installed in a practice section of her apartment. 

The second ballerina-esque thing that happened was the viewing of a new movie that looked amazing.  It is in Russian, but it's also about dance, so I have confidence in your ability to enjoy the trailer.

Here's the trailer:

So, after dance on a Saturday, Katya the dance teacher and I (and another gal, Olga), went out to the movies to see this show.  I was happy to go with a Russian speaker, because I knew that there were things that I would miss otherwise.  I can get the gist of these things, but not quite all the details.

You have to choose your seat, like in other places I've been.
Here's the cash desk. 

Concession Stand and movie poster. 

Katya got a big popcorn to split with Olga, and I got an Americano, because coffee is served and it is such a beautiful thing.  We could also have bought beer, which I find so interesting.  We went into the theatre, found our seats in the corner of a pretty small cinema room.

The film is about this young girl from the country who, through a series of events, finds herself in the big Academy under the wing of that terrifying looking teacher.  Said teacher has some form of dementia and is struggling to remember the girls that she teaches from day to day, and the things that she does.  There's a plot around the earrings that the trailer shows; the teacher gifts them to the student, then forgets that she has done so, and she almost gets expelled from the school for this.

There's a parallel plot of competition between the two girls.  The film follows them from youth into a more mature age, and they are always fighting for roles.  The main girl seems to have more talent, but the other one has more money.  At one point, her wealthy mother begs to the dance teacher to give her a role, and then pays off the other girl for the same role: the lead in Swan Lake.

There's a handful of other themes covered: alcoholism and drug abuse, the problem of going home to the country when you've been in the city as a ballerina, some intimacy and boy issues, and some struggles with food.  All in all, a fantastic film.

Event IV:
Tulips and Cosmonauts

The weather has been warming up some (although those who have lived here for some time do say that this is a chilly sort of spring).  And, so I've been going on walks to see some of my gorgeous city.  I've been recently to the botanical gardens, a place that was somewhat small but full of all kinds of tulips.  It was also easy to get to and is perfect for warm weather as it is outside.

I do feel a certain affinity for tulips given their relationship to home for me.  Pella must be getting tulips at this time of year as well, and I can imagine that they are blooming so gloriously at home.  I've heard words that indicate that these bulbs are a gift from the Dutch for some long-standing rescue of the old days, but I cannot confirm or deny this claim.

Recently, I've also been to see the Cosmonaut's Museum.

That tall tower is massive. And it towers over the rest.  It is the monument to the Cosmonauts and the Space Race.

(It's always the food with me)

The museum was incredible, full of glorious nods to the Russian space program.  I've just finished a book about space, Seveneves, which had a huge contingent of the Russian space race.  I found a few things in the museum that the book mentioned or nodded to, and it was quite thrilling to see it all.  It's underneath this huge tower that you see, in something of a basement, but it is full of models and artifacts and photos of space.

I just jumped in on my way to other things (read: to enjoy the sunshine), but I will go back again and immerse myself in the paraphrenalia that it had to offer.

On my walk, I also enjoyed the large "theme park" known as VDNKh.

Even Wikipedia gives me unclear reasons why it was built, but it seemed to be a nod to some of the Soviet states, with pavillions of all kinds that house different things.  There are a few museums, and one of the pavillions I visited had a small market.  Some of the buildings look quite run down, though there was also a horse park where I saw riders in a corral.

Does this do the scale of this place justice? I'm not convinced. 

Shiny fountain. 

Rockets! Airplanes! Why?

I'll be walking a lot in future weekends, I believe.  And there will be more photos all along the way.  This walk ended with some gardens (including a Japanese Garden) and a ride in the new train that goes around the ring.  It was truly a beautiful spring day (if a bit brisk).

Have I said before how much I love Moscow?  Because truly, I do.

This Year In Europe

With the madness of the first year at this school, I didn't make time to blog about some of the awesome cities in Europe I went this year.  Therefore, I thought I would put them all together in one blog, with photos and strong memories that have stuck with me.  This goal of mine to see some of Europe is going to keep me busy for quite some time.

September 2016: Prague
Librarians Conference with Kris

There's a book tower in one of the libraries in Prague.
As we were all librarians enjoying the sights, this was a thing that we saw.

A "famous" dessert in Prague is the Trdelnik, with a cone made from some dough rolled in cinnamon sugar,
with insides of ice cream.  I had one with apples and cinnamon, and it was a beautiful treat. 

Kris and I were thrilled that we got "carded" on the bus.  The public transport works like an honor system - you buy and validate your tickets, and when you least expect it, someone will come on and check your ticket.  We were on our last ride in Prague, some of our last tickets, and we were thrilled to get caught following the rules. 

An overlook of the city, from a museum of science in conjunction with the famed Prague library
(which we weren't allowed to photograph).  It's old, and bricked, and beautiful.  

Prague was a great time, and the conference was fantastic!

October 2016: Geneva and the French Alps
Birthday Celebration with Peter

Birthday Cake! A lovely cheesecake.  Someone tried to wake me up for cake at 3:32 (my birth day in this time zone)
but we ate it at a more reasonable hour instead. 

The view in our little mountain chalet.  This is one of my favorite photos. 

At one point, our water was being finicky, so I drew a bath the old fashioned way. 

We did some geocaching and exploring of both the French and Swiss borders.

The view.... the glorious view.

November 2016: Paris
More time with Peter

The first... 50 of my photos in Paris were pastry related. I'll spare you the trouble of looking through them all.
Just know... they exist.

There's this church in Paris that was turned into an academy of science, and then a museum: Arts et Metiers.  It was fantastic, and there was everything from an iPod (first edition, how old I feel), to models of architecture. 

We saw a pianist in an old church, all echoey and cold. 

The Jardin du Luxembourg was so gorgeous! Also chilly. 

Okay, just one more food. Crepes. They put chocolate sticks in there!

November 2016: Sofia, Bulgaria
MS Robotics Trip

The school in Sofia has creatures and nature. Our kids were quite amused. 

Our robotics team hard at work. 

They told us that it was difficult to build the metro because they had all these ruins underneath the city.
Here is a handful. 

There was even an old spring that popped up in the middle of the city.
We, of course, all drank from it. (Maybe I'll live forever now).

December 2016: Lyon, France

Christmas with Peter

We looked around the old city of Lyon, into this old church and beautiful decorations.
I lit a candle for one of the saints.   

This was a chocolate maker, and I loved his shop so intensely.  He was a bit of the strong silent type, but the lady running the shop front (shockingly to us, his wife) was chatty and delightful.  I tasted some dark chocolates of all kinds and enjoyed the feel of the shop. 

We bought this colorful plethora of veggies at the local grocery store, and I made a ton of food.
This beautiful bouquet, though, I barely knew what to do with myself.  Plus this garlic was absolutely perfect. 

I took a French cooking class, and basically learned that if you add enough cream or butter, it will be delicious.
I also learned to make Foie Gras, which I made for Peter.  It was all in French, but luckily, a few nice ladies took me under their wing and helped me figure out some of the finer points.  

My favorite thing to visit when I travel is botanical gardens.
The gardens in Lyon had this little tropical greenhouse, which was nice because it was so chilly that day!

There will be more and more throughout the next years.  I am loving Europe, and will enjoy Portugal and Amsterdam in the coming months.

The First Russian Hockey Game

I attended my first Russian hockey game last week, with a few friends from school.  We didn’t really know what to expect; other co-workers had told us that the games were silent, that we could hear players talking on the ice with the silence in the arena.  I had trouble believing this, considering my last hockey game was so loud that I could barely hear the person next to me, but Russia has been full of surprises.

The floating blimps.

So, we met at the door of our building, got on the Metro to the other side of town, and walked in the cold (it’s about 10 degrees F most days now) to the arena.  It’s massive, with a ton of concrete space out front for meeting.  There were security stations at every door, and the women’s line with the female guard was short enough for us to get through with no issue.  And inside, the typical hockey arena.  It is food, gear, door, followed by food, gear, door.  The special Russian touch, though… is the coat check area.  I’ve never been someplace with so many coat checks in so many locations.

Ice dancer cheerleaders.

This brand new arena is what they’ve built for the Moscow home team: Dynamo. 

The game we saw was Dynamo versus their rival from St. Petersburg: SKA. (This is not to be confused with CSKA, a more local team also in Moscow).

Waiting for the team to emerge.

We got into our door (finally, after walking through the circle of the arena and passing our door with the way the signs fell).  We had our tickets checked by a man in a vest, and went down to our seats behind one of the nets.  On our seats were these cardstock announcements with the Dynamo logos, pieces that we could fold as a noisemaker.  How useful they were when hit against the palm of your hand.

Quick huddle.

As we waited for the game to start, there was an emcee on the ice getting the crowd riled up.  There was a mascot (a blue wolf) who also riled successfully.  There were some figure skating ladies dancing on the ice. 

The SKA cheering section.

We found out that alcohol is not sold for the general population, which appears to be a theme at the public events. 

Folding paper thing.

The game was also quite nice.  First period saw SKA open with a goal, then Dynamo retaliate with a goal that had the crowd wild.  There was a section in the nosebleed seats that was a SKA flavored cheering section.  They had a large drum that they beat in time to make cheers.  The large Dynamo section was at the other end of the arena from us, behind the other net.  They were considerably noisier and had a flag that was almost constantly in motion.  There were also cheerleaders that came to cheer on the steps around us, spaced throughout the arena.

I must say, I was most disappointed with the lack of fighting.  The Pens get in fights about every 10 minutes, but we only saw one skirmish and it didn’t involve the gloves thrown on the floor.  Even the penalty box was relatively clear, just a couple of players in for small infractions.  One of the bigger parts of the game was sticks left on the ice and knocked out of the hands of the players.

This ref. This ref was the best.

However, I wouldn’t fight with the refs that were in the game either.  There was one ref that kept telling the face off players to switch because they had moved too quickly, or kept watching the circle to ensure that no one was getting too close to the action before the puck was thrown.  He kept the players in line with his whole demeanor, chastising them for every toe that crept too far past the circle. 

A crushing defeat.

Sadly, Dynamo fell in the third period after a clever goal by SKA that pushed them into the lead, but the game was close, and remarkably entertaining.  Certainly an experience to repeat, and a quite inexpensive one at that.  It was not a quiet match at any moment, and the crowd was never silent enough that we could hear the players on the ice. 

In fact, I learned a new word: “dvai,” which I believe means, “come on!”  One man was repeating it over and over again for his team: SKA.