22 April 2012 - It wasn't meant to be a pilgrimage

Security check at the cathedral

There is a booklet in my apartment called, "Moscow Far and Wide:  Guide of 50 To Tours of Capital."  It showed up a little over a week ago and I assume was deposited by the people who clean/service the apartment (which, yes, I really do need to do a separate post about).  Anyway, it appears to be meant for travel organizers who want some ideas of where they can take people, rather than a detailed guide, but it nevertheless has some maps and how long they are, so I have started to just go out and follow them and see what I come across.  What I stumbled across today, though, was most assuredly not covered in the guide.  Well, not exactly.

I set out this morning to do the Kremlin Outskirts route that was estimated at 4.5 kilometers with an estimated walk/tour time of 3.5 hours.  Based on my previous tours with the book, the time is usually longer than what is needed, which I suppose assumes that the tour guides themselves would be adding commentary along the way that would take up more time than me just walking the path.  It was scheduled (for those who know Moscow) to start at the Smolenskaya Metro station and end at the Park Kultury station.  Now, the booklet is just a hair too large to fit into my small purse and I don't like looking like a total tourist carrying around a tour guide, so my solution is to take photos of the pages in the book (one half of the page is in Russian, the other is in English, so it's not that much content) with my iPhone, and then follow the map and read the related descriptions on my iPhone as I wander along, while also taking additional pictures of what I'm seeing with said iPhone.

Well, perhaps I should have taken a closer look at the quality of my pictures before I set out today.  Because what became apparently near the end was that the end of the path kind of bled into the margin and I hadn't opened the book far enough to get the whole thing when I took the picture.  So while I see to have seen all the items on the tour (except a chameleon in front of a modern office/apartment complex -- which I'm pretty I sure I saw except this feature -- that changes color with the temperature, maybe like those cool little weather owls we had back in the 70s)  it wasn't abundantly clear how I was supposed to get to the Metro to get home.  Hmmm....  But around this time, I saw the Peter the Great statue in the middle of the river that I had been meaning to check out, so I started walking along the building side of the embankment to try to get closer.  

On the other side of the road were metal barriers with police or military spaced regularly behind them.  It seemed like pedestrians were allowed behind the barriers, but I couldn't figure out how/where I could cross the street and get through the barriers.  So I just kept walking.  After my wandering, I was a bit tired and not walking all that quickly and I noticed that many of the people passing me were women with scarves covering their heads and dressed in their best.  Something about it made me think maybe there was some kind of religious thing going on, but I didn't think much more about it, until I saw a priest walk by.  And the others started speeding up.  Then I saw on the bridge across the river a whole bunch of people carrying flags or something moving across the bridge to an area that appeared to be ahead of us.  Hmmm....  I quickened my pace to see what was going on.

Priestly types and banners/symbols out on the street

Well, it turns out that Christ the Savior Cathedral (yes, the same one I mentioned last week regarding the big Easter celebration) was directly ahead and clearly everyone was headed there.  As I got closer (we were approaching from the back side of the cathedral it seemed), there were several magnetometers and lots of police.   It wasn't clear to me whether just anyone could go in or if you had to be part of an official procession or something going in, and I figured I would be turned away if I started asking in English what was going on, not to mention that all I had to put over my head was a black pashmina.  And honestly, I didn't want to attend a service of some sort of service that clearly was special to the Russian church members and be an intrusion.  So I hung out near the entrance and started watching people coming up.

It was fascinating.  There were a lot of people showing up with all sorts of beautiful banners that looked like they would be used in the services of churches.  But it was strange to see people getting out of cars with these.  Other people were carrying religious paintings and symbols.  And there were a whole bunch of priests in full priestly garments walking up the street to the entrance.  So I snapped a few pictures which you'll see here.  Overall, just fascinating.

When I got home, I tried to figure out what was happening.  It seems that this was not related to Easter, but was a kind of gathering to defend the religion and the artifacts of the religion that have been stolen and vandalized in recent months.   Regardless of one's religious persuasions, it saddens me to think of people harming things that are so special to others that are likely quite old and certainly aren't hurting anyone else.

I'm including a video link below that tells a bit more about the service, which apparently was HUGE when you look at all the crowds.   Accompanying text and photos also can be found at http://rt.com/news/russians-church-defense-service-668/

I also learned that Pussy Riot (a group of female musicians that have been staging impromptu and unauthorized concerts, generally related to politics) had done one of these things IN the cathedral back in February.  I have to admit, I'm not a fan of them doing it in that particular venue, though I do appreciate what they did in Red Square, which I suppose may be just as special to others.  While I like the energy of the girls, I admit that I am a bit offended that they would do such a stunt in such a sacred place.  Though I guess that Red Square is perhaps somewhat "sacred" in a political sense and I have no issues with them staging a concert there to protest the political regime.  I will nevertheless continue to follow what they are doing.

22 April 2012 - Springtime freshening up

Painted railing. Note drips on the bottom and overspray.

In the last week or so as it seems that winter has ended and spring finally arrived, I've noticed two interesting things that seem to be part of springtime freshening up around the city.

The first is painting.  Over the last week, I have noticed a strange (and unpleasant) scent that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Then I nearly almost literally put my finger on it.  All over the city, metal and some concrete are being repainted.  I noticed this around my apartment/block when the big gates into the inner courtyard were nearly dripping with a fresh coat of black paint.  Some of the lines on the driveway were also repainted, though apparently immediately driven over.  The playground area metal was also repainted, in addition to the lower 5-7 feet of the buildings that are concrete but have a brown kind of stripe.   I noticed this near the office, too, where the railing next to the canal was rather wet-looking one day.

Freshly painted curbs & metalwork near home

I find this interesting for a few reasons.  First, there doesn't seem to be a problem with the old paint, other than that it is covered with a layer of filth.  Second, this results in a loss of clarity of (particularly in some metalwork) in the details and ornamentation with each subsequent slathering of paint.  And third, the manner in which the paint is applied is generally rather sloppy, in terms of making sure the paint isn't spilled onto concrete or surrounding rocks or other materials.

Powerwashing in action.  And what a difference!

The second area is powerwashing.  I saw this near my apartment starting last week and thought that it was just to clean off a sidewalk.  But I think it's more than that, as I have now seen a lot of water in the gutters and on the sidewalks and streets due apparently to powerwashing.  This includes not only cleaning of sidewalks, but also of the pastel-colored buildings and the difference is really quite striking.

Overall interesting and thought I'd share.

22 April 2012 - The Cloakroom

I haven't generally given much thought to closets at work for, well, perhaps ever.  In the offices that I have worked in in the US, we generally had coat hooks or a small closet in the cubes or behind the doors of offices, so I didn't have to think about it.  I also had a coat hook in my office in Frankfurt.  Of course, when you were visiting someplace in any of these locations, there was always a coat room by reception, so that was nothing new.  But the situation is slightly different both in our office here in Moscow as well as in Kiev.  This may or may not be driven by necessity due to our use of open workspaces for most employees.

Now, having a coat closet or cloakroom is in and of itself nothing incredibly interesting, I will admit.  But what is kept in this space and how the space is used is perhaps a different matter.

The coatroom during the day

Our office area is designed with the offices arranged around the outside and then in the center section there is a swath of enclosed spaces, including two small conferences rooms, the room with the copier, a long galley kitchen area (yes, where the fruit man delivers the busy season fruit!), and the strange cloakroom/bathroom area.  Picture a narrow corridor accessible from the hallways on both ends with coatracks on one side and doors to the restrooms on the other side.  It is rather dimly lit, tends to be a bit stuffy and doesn't always smell very pleasant.  It is also very narrow - two adults cannot pass by without turning to their sides to scoot by.  Not a place that I suspect claustrophobic individuals would fancy.  Normally this shouldn't be an issue as it's not as if there should be a huge bathroom rush and coat rush at the same time.  But there are two other considerations in our office.

First, because the majority of our people work in open spaces, there aren't many places to make a private call.  There are notes posted that personal calls should be taken in the huddle rooms, but those are always full.  So you find people making calls in stairwells and, yes, in this dimly light narrow corridor.  I can imagine few worse places to make a call due to (recap) not-so-pleasant smelling, sounds of bathrooms in the distance, in the midst of traffic when someone else enters this area and it's dimness.

The coatroom at night

Second, we must address the issue of snow and shoes.  I have said a few times, while watching Russian women teetering on ridiculously high heels but nevertheless moving forward rapidly, that I could not cut it as a Russian woman - I just don't have the high heel gene.  Or, perhaps the case is that I don't have a gene that would ensure that I do not cause permanent damage to my ankles when one of those stilts gets caught between the cobblestones and I take a massive tumble.

Nevertheless, women are wearing high heeled shoes and boots even in the snow as well as some Uggs and other footwear designed for the extreme cold, snow or both.  So when the ladies get to the office, they exchange the boots for their office shoes.  The cloakroom is where this change takes place and this tends to take a bit more space than hanging up coats, so it can get a bit congested.  The wet boots also no doubt lend to the, um, scent of the room.  This also leads to the interesting contrast of the cloakroom during the day and at night.  During the day, it is just packed with boots and big coats.  During the night it is empty except for all the office shoes waiting to be claimed the next morning.  I find it all fascinating.

One other interesting thing in the cloakroom and in society in general is the sheer number of fur coats and fur trim.   My perspective on this is colored, as always, by my experience in the US.  Chicago knows cold weather for a couple days, but I always laughed at women on the commuter rail who showed up with their big mink coats as soon as the hint of chill hit.  Totally a status symbol - "Look at me, I've got a fur coat and I'm wearing it just to go to the office, from which you should assume that I have even better ones for evening wear."  I wanted to just say, "Oh, and P.S., you know that it adds more weight than the camera and it looks really ridiculous with your running shoes that you're wearing to the office, right?" (A friend of mine has a habit of making animal sounds when women walk by in fur coats, which I have to admit I find funny in a juvenile way.)  Aside from these ladies, though, I mostly saw furs worn to evening events where the mink went really well with black tie formality.

What seems different here is that nearly everyone seems to have a fur, not just those at the executive levels.  And there are so many different types of furs, both in style and in the actual fur.  Many of the furs are light or medium brown, reddish or gray.  Very few minks.  There are also some furs that have some type of pattern burned into them in some way, which was also a first for me.  And add to this that most of the fur trim on other coats is real fur rather than the faux fur I'm used to seeing in the US.  All in all, it has changed my perspective on fur as it really makes sense here with the extreme cold and isn't such a big "haves v. have nots" thing.  I'm still not planning on buying one of them as I am usually too hot even in my cashmere coat and especially in the big down coat I got for here.  I admit, though, that I have given serious consideration to a fur hat I've seen some women wearing that basically covers the head in what appear to be white or gray fur with some longer, darker fur sticking out that is just fascinating - hard to tell whether it's someone with crazy highlights or something else.  Maybe they will be on sale now that winter seems to be over....

19 April 2012 - Snow Removal

Now that it has been over a week since we have received snow, I fear (yes, fear) that winter may be behind us and spring on the way.  So there’s no time like the present to discuss snow removal in Russia (or at least parts of Moscow) before I forget it entirely.

What should be stated at the outset is that Moscow knows snow and is prepared to address its arrival and removal at a moment’s notice.  I contrast this with Chicago where we had a fair amount of experience with snow, yet there always seems to be a lag between when it starts to snow and when the snowplows are out and when sidewalks are shoveled.  My experience at home and here at the office are that the snow removal crews actually seem to be out before I have even realized it has started to snow.  Quite amazing.  

Let me start first with home.  In the rather ghetto courtyard in the middle of our block that leads to my apartment, there are a variety of haphazardly parked vehicles but a general one-way thoroughfare.  When snowflakes begin to fall, this area seems to be immediately swarmed by a group of people armed in brightly colored vests (like the vests you must wear in Germany when your car is disabled (clearly not an Audi, which would not be so humbled) so you’re visible and not popped by passing motorists) with brooms and, sometimes, shovels.  The snow is removed before it has a chance to be trod upon and become slick.  There also appear to be chemicals or other compounds applied to the ground so that even after a large snow, the sidewalks appear dry.  Given the harsh weather that I have experienced, I don’t think this is simply the application of salt as it would be too cold for that, not to mention that there is no salty white residue left behind.  

These same types of bright vest-wearing crews are also out on the public sidewalks, albeit in slightly less density of numbers as compared to my home ghetto, which I guess means it’s not a ghetto after all (I have been meaning to do a posting on my neighborhood for a while and it will come out soon, promise!).  Generally, the public sidewalks are still in quite good condition.  However, due to the use of snow sweepers (more on that later) on the sidewalks, sometimes there is a thin film of residual snow which at times freezes over night and becomes ridiculously slippery.  The surface ends up having roughly the surface of, say, crepe soles on those hideous shoes from the late 70s/early 80s (yes, dating myself here, and I do realize crepe soles are still used in limited instances, but which also generally involve ugly shoes).  You might think that would then provide some sort of traction, but you’d unfortunately be wrong – it instead creates a type of slick surface that, when one falls, creates the most unusual bruising pattern.  Not that I’m speaking from experience, of course…. 

Snow removal at the office is a bit more complicated and fascinating.  Our offices are part of a complex of four buildings around a courtyard parking area.  The surface is, like much of Europe, covered in small paving stones that are hell on your heels (though if you’re sporting crepe soles, I’m sure it’s fine…).  This could also create some issues when the blade of a snowplow is involved since, of course, the stones aren’t all the same height.  So the plow would either have to be set high enough that it wouldn’t grab all the snow, or low enough that it would pluck up some of the stones.  Hmmm….  The answer (and likely for other reasons as well that are not unknown to a Midwestern girl who’s only used to seeing sub-zero (Fahrenheit!) temperatures a few days a year) is to use snow sweepers.

There is a little CAT type of vehicle that apparently has interchangeable heads, or perhaps there are multiple vehicles, though that wouldn’t seem likely given the cost involved and space available.  But in phase one of the snow removal, the CAT with a snow brush attached goes up and down each aisle in the parking area, creating a little line of snow down the middle of the aisle.  In phase two, the CAT returns with a bucket loader attached and scoops up this line of snow.  (Yes, I understand the potential double meaning of “line of snow,” but that’s the best way I can describe it and I can assure you this is an entirely different type of snow, otherwise Russia would have a quite different basis for its economic growth!)  

The scooped up snow is then loaded into the back of a truck/wagon and carted off.  I understand, but have not seen this for myself, that there are various snow-melting facilities throughout the city.  I wonder if perhaps this is similar to the machine I once saw at O’Hare International Airport during some heavy snows.  In that instance, viewed from the Admiral’s Club above the point where the H and K gates of Terminal 3 converge (Chicagoans know what I’m talking about here), a large vehicle about the length of a tractor and trailer pulled down into the area directly beneath me.  Next to it was a gigantic pile of snow, which I assume had been cleared from the gate areas and couldn’t be pushed out into the runway areas, so it was kind of stuck there, with baggage carts and other ground crew and vehicles cruising around it.  The vehicle was carefully positioned and I could see through the open top of it that there appeared to be some kinds of metal spikes or poles sticking up in the bed of the vehicle.  Odd.  Then a certain CAT type of vehicle approached with bucket loader attached and started transferring the snow from the pile into this open bed.  I assume that the spikes/poles were heating elements of some sort because as soon as the snow was dumped in a huge cloud of steam rose out of it that the entire area in front of me was just whited out.  It cleared a bit after enough snow had been dumped in, and I could see that water was gushing out of the bottom of the truck directly into a drainage grate over which the truck had been positioned.  Fascinating.  So I’m think there’s some industrial version of this type of melting machine located at various points in Moscow to keep all the snow under control.

Anyway, the snow removal efforts here by the office have provided many moments of entertainment during long conference calls and the like.  I will miss it!

15 April 2012 - Russian Orthodox Easter

A tasty cake/bread with raisins for Easter

The Russian Orthodox church follows the Julian calendar, which creates differences in when Easter and Christmas are celebrated, so this year Easter was celebrated last weekend in most of Christianity but is celebrated today by the Russian Orthodox church.

I was curious whether there might be other differences in the celebrations and there do appear to be a few noteworthy aspects.  Let me say in advance, though (and in case it wasn't clear from my last post), that I am not a Catholic so some of the things that I may note may not be different from how non-Russian Orthodox Catholics may celebrate the holiday.

The biggest difference seems to be that the big celebration is not on Easter Sunday but the night before.  I had heard a bit about this celebration from a colleague (you may recall Larry from a previous posting) this week.  It came up as his birthday was this past week but he said he wanted to celebrate it next week because this is a special religious week.  I'm not sure whether that is a reflection of Lent still being in effect (it is apparently a seven week period here) and thus he couldn't indulge in cake or something else.  Anyway, he had mentioned that Saturday night was the big deal and he noted that the biggest celebration would be carried online on all the major channels and they culminated in the opening of the cathedral doors around midnight.  I was intrigued and wanted to learn more.

The celebration begins a bit before Saturday night, though.  A flame from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is flown to Moscow and is known as the Holy Fire.  I am curious about the logistics of having a fire aboard a plane, I will admit.  Anyway, this Holy Fire is used to light a bunch of candles, which the patriarch and other priests/officials take outside with them.  They then walk around the church, and approach the cathedral doors and enter as the bells chime that it is midnight.  The remainder of the audience is still inside the cathedral during this time.  The patriarch then goes to the front and proclaims that Christ is risen, while swinging the thurible.  The crowd responds back as he says this several times.

As far as I can tell, the remainder of the service seems to be a regular mass with all the traditions, beauty, music, ornate vestments and pomp that one would expect of an important holiday.  I believe that the service that was broadcast is the largest service in Russia and perhaps the world.  It was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (which has an interesting history of its own) and was attended by over 6,000 people.  Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister (for now) Putin were in attendance and apparently (I didn't catch this part, so perhaps it was performed off-camera) exchanged Easter eggs with Patriarch Kirill who led the service.

A very interesting event that, of course, makes me wish I could understand Russian.  The following link provides a bit more background if you're interested and some photos and video links from the event.  Russia Today's article on Easter

This video link also provides some background.



One other thing that I have learned about the season through my grocery shopping, is that little cakes with some icing and other decorations appear to be popular for the season.  I bought the one pictured at the top of this blog and devoured it this morning.  Quite tasty and apparently a traditional cake/bread made with raisins.  It tastes like a braided bread my Mom makes at Christmas called Houska.  I looked that up today and it appears that Houska is a traditional Czech bread often made for Easter.  Who knew?

14 April 2012 - Finding Religion

The Moscow International SDA Church

[Insert the name of your favorite hymn here.  I'm gonna go with, "A Mighty Fortress."]

When I was still staying at the Swissotel, I had seen in the Friday issue of The Moscow Times the religion section with a notice for the Seventh Day Adventist church here, even indicating that it had services in English.  Bonus.  Now, as most of you know, "backslidden" would be a kind way to describe my religious status these days.  But it's a part of my culture and traditions and when I am in an unfamiliar place, the familiarity of the services can be soothing.  It also is a great way to practice one's pronunciation in the new language!  (Incidentally the Russian Embassy is just around the corner from the SDA church in Frankfurt that I attended a few times.)

While at the Swissotel I had planned on attending one day and got dressed up and everything, but then they were late in getting me my eggs at the executive lounge and, well....  But today I was serious about it.  I had recalled that the newspaper announcement listed a Metro stop that required a couple of changes, so I thought this could be a long trek.  Turns out the church has a web site that gave quite good directions for getting there.  It is accessible from either the Nagatinskaya or Kolomenskaya Metro stations.  The newspaper had mentioned the Nagatinskaya station, which is the one that requires several transfers.  The Kolomenskaya station, however, was just four stops on the line that is closest to my place.  Perfect.  There was one other note in the directions, though.  If you arrived at Nagatinskaya, it was a 15 minute walk to the church, but it would be about a 25 minute walk from the Kolomenskaya station.  I did not relish a 25 minute walk in heels, especially as sidewalks in good repair are not a guarantee here.  Hmmm....  But wait, what else did the directions mention?  Oh, yes, "the tram."  Tram?  What tram?  Never heard or seen anything that I would classify as a tram here.  Maybe they were calling the electric buses trams?  Hmmm....

I followed the detailed instructions on how to exit the Metro station to find the tram and finally found some people standing around tracks in the street, so I figured that must be the place.  But I couldn't find a place to buy a ticket and wasn't sure if this was something that you bought from the little news and tobacco kiosks in the area.  But as I was pondering this, a tram arrived.  And it was not an electric bus, but a single street car.

I watched as other people got on board and the process seemed somewhat lengthy, but that was because people were buying their tickets directly from the driver through a little hole in the window between the driver's compartment and the rest of the car.  Fascinating.  So I bought my ticket this way (RUB 28 or a little less than $1 per ride, if you're curious), but then couldn't figure out how to use it in the turnstile.  With an arrow at the top of the ticket, it seemed like it should be pretty self-explanatory.  As I struggled with this, a few old ladies were looking at me like I was an idiot.  Nope, just an American apparently lacking in common sense.  They were talking to me and apparently telling me what to do, but of course it was in Russian and lost on me.  Then one of them took pity on me and came up and inserted the card for me - arrow first but card upside down.  Ah....  The rest of the ride was relatively uneventful and one of the stops was right across the street from the church (good thing the web site had a picture of the church so I recognized it as there were no announcements on the stops).

The church building looks large enough, but the sanctuary itself is extremely small (850 square feet).  According to the web site, this is a church where (due to foreigners visiting the country, for example) membership is actually smaller than attendance, the latter of which averages 270 (yes, all stuffed into 850 square feet).  They opened up a large space in the wall between the foyer and the sanctuary so that more people could see the services, but that's overflowing as well.  Forget niceties like a room for parents and infants.  They are trying to raise money to build a larger church, but of course the visitors are not as likely to give large offerings for this, so the burden falls to the members, nearly 70% of whom are under the age of 35, so still early in their careers.

I had arrived early enough that I was able to score a seat in the sanctuary, which was an open area with small upholstered seats arranged in rows and a large set of lights and other things overhead because, as it turns out, they stream the services on the internet.  I was really surprised by this as it seemed like something that one would expect of a large church with professional A/V staff and all.  Nope, just a line of young guys at the back of the sanctuary.  (If you're having insomnia late Friday night or early Saturday morning in the US, you can tune in at http://www.moscowchurch.ru/ and there are also archived sermons - all with English translation.)

A few highlights from the service that differed a bit from what I'm used to:

• The "praise singing" section at the beginning of the service featured lyrics on the overhead in both Russian and English.  I guess you were welcome to sing in whichever was easiest, though I couldn't hear anyone else singing in English.
• There were different translators throughout the service.  During the opening portion that included the praise singing, welcome and announcements, the translator was a young and energetic young man who was probably either still in high school or early on in college.  The translator during the sermon was a young woman who was very expressive, which helped to keep the audience's attention, though I suspect that her being quite attractive with a beautiful smile and playful eyes would have been enough to keep the male audience engaged in either event.
• Given the limited space or perhaps the hard tile floor, we didn't kneel during the service.
• I didn't need to wear heels.  This is one of those wonderful churches where you can wear whatever you have.  Not sure whether this was a function of the youthful nature of the audience, income limitations or general culture, but anything from jeans to suits to beautiful princess-like Easter dresses for the little girls was just fine.
• This was one musically talented group!  There were four different musical performances, including an a  cappella trio of women who I have to believe are of Filipino ancestry with their beautiful smiles and sweet voices singing in English, a woman who sounded like she had had professional singing experience, a tiny girl we could hardly see but who sang like an angel and a talented pianist who was apparently doing variations on a theme that he was creating real-time.  Just amazing.

Overall, a really nice experience.  I think I'll go back now that I know how to get there, though I have to admit that it is tempting to sleep in and watch the services online in my PJs....

8 April 2012 - Performance Events in Russia

Interior of the Moscow Conservatory's concert hall

Since I have been in Russia, I have had the privilege of attending two performances that I would consider to be cultural events.

The first was a dance performance with Igor Moiseyev Dance Company, a famous Russian dance company that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and which has focused on folk dance.  A colleague of mine who I will call Larry (protecting the innocent and all) had invited me to the event as a friend (we will call her Allison - also not her name) had received some free tickets to the sold-out event.  I was in!  I should note that both Larry and Allison are probably somewhere in their 60s and apparently attend these types of cultural events all the time, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to see how I was supposed to behave or if there were things that were done a bit differently than in the US or Western Europe.

Larry and I went to the even straight from the office and met Allison in the foyer of the venue.  She is just adorable with the most natural smile and warm manner I had seen in a while.  She doesn't really speak English, though, so Larry was doing a lot of translating between us.  And when he wasn't around, that didn't stop her from speaking to me in Russian like we'd known each other forever and I knew exactly what she was talking about.  For some odd reason, I found myself responding in German.

She brought me a little gift - a small apple made out of light-colored marble or stone with a metal stem.  She presented it to me saying, "Like the Big Apple from America."  Charming!!  Of course, I had nothing in return and felt a bit awkward.  Around this time, her daughter and granddaughter met us.  Her daughter's father (I assume Allison is then divorced?) was actually conducting the pit orchestra (which was actually in a side balcony rather than in a pit, but you get the idea) for the dance company.  As such, he had some comp tickets, which is how we got in.  Allison's daughter is apparently also an accomplished pianist and spoke some English, which was welcome.

The venue was nice and quite ornate, though with not much legroom and with rather narrow seats, but the views were fine an acoustics good.  I didn't notice anything unusual about the event etiquette, other than when the performance was late by around 10 minutes, the crowd started clapping.  I couldn't figure it out as I didn't see anything happening on stage, which I guess was the entire point.  On another, I noticed for future reference that had it not been for Larry, I'm not sure I would have been able to figure out where our seats were, either from the ticket or for the levels since, of course, everything was in Russian.

I did, however, get a further taste of Russian hospitality after the event, though.  Allison's son-in-law was picking up her, her daughter and granddaughter, so Larry had made arrangements for them to drop me by my hotel (this was on my second trip to Russia when I was still staying in the Swissotel).  Since there was only seating for a total of five people (four passengers), that left no room for Larry, so he was going to take the subway by himself.  I said that was ridiculous and I would go with him, but he insisted that I go with the others.  It did not seem that I had a choice in the matter.

So we piled in the car.  I was getting into the back, but the others insisted I ride in the front, which I thought was not right since I was getting out before everyone else anyway, but again, they insisted.  So Allison's son-in-law (we'll call him David) started driving towards the Swissotel.  Now, the Swissotel is right next to a major concert venue of another type, and as we approached, it seemed that it was just emptying.  Add to that the fact that it is really quite difficult to get into the Swissotel due to the way that the streets are laid out, etc.  So I suggested he pull in a spot next to the conference center of the hotel and I would just walk through the parking lot to the hotel.  Great.  Except Allison insisted on accompanying me.  So this adorable grandmother was walking through this darkish, snowy, slightly slippery parking lot with me to make sure that I got back safely, whereas I thought that I should be walking HER back to the car.  It was apparently an example of Russian hospitality, though, and there is just no arguing with it.

The second event was last night.  Larry had asked a couple weeks ago if I might be interested in going to a classical concert if he could get tickets.  After the previous event, I accepted without hesitation.  He was able to get tickets for RUB 1,200 (about $40), despite once again the event being sold out.  This time, we were able to get tickets as Allison's son-on-law, David, was playing viola in the orchestra.  Who knew?

So he and I met at the train station near the office and three stops and a train change later, we were at the venue, which was the concert hall of the Moscow Conservatory, which is a famous music school.  Allison was as delightful as before when we met her, though she noted that we were six minutes late, upon which I had a flashback to be in Germany where things are generally a bit more punctual than in Russia, or so had been my experience until this point.  Anyway, as we headed in, she stopped to point out the poster for the evening's program.  I had to do a bit of a double-take and thought perhaps I was reading it incorrectly.  But I was not.  You can see a poor picture of said poster here.

If you can zoom in on the top right, you'll see that the conductor is no other than Sir Michael Tippett.  And yes, the group would be singing spirituals.  I can honestly say that I never expected to hear spirituals sung in a large concert hall in Moscow - and with not a single black person among the choir, which was also a bit surprising.  But it was really good.  This was the first half of the program and during the intermission I asked Allison and Larry if they were familiar with spirituals and understood the background with slavery and all that.  It seems that they had not and had, without that background, been a bit surprised by what they thought was supposed to be a classical performance, but they liked it and the way the a cappella voices blended together.

The second half of the program consisted of selections from Bernstein's "Wonderful Town," which made for a rather American-sounding evening.  I had heard music from this work before, but hadn't previously seen the entire musical (or portions of it) performed.  The performance was, of course, in English with the exception of a narrator of some sort who spoke in Russian.  I'm not sure whether the original calls for a narrator or if this was just a way to help those who didn't understand English follow what was going on.  So I wasn't sure if I was missing out on something but enjoyed it all.  And what was quite charming at the end is that after the clapping (the crowd here and before got to a point where the clapping was rhythmic rather than random, which I guess is perhaps an encore request?), the cast and orchestra agreed to perform one piece again for us.  But only if we would participate with them.  The song?  "Conga."  Oh, yeah!  So the audience was on its feet and on the ground floor (we were in the balcony) there were literally conga lines going around.  Too, too funny!

I really enjoyed the performance and Larry and Allison said that they had as well, though they hadn't been sure before the concert whether they might like the music and it wasn't "classical" in the sense they are used to.  All good, though.  So after David picked up Allison, in the spirit of Russian hospitality and being a true gentleman, Larry walked me home.  As it turns out, the concert venue was straight down the road from my apartment about seven minutes away.  Who knew?

Oh, and there was another gift involved, this time an egg in celebration of Easter, even though the Russian Orthodox Easter isn't for another couple of weeks.  I do so love the warmth of people I have met here.

My gifts from Allison

7 April 2012 - The Subway

My morning commute consists of a 10 minute walk to the Teatralnya Metro station, a ride on said Metro (Green line), exiting at the second stop (Paveletskaya) and another 10 minute walk to the office - just about 30 minutes door to door.  Not a bad commute and only slightly longer than my commute in Germany.  But I suspect that if I tried to drive to the office, even though it's not very far from home, it would take significantly longer.

Some of the partners I have spoken with here can't believe that I would take the Metro.  Now it turns out that most of these partners either are Russian and live quite a ways outside of town and have a nice ride or, in the case of at least one, has his own driver (clearly the Russian partners make more than we do in the US!).  I'm a BIG fan of rail transit, stemming back to taking the commuter rail when I lived in the suburbs of Chicago, to the Amtrak Hiawatha between Milwaukee and Chicago (one of the few profitable Amtrak routes, I might add), to the subway in Chicago or New York, and most assuredly the incredible local and high speed rail in Germany.  But when they said this before I had experience with the Moscow Metro I was a bit concerned.  The concern was, of course, entirely needless.  It's certainly different than in Germany, to be sure, but with a few modifications in my perspective and behavior, I have become a big fan.

I decided to try the system one weekend when I was still staying at the Swissotel.  You know, to see how bad it might really be, but doing so during a weekend where hopefully there would be fewer users and it would be easier to figure things out.  I asked the concierge at the hotel about the Metro and how I could buy a ticket.  He paused and asked if I'd like him to arrange a car service or taxi.  This didn't inspire much confidence in the Metro, but I declined the offer.  He then said it might be helpful to write the request in Russian, so he wrote something on a piece of paper that apparently I was supposed to provide to the cashier.  (Alas, no kiosks where I could buy a ticket.)  He estimated that I could get a 10-ride for "around 300 Rubles."

I will admit that when I slid this note under the glass at the cashier's desk I felt a bit like a bank robber and wondered if the cashier on the other side might feel the same way.  She looked at it, then at me with a raised eyebrow.  But she took the 500 Ruble note I had offered, did some typing on her keyboard, and slipped my change and a thick paper card back into the slot - along with my note.

It turns out that the 10-ride costs RUB 265, which is a little less than $9.  There is apparently some kind of electronic chip or something inside as you  place it on a pad at the entry locations to the subway which authenticates entry and displays the number of remaining rides on the ticket.  The entry locations are gates or turnstiles without a gate or turnstile.  During rush hour, there is an employee on the other side of the "gates" who can see whether the passenger's entrance has been authorized, though this type of resource is not necessarily present during off-hours.  So far, I have not yet been asked to show my ticket on the train itself.

Each ride is good for the entire system, rather than on a zone system which I always think is overly complicated.  The system consists of a ring line that reflects the ring orientation of the city, and then other lines that spring out from it.  The stations are much further apart than I am used to within either Chicago or Germany, so just a few stops can take you quite a long way.  At the same time, it requires you to plan ahead on which station is closest to your destination as it could have a significant impact on how far you must then walk to your destination.  Fortunately, many businesses indicate in their contact information the closest Metro station, which is quite helpful.  This also tends to result in a lot of people boarding and exiting the train at each stop.

The trains operate very frequently - often nearly one per minute.  The signs are generally in Cyrillic characters, so you need to plan your path in advance and know which way to go.  For example, when I was first learning how to get to work, I knew that no matter whether I was coming or go, I should also choose to go towards the middle stations.  That station, Novokuznetskaya, when printed in Cyrillic characters starts with what looks like Hobo, so I always have this visual of being a hobo (yes, with the stick and a pack of goodies in a red bandanna tied on the stick) going to work and I always have managed to get there.

There are clear unstated rules regarding the exit and entry process of the subways.  Everyone on the outside clearly stands just to the side of the door until all people are out and then there is the mad dash to board.  It can be crowded.  There are long benches along the sides of the train with bars above them to grab on to, but no such bars in the main vestibules, so you either have to do a form of surfing or get in the midst of the aisle.  Everyone seems to seat themselves with precisely the same distance so when a seat is available, you "fit."  It's quite amazing.  During the trip, of course, like on pretty many other subways, you studiously avoid looking at others.

When you exit the subway, the real fun begins, especially during rush hour.  There are generally (at least at my two primary Metro stations) three escalators and they reverse the direction of the center escalator during rush hour to attempt to smooth the traffic flow.  Attempt.  But it is not enough.  What happens is that as soon as the doors of the trains open, a ton of people emerge and all head towards the escalators.  And you have trains running in both directions that are emptying onto the same platform, so if you are exiting and hear another train approaching from the other side, you start double-timing.

Think of a boa constrictor to get the visual here of a lot of people and only two escalator lines.  There is a mass of people.  They don't really queue per se, but nor is there actual pushing.  Rather, it is a display more aggressive pedestrian skills than what I have (though I am working on that) coupled with an the absolute refusal to acknowledge the existence of those around you.  Despite a quasi-queue, people still walk right up to the front and weasel their ways in.  No looks to the others, no  "excuse me's" or anything like that.  They just butt in and everyone continues.  The line does move, so it amuses me to no end that these people just HAVE to get about 10 people ahead of where they would have been otherwise.  The other interesting thing is that there is nearly perfectly even spacing once on the escalator - despite the aggressiveness in entering the escalator, everyone seems careful to leave an empty stair between the person in front.  And everyone moves to the right.   It is truly fascinating.

At the top of the stairs, there is another need for aggressive pedestrian skills, often driving by other streams of incoming passengers from other lines (both stations also connect with another line of the subway) and everyone trying to exit through the same gates.  Same types of "I'm not acknowledging you exist" tactics as everyone presses ahead.  Somehow this is all done with minimal body contact, which I fine mildly reassuring.  That said, one's "personal bubble" becomes quite small in all aspects of the subway.

One other thing about the subway is that some of the stations are really quite ornate inside.  I might try to take some pictures of them at some point in time, but even the kind of "plain" station that I have included above (Paveletskaya) is still much prettier than many US or German subway stations I have experienced.

Overall, a great and efficient means of transportation at a low price.  Highly recommend it.

25 March 2012 - The reality of relocating to Moscow: Part 1 (The Lads)

Oxley's new bed in an apartment bereft of furniture

[Perhaps Chumbawamba's "Tubthumper (I get knocked down)" or Pat Benetar's "Hit me with your best shot"]

I've heard it said that moving is one of the most stressful events in one's life.  I suspect that moving among countries would rank even higher.  I will be experiencing this stressful event this year.  Twice.  Great idea....

The fact that I am only supposed to be in Russia until I return to the United States this summer was a bit of a complicating factor.  It didn't make sense to move everything to Russia as there wouldn't really be enough time to fully settle before it would be time to move again.  Not to mention that most landlords aren't really interested in renting out an unfurnished apartment for less than a year.  And who knew how long it might take for everything to clear Customs in Russia?  So we decided that I would live in a corporate apartment in Russia and all of my belongings would be shipped to the US and placed in storage until I arrived there and I would just ship some things to Russia to get me through the next few months.  This also had the advantage that, since it takes a while for a shipping container across the ocean, I would have my things available as soon as I got back to the US rather than having to live in corporate housing there until everything arrived.

So far, it seems logical and convenient, right?  Aside from a few points that became more important as the process proceeded.

1. Getting me into Russia is not as easy as just buying a ticket; there's this matter of a visa.
2. 'Banes and Oxley could not be placed into storage for a few months.
3. I would be ripped from my life and roots in Frankfurt with essentially no notice or right of return.
4. Timing, as in most things, is everything.

Since the first point has been discussed at length in previous entries, I will skip it but cover the other points in separate blog postings to spread out the boredom.

Let's start with the cats.  As you may require from the posting from a few months after I moved to Germany, getting the cats there was not an easy thing and I couldn't have done it without the assistance of my sister-in-law and my brother (but mostly my incredibly organized and patient sister-in-law who went through all of the visits with the veterinarians, Department of Agriculture and more).  Somehow they made it and, perhaps due to the drugging involved, seemed no worse for the wear.

In November I had anticipated that there might be similar issues to getting them back into the US, including ensuring that their vaccinations had been given at least six months prior to their entrance.  So I finally found a veterinarian and got them in for this appointment.   (Yes, I am a bad cat mom for not having taken them in before, but honestly, where were they going to pick up rabies and distemper in my apartment?)  I explained my plans to the vet and he said, "Oh, so you'll need a pet passport."  Excuse me?  Yes, Germany has something called a Heimtierausweis that is a passport of sorts for the domestic pets to travel around the EU.  I can't make this stuff up.  It's slightly larger than a regular passport, has a little hologram on the front (with animals in the hologram) and yes, there is a place for a photo of the respective animal, though this is optional (imagine the fun I had trying to get the Lads to pose in front of a white background without their glasses and not smiling).  This document is used to record all their vaccinations as well as to document health certifications made by the vet just prior to their travel.

So this was a major hurdle out of the way, though there were still two requirements before they could go to Russia.  First, they had to get one of these health certifications no more than 10 days prior to the date of their travel.  And, second, to go to Russia they also needed to have a ringworm treatment or something as a precautionary treatment within 3-5 days of their travel, which effectively set the date after which they could travel - which was only a window of a couple of days.  Hmmmm.....  And then there is the matter of actually transporting them there.

A slight digression.  The firm somewhere along the way decided that it might also take too long to clear customs for an air shipment of my possessions, so whatever I wanted to take, I needed to be able to take as excess baggage.  Umm, seriously?  For 2-3 seasons of clothing (maybe only two, as who knows when winter ends in Moscow and whether summer might arrive before I went back to the US) and with one of those seasons consisting of a lot of large warm items as well as my new clunky snow boots?  Seriously?  I had an odd assortment of luggage available (an old Hartman rollaboard with shot bearings that I had replaced with a small Rimowa but hadn't thrown out, the small Rimowa itself, a cheap rolling duffle bag I got at Wal-Mart to bring some clothing back from the US one time, my Tumi rollaboard for 2-3 day trips, and the gigantaur Rimowa).  It sounds like a lot of luggage, but it's really not.  But it nevertheless would take up at least one of the luggage carts.  Now picture me arriving in Moscow with all of that and going through Customs.  Is there any way they would NOT stop me to look in the bags? And then think of adding on to that two large crates with the Lads in them, yowling at the top of their lungs.  Trying to find any sort of taxi that could accommodate all this stuff.  Getting set up in the corporate apartment with the cats still yowling.  It just sounded like a really, really bad scenario.

So I decided to seek professional assistance, especially since from the start I had made it clear that I would only consider this if the firm was able to get my cats there as well.  Again, not possible to put them in storage.  Also didn't make sense to ship them to Chicago (assuming my family would be willing to host them) since I'd have to move them again anyway to New Jersey.

You might be surprised at how many pet relocation companies are out there.  I'm serious.  You might also, like me, nearly experience heart failure at the prices they charge for an international relocation for said pets.  The services they would provide would include booking of cargo accommodations, pick-up of the Lads from my home, delivery to said cargo provider, pickup on the other end, and delivery to my home.  It did not include the process or costs associated with getting all relevant vaccinations, trips to the vet for the ringworm treatment and health certificate.  And of course you have to provide the crates of the proper size for shipment.  So, want to guess how much?  [I'll let you think about this while you continue reading the rest of the blog.]

Due to all the visa-related changes in timing, the move was completed before either the cats or I were able to move, so they were living in my apartment with no furniture.  I know that this sounds like cruel and unusual punishment and maybe it was, but I figured they would still prefer being in their own 'hood rather than being boarded in a place with strange animals, sounds and noises.  I did keep out a couple of their sleeping mats/pads, their toys and some other things to try to make them feel at home, but I still felt horrible.  As you can see, Oxley took to hanging out in one of the bathroom sinks, as well as on top of the kitchen cupboards when he felt scared (which of course made me feel even worse).

They seemed to get used to it, though.  Well, at least until I brought up their cargo crates from the basement.  This put Oxley on top of the kitchen cupboards for more than a couple hours.  I had hoped that they might get used to the crates so it would be less stressful when they had to go into them.  I was wrong.  When the appointed time came for the pet relocation pick-up and I tried to load them into the crates, there was much yowling, scratching, growling and yes, the need to try to pluck a cat from the top of the cupboards (which cat then cowered in the back of the crate liked a cowed being, which made me truly feel like a heel).  But off they went.

While I was flying on Aeroflot, the Lads were living the life in the Lufthansa Animal Lounge before they made the journey with Lufthansa Cargo.  Lucky guys.  (Every time I think about an animal lounge, I just picture them sipping martinis and decrying the lack of civilized travel and their disbelief that they allowed dogs and ferrets into the lounge.  And then catching a whiff of tiger and realizing they might soon be someone's appetizer.)  The cool part about this is the pet relocation company gave me their air waybill number so I could track them like a package.  While they landed about the same time as me (albeit at a different airport) it apparently takes cargo a really long time to clear customs, but they finally cleared and were picked up by the local pet relocation contacts who delivered them to my apartment just a bit before midnight.

They seemed generally fine, though Oxley had had a bit of an accident in his crate.  That didn't stop him or Banes from immediately meowing, "Where's the food?!"  Ah, the Lads.....  Oxley also had a bit of an issue with the new litter box I had purchased, which had a covering over the top to assist in corralling both unpleasant scents as well as cat litter.  I think it reminded him of the crates, so a bit of training was necessary to help him get used to it.  In the interim, the cleaning lady rolled up all rugs except the one in my bedroom, so I'm not sure whether there was an incident or this was a precautionary measure.  At this point, I think we are at the point where we can have some rugs.

So the answer?  $3,400 and some change.  Oh, and the firm decided that this wasn't included in my package since it wasn't a long term assignment but a short term assignment following a three year long-term assignment.  WHAT?!  Somehow I don't think they would treat the human children of people this way and I'm not done with this issue yet.