Всё хорошо, что хорошо кончается.

So I made it back safely to Constance!
“Yeah, whatever,” you say, "Just tell me about the exciting adventures from your last few days in Moscow!”
Very well, I’ll indulge you:


the U of M!
but seriously, the Moscow State University
It’s certainly not pretty in the traditional sense, but it is … hm …looming? intimidating? massive? Also, notice the woman in the bottom left of the photo. I love it.


One of the things I love the most about Moscow is that it has loads and loads of cheap and decent kiosks all over. Here is a caravan of kiosks, with all of the best. From the left: stardogs (not very good, actually, but it’s an anomaly), Kartoshka (potatoes from 40 rubles!), pirozhki (stuffed pastries), Grill XXI (I’m not actually sure what this is), Russian Chill (ice cream – Russians love their ice cream, even in the middle of the winter when it’s subzero), and finally my favorite: Blini!


On Friday we went to Novodevichy, a beautiful Russian monastery.


again

Walking into the monastery was like walking into the eye of a storm. Suddenly everything was calm; no one was yelling at us; the sun was shining; everything was still and gorgeous. I even saw Russians smiling!

Then we went to the zoo. Thank God it was free for students.


I have absolutely no idea.


This is exactly what the zoo looks like. Most of the cages or pens are empty, everything is cement, and it’s in the heart of Moscow (notice the lovely cityscape). Also, there were signs everywhere saying it’s forbidden to feed the animals, but left and right I saw Russians chucking greasy carnival food at the drooling animals.

Then in the evening Khatia (a friend I met last interim in Moscow) met up with us. We went out to eat at an amazing tapas place right near our hostel. Although it wasn't the cheapest place I've eaten at, it was definitely one of the best since coming abroad! Then we went to Red Square in order to see it lit up.


photo of Khatia and me

So if you decide ever to come to Moscow, here are some things to keep in mind:

* Almost certainly someone in your group needs to speak Russian. Muscovites either are unable or refuse to speak English. At the very least, you should be able to read the Russian alphabet.

* Be prepared for the Russians to be insanely rude to you. Kelly says they make the French seem wonderful.

* It's basically a sin not to try some chocolate blini.

* Use the metro. It's beautiful and extremely reliable.

So that’s it. Moscow was a blast – much better in the Spring! – and now I’m back to class. I’ll post photos of Constance in a couple of days.

Хорошая погода - в Москве?!

So we've actually had spectacular weather throughout the week! And (knock on wood) it's only supposed to continue to get better! Kelly tells me that the typically day in Moscow at this time of the year only gets around 4 hrs of sunlight. For the last two days, however, it has been cloudless from morning till night!


Yesterday we went to Red Square again. We went into St. Basil's and heard some gorgeous live choral music.


Then we went into the Kremlin and walked around, looking at all of the beautiful churches inside.


Here's a shot from the so-called "Secret Garden." We decided it's called the "Secret Garden," because it's almost impossible to get to. Basically every way you turn, there's a Russian rent-a-cop blowing his whistle at you and telling you "Nyet! Nyet!" It took us ages to find a path on which we were allowed to walk.


Crockpot (aka the Cyrillic D): just for you, Lindsay!


Moscow in the sun
(Christ the Savior in the center and the Kremlin on the right)

Then today we went to the Tretyakov. Unfortunately you can't take photos in there, but Kelly says this museum was in itself worth the trip to Moscow. I love it.

After that we went to Gorky Park - just for you, Dad!


Surprise! It's somewhat unattractive. My guess: It'll clean up in the summer.

Many St. Olaf students travel abroad in "less developed" countries and then flaunt pictures of themselves with "the natives" in order to seem culturally diverse and philanthropic. ("Oh facebook stalkers, look at me befriending this little African child! I'm the least racist white tourist ever!") Luckily Gorky Park threw me up this opportunity for my very own "ethnic baby" photo:


Russians, like the Germans, reject everything PC.


Gorky Park: Birthplace of Romance.

But truthfully, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Gorky Park. Like I said, I'm sure it's nicer in the summer, and I bought ice cream. Plus, the woman who sold me the ice cream was uncommonly friendly: When I tried to look for exact change, instead of yelling at me, she told me, "Take your time." (!!!)


Christ the Savior near sunset


Did I mention I went to the Caribbean?

Oh, and I almost forgot: We met this very strange French guy in our hostel, who apparently found his Russian girlfriend on the internet and is now very surprised that she's only interested in him for his money. He says she's very demanding and sometimes cruelly blunt. One time she gave him back a present he bought her and told him "This is really awful." That really cracks me up. So word to the wise: The WWW might not be the best place to find true love.

Жить в бизнес-классе!

I'm in Moscow!

It was a long journey to get here, but I got to ride first class with KLM, which was awesome! I even got a little tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream with my meal! Quality living!

I'm staying in Godzillas Hostel again, and it's been completely renovated! We have a private room, sheets and blankets, and even unlimited wireless internet for 1700 rubles/night (or about €22 per person).

Kelly and I toured around Moscow today. We saw Red Square, grabbed some delicious chocolate blini (kind of the Russian crepe) in front of Christ the Savior, and walked down New Arbot. Now I'm exhausted, but before I go to sleep: МОИ ФОТОГРАФИИ!


Red Square was empty! That was a big change from last year.


outside Red Square
Authentic Russian souvenirs now include rolls of toilet paper with American currency printed on them. To quote the Russian newspaper The Exile (which is an entertaining read, by the way):

The dollar is so worthless here that fanning out stacks of Benjamins has become Russia's newest ironic photograph pose, joining the likes of the lesbian kiss and the kukla-mukla lip pucker.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, outside the Kremlin


On the bridge to Christ the Savior, there are hundreds of these padlocks. It turns out newly-weds traditionally sign their names on the locks, clip them to the bridge and then throw the key into the river below.


statue of Peter the Great on the Moskva river
This statue was built in 1997 and is over 300 feet tall, making it the sixth tallest statue in the world. It has become quite famous since its construction due to its being insanely gaudy, obstructive and just plain ironic - remember how Peter hated Moscow so much that he built St. Petersburg? One critic calls the monument a "big toy soldier stuck atop a bunch of broken model ships."


Here's where we had some delicious, steaming, chocolate blini.


Near the Lenin Library is this statue of Dostoevsky. He seems so sad, looking out over the omnipresent giant advertisements (which I'm pretty sure the city puts up simply in order to hide the nasty Soviet architecture).


On our way home, Kelly found this sign lying in a stack of debris. Something for the French House next year ;)

Paris, je t'aime!

After Dresden we took an overnight train to Paris. We rode in a couchette, which is (according to Webster) a train car with, and I quote, "sleeping berths." I slept like a rock, even though I didn't really fit into my "sleeping berth." I even slept through the two hours we were stalled on the tracks. We had to transfer in Mannheim, but we were scheduled to have just over two hours there, so we made our next train with minutes to spare.

So, after around four hours of sleep, we were in Paris! Amelia and Chrissy wanted to do a walking tour of the city, and I wanted to visit the Institut du Monde Arabe.


The Institut
It was around €4 for students, which is I found very typical for Paris. It was awesome. I even bought Al-'Amîr Aṣ-ṣaghîr (engl. The Little Prince - how much more French/Arab can you get?) in the book store there. ****

Then I went to the Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée in the Jardin des plantes. Entrance again was €4 - and definitely worth it! ****


Rue Morgue or Planet of the Apes? No one knows.
(entrance hall to the Galerie)


me in the hall of comparative anatomy
Behind me is a whale's baleen-filled mouth - enormous!


I enjoy this shot.

The paleontology exhibit was not as good as the comparative anatomy one, but it was still cool.

Then I met up in front of Notre Dame with Erik, my roommate from Olaf, and we went to his friend's apartment on the Place d'Italie. His apartment is awesome - he has a kitchen, a bathroom with a nice shower, a bedroom, a living room, a hallway and a guest room! That's where Erik and I stayed. Plus the guy, Mark, was really cool. It was definitely quality housing.


Erik and I spent a significant portion of the next few days eating our way through the Parisian boulangeries and pâtisseries. French food is definitely the greatest thing ever. For example, one night I stopped at a boulangerie near Mark's place, and I grabbed dinner consisting of a tuna and cheese crepe, a massive chocolate brownie/cake thing and an Orangina. (NB: Orangina in Paris has one of the strangest ad campaigns I have ever seen. Check it out!) I'm giving French food - regardless of expense - a perfect *****.


massive dog


Notre Dame is beautiful.


Then one day Amelia had this brilliant idea: picnic in the Tuileries gardens! Pictured: French baguette, French wine, French strawberry (from a farmer's market that morning). Not pictured: French rotisserie chicken, French cheese, French plastic silverware.


My lovely friend Kelly Hamren, who is spending the year studying in France, came up to visit for the day.

After our picnic, we went to the Louvre (it is apparently free on Fridays for anyone under 26). At first I didn't want to go; I though, "I've already been to the Louvre, and it's just a mass of paintings by stuffy old white men". Stupid, jaded ass. The Louvre is spectacular. Even if you've been there a thousand times, I'm sure you'd still love it. I'm not positive how much entry usually is, but even if it were €20, it'd still be well worth it. Also, if you are an art history student or have a fake art-history-student ID like Mark, you get in free every day of the week. *****


Plus while we were there, they had live music playing in many of the rooms. AMAZING!


"Winged Victory"


And then of course we had to go to the Eiffel Tower.

The next day Erik and I went to the Grande galerie de l'évolution, also in the Jardin des plantes. This was slightly more expensive (€6 or €6,50, I'm not sure), but it was also awesome. ****

The first floor consisted of exhibits on marine wildlife, and it had an actual, plasticized giant squid.


The second floor was full of terrestrial animals (here as seen from the third).

The third floor was called "The Evolution of Man." This name, however, is more than a bit misleading. Instead of following the descent of humans from apes, it detailed the destructive impact humans have had on the natural world.


One hall on this floor was dedicated to the species that have gone or are going extinct because of humans. Above is a preserved specimen of the (in)famous Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine. This part was kind of depressing, but it was cool to see an actually Tasmanian tiger. They also had a dodo on display.


On a more positive note, we're bringin' haute-y back!
Erik bought this bottle of slightly alcoholic cider, and we drank in the Tuileries on our way to…


L'Orangerie! I think it was €5,50 entrance, but it was awesome! ***** A definite must-see. Monet's massive paintings of ponds stretch around the circular rooms upstairs. In the center of each room there's a bench, so it's just like you're sitting in the middle of the paintings. Extreme quality.

And downstairs there's a very decent collection of other Impressionist art.


a Modigliani for Dad

In conclusion, Paris was spectacular!

Well, I have class now, so I gotta run. Look soon for a post about life back in Constance and the beginning of the regular semester.