Russia 2015: Of Saints and Scientists - An Afternoon at the Moscow Cathedral

The directions were to "use the entrance under the bridge." Neither Rusty nor I even knew one existed. It was a quick metro ride to the iconic Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Slippery steps led down to the Moscow River and the line of very scientific looking gentlemen that was beginning to form just past the bridge let us know we were in the right place.

It was quite a paradox of images...a constellation of lights on the ceiling, saints and Tsar Nicholas adorned the columns and scientists filled the "soviet red" seats. Most of the attendees were between the ages of 65-80. Rusty had been inducted into the Academy of Natural Sciences a few years ago and was the official representative from the United States at the 25th Anniversary Conference.  Before the conference began, we were led through back passage ways to view their collection of historic icons dating from the 6th or 7th century.





In a effort to keep awake during the long event (jet lag and the hour long reading of "congratulations" took its toll) I wandered through the exhibition of religious art and checked out the New Year /Christmas souvenirs for sale in the hallway.






















Wearing his medals like a badge of honor, the Academy president personally greeted Rusty during a break in the conference.

Once it had concluded, we decided to skip the cocktail reception and headed down to the "food court" at the mall on Red Square. Last chance to get some traditional Russian dishes, even if they were the fast food variety. At least during the opulent buffet breakfast at the Metropol Hotel, we got to sample some first class Russian cuisine - blini (with caviar, if you wanted), cheese curd pancakes, kasha (either oatmeal or rice), and a variety of teas and sweets.

For my last evening in Moscow, I wandered through the souvenir kiosks that filled the space in front of the Russian History Museum, just around the corner from Red Square. Last minute Christmas gifts in hand, we made it an early night. Our car to the airport picked us up at 4am. With Rusty's Skymile privileges, we had breakfast in the Aeroflot version of the Sky Lounge. The flights were uneventful, but long - especially the 11 leg from Paris to Salt Lake City. I made it back to my apartment by 3pm and was on the road south by 4pm. I made it to St. George before the bad weather hit and found a simple hotel with a hot tub.  I hit the road early and after 6 more hours, made it to my brother's just as the Thanksgiving turkey was being served. It was an amazing, whirl wind trip to Russia! I think I will try to stay longer than 3 nights next time :)

Russia 2015: Looking for the Post Office and Other Hidden Wonders

We had a full day to wander and do some shopping before the conference, so after indulging in the opulent buffet breakfast at the Metropol, my boss and I headed up Tverskaya Street. Rusty wanted some Russian stamps and Christmas/New Years cards so first stop was the Main Post Office of Moscow (Glavpochtampt). The bright red post box on the building seemed like a confirmation that we had found the right place, but there were no lines and no workers, for that matter. I finally noticed the sign saying that the office had moved next to the McDonald's (just across the street), but we saw nothing that remotely looked like a post office. We took a chance and went inside McDs to ask for directions. I scoured the room for a friendly face and found a lady clearing tables. Luckily, she knew where the office relocated to and went to grab her coat. She led us up some hidden stairs and through a courtyard. I saw the familiar ПОЧТА sign just beyond the trash bins. Success. Once inside the building we went through a maze of mailboxes and found a woman who reluctantly sold us pages of 1 and 2 ruble stamps (she was dumbfounded as to why two tourists wanted so many...) I tried to get a smile out of her before I left, but was unsuccessful.

It was a typical winter day. The snow and buildings and mud all melted into a thousand possible shades of grey. We continued our walk up Tverskaya Street...next stop was the book store - Дом Книги. We needed cards and a few calendars to take back with us. On the way we spotted a small church dwarfed by a concrete apartment building. For a moment I was back in 1985 and my very first trip to the then Soviet Union. I remembered this church and the stark contrast it was to the rows of unsightly apartments leading up to the sky. I think I even took a photo of it back then.

On to Arbat Street.

We both needed to pick up a few souvenirs, but a bit of hot chocolate was in order first. Starbucks to the rescue. They also had free wi-fi, so it was worth the overpriced drinks. One of my favorite shops is just across the cobblestone street from the cafe. We filled our baskets with staking dolls (matryoshkas) and brightly painted khokhloma dishes. Jet lag was kicking in, so we opted to take a nap back at the hotel before meeting up with Rusty's friends from TsAGI.


Refreshed and ready for a first class dinner we met up with Sergey and his family at the Pushkin Cafe. I should have guessed from the cascade of lights that covered the restaurant that this was a high end place. Rusty had been here many times, but on my typical travel budget, I usually only get one nice cafe per city. This place was a step back in time. Hard wood everything. Upstairs the walls were filled with books and I half expected Pushkin himself to poke his head from behind one of the columns. The food was as grand as the restaurant itself, a bit exotic even for my tastes. I tried the smoked eel but declined the fishy something that came afterwards. All was made right once we got the main course. Mine was a plate divided into four sections - mushrooms in sour cream, pelmeni, and beef stroganoff. The fourth dish escapes me, but the Morc (a forest berry drink) was just as good as I remembered it to be.

 

 A good friend of mine from my Kostroma days, Olga, now lives in Moscow. I was able to connect with her on short notice for some tea and sweets at the Anderson Cafe around the corner from the Pushkin restaurant. We caught up on life over jam "tea" and a decadent raspberry pistachio tort. Olga gushed about her new one bedroom apartment, still in the process of being plastered, tiled and having all the pluming and electrical installed. It will be small, but it will be all hers.

Russia 2015: One Snowy Moscow Night...

I have taken quick trips before, but never like the one I recently took to Moscow, Russia. I went with my boss to a Russian Academy of Natural Sciences 25 Anniversary Conference the week before Thanksgiving. The goal was to get there, be there and get back in time for me to drive the 10+ hours down to Arizona and arrive just in time for turkey.



A week prior to our departure, Paris was terrorized by radical extremists with gunfire and bombs. We were on the Delta flight direct from Salt Lake City to Charles de Galle, but I figured the Paris airport would most likely be one of the best secured places after such attacks. No problems there. We arrived in Moscow in the evening to a dusting of snow and hopped on the new (at least to me) airport train direct to the Belaruskaya Train Station - complete with free Wi-Fi. After a short subway ride to one of the Red Square stops, we settled into our rooms the magnificent Metropol Hotel, just across the street from the Bolshoi Theater. Due to the weak ruble, we were able to get 3 nights in this lavish hotel for about the price of the same rooms at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Not bad!



After 15 or so hours in the air (thanks to my coat-as-a-pillow and a sleeping pill) I felt much better than expected. My boss opted to catch up on sleep, while I decided to bundle up and walk over to Red Square. It was a "warm" evening and the snow flakes were fluffy and wet; the first real snow fall of the season in Moscow. The main department store - GUM - sponsored a Winter Market right on Red Square, complete with rides, booths and an ice skating rink. It was about 9:30pm and the Square was speckeled with tourists and locals alike taking in the holiday.

I was back in Russia; back in winter.

Russia 2015: A Walk in the Park

Last day in Moscow. Time to do a lot of walking in very large parks. I met up with my friends Vlas and Galina at Poklonaya Gora (Victory Park) for a walk through wars past and beautiful Russian forests. Galina's daughter, Alina, was there for her roller blade lessons. In fact, the park was full of skates, skateboards, and scooters. Several memorials and churches from various confessions are specked in quiet corners of the park. It was really impressive.

After a quick dinner back at Galina's I met with my friend from my Kostroma days, Olga. She just flew in from a trip to France and so we managed to catch up for a few hours that afternoon in Solokniki Park near her apartment. We ducked into one of the sidewalk cafes before the rain started. The mojito was perfect for the humid, cloudy afternoon (I didnt even miss the alcohol.)

I had been to this park many years ago during my Neways days, and it looked nothing like the park of today - ropes courses, mini trains giving tours around the park and girls selling flowers from baskets on their bikes. We made it to the Rose Garden during a break in the rain and then had a salad assortment back at her apartment. 

Back at my hotel, just around 11pm, fireworks! Not just a couple wimpy blasts, but at 10 minute barrage for the bride and groom celebrating in the hall downstairs. What a way to leave Russia in style!

Russia 2015: Moscow's New Old Arbat and All Things Russian

It wouldn't be a trip to Moscow without a stroll down Arbat Street. In years past, this street was crammed full with souvenir stands of fur hats, nesting dolls and military memorabilia. The souvenirs have since moved to shops in the buildings and all that remains are a few portrait artist and workers in teddy bear and Tigger suits passing out flyers. I spent most of the morning going up and down the street looking for the perfect gifts to bring home. I was able to charm a group of girls in the Matryoshka Russian Souvenir Shop on Arbat #32 (with my unexpected Russian language skills) into giving me quite a discount. Starbucks has free wi-fi, so I indulged in an overpriced raspberry-red current frozen drink while I checked emails and uploaded photos to Instagram.

Just around the corner from Arbat #32 is the Cathedral of Savior Transfiguration on the Sands. A reproduction of Polenov's famous painting "Moscow Courtyard" in our office, so I recognized it immediately.

I finished up my shopping and then decided to head out to Gorky Park. Several people told me I should visit the redesigned park so I made my way out there (I was there 20+ years ago when it had a huge rickety Farris Wheel that cost 1 ruble a ride.) I got off at the Park Kultury metro stop and followed the crowds across the Moscow River to the entrance of the park. I could see they were setting up for a big 2015 Moscow Graduation celebration, but people seemed to still be walking into the park. I was wrong. There was a small sign on the gate saying the park was closed for two days, Sure would have been nice to know this before trekking across the bridge in the rain.

Finally time for dinner. The mall near my hotel has a pretty good food court on the 3rd floor so I ordered a bit of everything from ravioli-like pelmeni and the green tarragon drink - Tarhun, to meat filled blini and a dessert shaped like a potato called "kartoshka". It was perfect. 

When I made it back to my hotel, I noticed a wedding party in the grounds just in front of the monastery. I stole a peak and found a little girl posing by the pond. It looked like a scene from a Russian painting.

Russia 2015: From Red Square to Russia's NASA

 

I caught 'Stalin' sneaking in to the Ohotniy Ryad Metro Station with two cappuccinos this morning - like Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell at Disneyland, everyone wants a photo with him and 'Lenin'. I had some time before my presentation and decided to make my "must see" stop at Red Square. Tourists and locals alike still line up to see the real "Lenin under glass" in the mausoleum near the Kremlin walls. They now, however have to go through metal detectors near one of the Kremlin Towers first. I stood in line my first trip to Russia and that was enough for me.There was a lot of construction next to the GUM (the State Department Sore) side of the square, but not much else has changed.

I was picked up by Ekaterina, one of the TsAGI press attaches, in a very shiny Audi SUV. It took 45 minutes to get across town to the TsAGI Moscow offices. Since I had a PowerPoint from a couple of UVU classes I taught earlier on, I was able to modify it for this presentation.

The ladies from TsAGI came into Moscow just for this meeting - about two hours away. They all seemed to enjoy learning about my Olympic and Dignitary hosting experiences...I have enough stories to fill an hour, but held back the urge. They were not surprised when I told them that Russia was the most "demanding" of all the countries I managed.

Anna walked me to the Metro station and then offered to show me around Moscow for awhile. We decided to see the Christ the Savior Cathedral. It closed at 6pm and we just missed it, so all that was left to do was wander the gardens and the bridge over the Moscow River. Tired legs carried to the metro. I picked up a few piroski - cabbage, potato, and cheremuha berries - for dinner and settled back into "monastery life" at the hotel.

Russia 2015: Just outside Moscow...in Search of Gingerbread

After a long, restless White night on the train from Saint-Petersburg, I arrived in Moscow at 8:30am. Friends from the Moscow-Utah Youth Games days arranged to pick me up at the station. One of them, Vlas, had the morning free to get me settled into my hotel - Danlovskaya part of the Moscow Patriarchy Monastery, and to take a ride to some of the villages outside of Moscow.



We were looking for a special gingerbread at the Museum of Russian Desserts in Zvenigorod, but they were sold out. We did, however, stop by the 1300 century church currently being restored. Vlas took me on a short excursion around the ancient walls near the church and then we were on our way again.

Our next destination was the Savvino-Starozhevsky Monastery. Another place devoid of foreign tourists, the monastery is an active site for locals and pilgrims. Rich in history and miracles, it is also the site of a wonderful bakery. We finally found some gingerbread to take back as souvenirs.

Our last stop before heading back to Moscow was to get water at a source of holy water and to see the cave of the hermit-monk who founded the monastery. Perfect sky, perfect breeze and a perfect chance to see a new part of Russia.

The view from my window over the monastery - clouds are rolling in. I am getting ready for my presentation tomorrow to the Press and Protocol section of TsAGI - time to talk International Event Planning, Protocol and the Olympics...in Russian!