In Moscow, for now...

Everything went as scheduled on Friday. I'd forgotten about the change of time zone, so the apparent seven hours it took to fly from London to Moscow was actually just under four hours in a very comfortable (relatively speaking, as it was crowded too) Airbus operated by Aeroflot.

Alla, Galina's sister, met me at the airport and we grabbed a "private" cab to her apartment. (And we saved 300 rubles in the process, in a manner that must remain secret. ;^)

Saturday, we went on a little walkabout, with myself on the lookout for an Internet cafe where I could get my daily fix of checking email and posting on LJ. However, this happens to be the height of the May holidays in Russia (today is, in fact, Victory Day, celebrating the 59th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe). And not surprisingly, pretty much most of central Moscow buttons up during this period (though I am typing this from an Internet cafe a few hundred yards from the Marriott Aurora, which I am surprised to have found open).

I took some pictures yesterday while in town, which I may post later. There were a number of veterans on the streets (though understandably, not as many as in years past). Aeroflot, by the way, has offered veterans a deal during some period in May, wherein said veterans can take advantage of a free round trip on the airline to various places, ostensibly for reunions with old comrades.

The television programming has had a definitely martial theme these past couple of days. Old, wartime films highlighting the valiant sacrifices of Ivan Everyman share the airwaves with - last night - films such as Windtalkers, which Alla and I watched. I found it no less powerful with a single-voice Russian voiceover than when I saw it shortly after it came out on DVD.

Later yesterday, Alla and I went to the Aushan (Ашан) store out at the end of one of the Metro lines (plus a short ride in a route taxi [маршрутный такси]). I just wanted to see how it compared to the Aushan store I visited back when there were two such stores in Houston. (There will apparently be two such stores in Moscow, soon.) We bought some things for Alla, and I got a nice German thermos for about $8.00 (the same thing at Starbucks would run $30, easily).

Today, we went to Ismailovsky Park. We did a fast run through of the Вермисаж [Vermisazh], which is highly tourist-oriented, offering nesting dolls and similar dust-collectors, after which Alla led me to the market in the back.

I have never seen such a place! Crowded to the gills with every sort of nationality, it looked like something out of Blade Runner. I was looking to buy a cheap sun hat (successful, at 80 rubles) and a pair of cheap sneakers (ditto, at 200 rubles). The current exchange rate is around 28.5 rubles to the dollar, so you do the math.

Getting into town today was interesting. Alla and I went out into the street and literally the first car to pass agreed to take me into town for 200 rubles. Unfortunately, as today is Victory Day, The Powers That Be have pretty much blocked all vehicular traffic from the center of the city, so I ended up having to walk a few blocks instead of getting door-to-door service.

I still have about 40 minutes left on this ticket (60 rubles per hour), so I may go check my bank accounts, or not - as I am a naturally paranoid type.

Ahhh... much better. (I just swapped my stool with the neighboring one; the one I was sitting on was a real butt-punisher that seemed designed to try to get me to stop sitting on it as soon as possible. The new stool is... well... normal, which is probably a case of Too Much Information™... sorry.)

More later, maybe.

Cheers...

After dinner...

Dinner was at a fast-food, stand-up place called Teremok [Теремок] on Tverskaya (once known as Gorky Street). It appealed to me, despite the dearth of furniture for customers, by offering buckwheat groats [гречневая каша] and blintzes [блины] filled with all sorts of goodies. I had the groats with mushrooms and a blintz with smoked salmon, all for 100 rubles.

There is a saying that "you can't ruin groats with too much butter" ["кашу маслом не испортишь"], and the portion I received was proof. It was m-m-mm good, except for the fact that off the top of my head, there are few foods that are more carbohydrate-rich. I like to think that fact is mitigated by the fact that these are not "empty" carbs such as one would get out of a Mars bar.

The blintz was good, too, but I'm thinking it may have been too much.

On the way back from dinner, I strolled down Kamergerskiy Pereulok (which is where this cafe is located) and saw a number of foreigners sitting outside of several restaurants that line the street on both sides. (Note to self: There is a Tibetan restaurant here, for future reference.) I'm wondering just which of these I will be supporting for the next several weeks.

I feel like getting something to drink (not necessarily alcoholic) and drifting back toward the hotel. The real work of the trip starts tomorrow.

Cheers...