Moscow
May 27, 2011 

By a large margin, Russians are the most publicly passionate people I have ever seen.  The level of PDA is remarkable.  Almost every couple that’s walking together is hand in hand, and kissing abounds.  Of course, life being what it is, the gay couples have to be more discreet.  But they’re around.

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Last night I made it to a movie.  I saw Life in a Day, the first movie I’ve seen produced by YouTube.  It’s a beautifully edited documentary built from thousands of clips sent in from all over the world depicting ordinary people’s lives on July 24, 2010.  I really enjoyed it.

The theater experience was puzzling, however.  It was very challenging purchasing the ticket, as there was no clear way to point to the movie I wanted to see.  Happily an English-speaking native  in the line behind me helped.  Then the movie started almost forty minutes late.  No explanation, no apology.  That’s just how they cinematically roll in Moscow, I guess. 

I had no problems getting  there, a journey which required a subway ride with transfer and a walk.  As I’ve pointed out ad nauseum, I’m good at this.

It occurred to me on the way home that the New York subway is the only one I’ve been on (that I can remember, at least) that has an extensive network of both local  and express trains.  All the other systems I’ve been on have local only.  I wonder why that is?  Is it simply because of Manhattan’s linear shape?  That theory doesn’t hold water, as the rest of the boroughs are as round and lumpy as any other city map.  New York’s size?  That can’t be it, either.  There are plenty of subway systems in cities with larger areas than New York – Moscow, for example.

In fact, Moscow’s Metro carries the second –largest rider volume of any system in the world after Tokyo.  The city has over ten million people, after all. 

Another thing about New York’s subway:  It seems to me to be the shallowest of any I’ve ridden on.  Meaning you don’t seem to go so far into the ground.  I suppose that has something to do with the soil in New York.  But it also seems a bit surprising considering all those tall buildings it runs under – wouldn’t you need lots of room for the foundations of those buildings, and wouldn’t shallow subway tunnels interfere with that?  Oh well… my Dad’s the civil engineer, not me.  I’ll ask him.

Metropolitan Subway Systems I’ve Explored[1]

• New York
• Boston
• Washington
• Atlanta
• Los Angeles
• San Fransicso
• London
• Paris
• Brussels
• Munich
• Berlin
• Rome
• Moscow
• St. Petersburg
• Milan

  

 

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[1] It’s possible I’ve forgotten one or two.

Moscow
May 25, 2011 

It’s not . . . clear . . . whether or not I have a real reservation for a tour in St. Petersburg or not  Still waiting for confirmation from the website.  I realized I don’t really care.  I went online and in about ten minutes downloaded walking tours of St. Petersburg, Tallinn, and Helsinki.  Just saved myself about $200 and I’ll probably have more fun this way.  Besides, I might have some help in both Tallinn and Helsinki, companion-wise, so who needs an expensive formal tour?

Downloaded walking tours for St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki – easier, save lotsa dough.

I returned to the bakery (The Upside Down Bakery, to be precise) following  a nice walk after work.  I was surprised to find it stil open.  Alas, they were out of the muffins I wanted, but I had a delightful conversation with the Owner/Manager, an ex-pat Brit who explained to me that in Moscow bakeries regularly stayed open until 11:00 p.m. or even all night.  Very different from the American model, I told him.  I know, he said, having spent lots of time in the States.  I took his card and recommended them to the concierge at my hotel. 

I enjoy my walks through actual neighborhoods as much or more as I enjoy formal tours.  I like seeing how people really live.  I’m fascinated by urban life, and I enjoy seeing the different kinds of apartment house architecture, what the streets and parks are like, how the people seem to fit into them.  I’ve had this thought in all of the cities I’ve been in so far:  If I was here for an extended period of time, I’d definitely spend a lot of time just walking through neighborhoods like this.  I’ve spent thousands of hours doing the same thing in New York and Los Angeles, and I never get tired of it.

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I have discovered where old has-been American rock, metal and and pop acts go to die:  Russia.  There’s so many rich people in Russia, I guess you can charge whatever you want for concert tickets, and I guess the nouveau riche here really love American has-been acts.  It’s amazing.

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Moscow has terrible drainage.  Days after a small rainstorm, there are still gigantic puddles all over the place that you have to detour around.  Pity.

But a Few of the Concert Ads I’ve Seen

• Sting
• Whitesnake
• Kenny G
• Ringo Starr
• The Doors (!)
• Sinead O’Connor
• Seal
• John Fogarty
• Iron Maiden

  

Moscow
May 23, 2011 

First day in the Moscow office and all went well.  Colleagues took me to an Uzbek restaurant.  While I tucked into Karam Shurva (cabbage soup) and yummy cheese pie (sort of a large sopapilla), I bored my companions with how I loved Uzbekistan because it was one of the answers to my favorite geographical trivia question.[1]

Speaking of food, after work I found my Russian Mexican food.  I high-tailed it to Ла Кантина, which is La Cantina to you and me.  I had a very servicable chicken quesadilla and a lovely ear of asado corn.

To get there, I took a nice long walk through the neighborhoods between where the Firm’s office is and the Kremlin area.  I was happy that my sense of navigation was working properly (though to be honest, the Kremlin is kind of hard to miss).  It was the first real time I’d strolled through a real “neighborhood, ” rather than a large busy main thoroughfare, and I enjoyed myself.  I enjoyed the architecture, the bustle of city life, and also the gorgeous Russians themselves.  I may have to revise my list of Cities With the Most Attractive People. 

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Okay, more on those Orthodox icons.  It turns out that people really DO worship the icons themselves.  From all the stories I’ve heard about Moscow’s history (“And in this battle the famous Awesome Icon of Weeping Mary was credited for winning the battle against the Tatars!”) it’s clear that the “veneration” of icons leads people into thinking they have magical powers.  I have to conclude that the theological criticism from Western Christianity regarding idol worship are fair.  Sorry, Russia. 

Russian churches are weird.  They tend to be very small, and they never have seats of any kind.  You always stand in a Russian church.  Also, the incense in them is absolutely stifling.  It’s thicker than the thickest patchouli I’ve ever experienced at the hippiest Austin party.  It’s so think even when holding your nose you can feel it hammering against the back of your throat.  I don’t get how the faithful can tolerate it.

They also seem to have little choirs going all the time, singing the most beautiful music.  I’d stand and listen to it longer if I wan’t having to hold my breath.

Theological Advantages of Protestantism Over Catholicism and Orthdox Christianity

• No intercession necessary – hey, you get to pray to God directly!
• Religious professionals can marry, a practice with many diverse benefits
• Church authority much less vertical and authoritative
• You get to actually read the Bible yourself , instead of having it interpreted for you
• Fewer gods (only four:  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Satan), compared to Catholicism which is those four plus all the saints plus Mary, and Orthodox, which is all the Catholic gods plus magic icons

 

(Of course, the fact that I was encouraged to read the Bible on my own was the beginning of the process that led me to abandoning religion altogether, but the points of my list are still valid.)

 

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[1] “What are the world’s only two double-landlocked countries?”

Munich/Dusseldorf/Moscow
May 20, 2011 

Distance Traveled Today:  1600

Total Distance so Far:  12, 077

It was my last day in the Munich office so I took my pal Christine, the Office Administrator, out for Indian food at lunch.  I told her how, despite my excitement leaving for Russia and my increasing homesickness, I was very sorry to be leaving my beautiful, beloved Munich. I admitted to her how, before I had come to Germany for the first time in 2006 (also to Munich, on an earlier project for this same client), I had been pretty negative about visiting Germany.  “You know, the whole history thing, ” I said.  I then told her how that visit completely changed my opinion of this gorgeous country, which I will now visit at any opportunity. “The difference in how Germany has worked to process the lessons of the War are how Japan has is stark, ” I said.  “Japan has pretty much dealt with it by trying to pretend it didn’t happen.” 

And if you don’t believe me, just try contrasting how Western Europeans feel about Germans today, as opposed to how the Chinese feel about the Japanese.

Germany, on the other hand, has never st

opped working hard to get past the horrifying lessons of the Third Reich. 

“It’s still a big problem, ” Christine told me.  “Germans don’t feel entitled to be proud at all.  About anything.  We’re meek and apologetic all the time.  And this has negative consequences when it comes to public policy, particularly in the area of immigration.”  In other words, Germany has gotten the reputation as being the cushiest destination for immigrants, because Germans are afraid to demand any sort of compliance or assimilation from newcomers.

I told her I hoped I’d have many chances to return to Munich.  She wished me well on my Russian adventure, which will start in just a few minutes when boarding starts.

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I sure hope the fact that I don’t have a return airplane ticket from Russia in my hand turns out to be a problem as I enter Moscow tonight.  Within ten minutes of arriving at the airport, I was asked about this.  I can understand how a closed country like Russia wants to make sure I don’t plan on trying to stay in the country illegally (as IF).  But no one told me I would be required to have proof in writing in my hand to make it through customs or immigration.  The fact is, I don’t  have a return ticket from Moscow.  I’m not leaving Russia from Moscow, and I’m leaving from St. Petersburg, and I’m leaving by bus, not plane, and I don’t yet have bus ticket.  Oops?  Fingers crossed.

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Note to the security guy with the handsome face and rippling biceps bulging out of his white short-sleeve shirt who performed a special search of all of my photographic equipment:  You may search anything of mine, any time, for any reason.  Consider me at your disposal, bitte und danke.

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It was a little weird as I got processed through the Passport Check.  I thought of all that work we did in Cleveland, New York and Washington to get my Russia visa.  All those phone calls, all those fees, all those forms, all that worry, all for this tiny little thirty-second moment.  It is unlikely that anyone else will look at the visa stamp again. 

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The whole night, during the flight and especially after I landed, I had fears that something awful would go wrong and I’d find myself as a character with a (brief) supporting role in some Nelson DeMille thriller.  There would be a problem with my passport.  Or there would be a problem with my visa.  Or the driver who was supposed to be there to pick me up wouldn’t be there, leaving me stranded and ruble-less at 3:00 a.m. in scary Moscow. 

But the passport and visa were fine, and the driver was there waiting for me, thanks.

I got glimpses of both The Kremlin and St. Basil’s during the drive.  Coolness!

The hotel was perfectly fine (there were some pretty iffy reviews of it on TripAdvisor.com, so this was a relief).  Almost 5:00 a.m. before I got to bed.

Ethnic Restaurants I’ve Been to in Munich

• Chinese
• Indian
• Mexican
• French
• Italian
• Israeli
• German
• Austrian