Family Time

Well, time seems to have gotten away from me again.  I guess I have to accept that parenthood means less time for blogging, but it's a worthwhile trade.  Probably the biggest highlight of the last several weeks was having my parents come and visit.  We had a great time showing them around Moscow and it was nice for Aiden to spend some time getting to know them better. 

They really seemed to bring out some hidden talents in Aiden, particularly when it comes to throwing things.  The first night they were here, he almost speared my dad in the forehead with a fork.  Luckily his aim was off and it only flew all the way across the living room.  Later during their visit, he threw one of his toy trains across the room and broke the glass that my mom was holding in her hand.  Pretty amazing, even if he didn't do it on purpose. 

Overall, I think they had a great time, although they were a bit horrified by the impersonal crush of humanity on display in the metro stations.  We certainly had a good time showing them around.

While they were here, Stephanie and I took advantage of their desire to babysit and got out on our own for a bit.  On one outing, we went to the Tretyakov gallery, which is Moscow's most famous art museum.

We particularly enjoyed the paintings of places we've been from times past, which gave us a sense of how they used to look...

Like Red Square in 1801...

Or ice skating on the Neva river in St. Petersburg in the 19th century...

Or Samarqand in Uzbekistan before the Russians conquered it...

And there were also paintings that gave life to historical events in Russian history, like Ivan the Terrible's murder of his own son...

And more mundane parts of Russian life prior to the Soviet Union, like family trips to church...

Or sledding to celebrate Maslenitsa...

Then there was a whole collection of iconography from Russia's churches, dating back to the 11th century, which was really incredible...

For Father's Day, we took dad on a boat cruise down the Moscow river.  It was a neat way to see the city and gave some particularly unique views on the Kremlin. 

My family's visit seemed to go by very quickly, and it was over before we knew it.  But summer in Moscow leaves little time to ponder such things and the next day we went to the food market near out apartment for a plov cookoff.  I was so excited when I heard about it because unlike Tajikistan, the plov here is usually expensive, the portions are small, and the quality is not that good.  The cook-off really took me back.  There was a variety of preparations, the portions were huge, and it was all delicious!  We didn't get to stick around for the winner, but that wasn't really the point anyway...

This time of year, the market is also exploding with fresh fruits and we've been enjoying our fill of strawberries, cherries, blueberries, wild strawberries (which are totally different and amazing), and now peaches are starting to come into season.  It makes me wonder how we survived the winter here.

While my parents were here, they snagged an opportunity to go to the Bolshoi theater.  Sure the tickets were outrageous, sure the seats were horrible, but from what they said it was all worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  We still haven't been to the Bolshoi, but it did inspire us to make an effort to see a ballet.  We discovered that The Nutcracker was being performed at the Kremlin Palace Theater and decided to get tickets.

That was easier said than done. Prices on the ticket websites were around $80, and I thought I could do better at the ticket booth.   I tried to go to the t on Russia's National Day because I was off from work, but that turned out to be a bad idea.

The ticket both is right next to the Kremlin, and I found the sign pointing the way from the underground passage, but it was blocked by a guard. He told me to go outside and around instead.  So I went outside only to find both sets of stairs blocked by other guards.  They told me to go inside and up the stairs.  So I put on my Russian hat (figuratively) and my won't-take-no-for-an-answer posture and went back to them.  But to no avail, my sternest approach is no match for official Russian impassiveness. No one can muster the indifference to personal plight better than a Russian official with a mission to keep people out..

Downhearted, but not defeated, I went to the Kremlin ticket booth (which was selling tickets even though the Kremlin was closed for the week), and tried to get the inside scoop.  The first two windows gave me nothing, but on the third try, the woman told me that there is a kiosk just outside the metro entrance where I could by tickets.  Feeling cautiously optimistic, I went back into the passage, and started looking for the kiosk.  I looked at every kiosk they had and didn't see it.  Ready to give up, I started back to the metro.  But there, by the door, unlit, and so covered by stickers that the only thing you could see of the booth was the little slot about waist level, I found the kiosk! And even better, I got tickets for about $15 apiece on the first balcony.

Stephanie and I were very excited for the performance and got there early, which provided another bonus.  Our tickets gave us access to the Kremlin grounds prior to the show, and we had about an hour to walk around cathedral square and the park overlooking the river.

The Kremlin Palace Theater is where the communist leadership used to hold important meetings.  And it is massive.  Inside is a huge entry hall with the emblems of all of the former Soviet Republics on the wall. Inside the theater, there isn't a bad view to be found, and we thoroughly enjoyed the show.  At intermission, they sold snacks in the ballroom on the top floor with views over the Kremlin Cathedrals.  It was a great experience and we'll definitely go back. 

The next weekend, we decided to try the Moscow flower show at Gorky Park.  When we got there, we could see enough through the fence to know that it wasn't worth the $20 admission fee per person, so we just ran around the park with Aiden and had lunch.  On the way out we were rewarded with a show of waterboarding (yes, the pun is amusing), where a guy was holding on to a rope that was tugged back and forth on a pulley system.  I wouldn't have believed that you could get enough speed in such a small pond, but I have the video to prove it.

On the way back, we bought the best cherries we've ever had from a lady on the sidewalk.  They were almost as big as plums and were just amazingly delicious!

This past weekend, we took Aiden to the park known as VDNKh (pronounced Veh Deh En Hah), which is an abbreviation for a bunch of words that mean All-Russia Exhibition Center. On the way there, we passed a very impressive monument to Russia's space program, which includes an engraving of the first dog in space. 

We also took Aiden to a butterfly farm, which was very exciting for him as he chased them all around.

The park itself is a wild mix of beautiful fountains, ornate buildings representing the different Soviet Republics, amusement park rides, flea markets, and Russian fast food stands.  We enjoyed it all, having everything from Ossetian pies to fresh donuts, to a bottle of medovukha (which we took home to drink).

 There was also a man with a spectacular mullet on display. I blurred his face out to avoid any copyright issues, but I don't think it detracts from the main show.

So that's what we've been up to.  Work is as busy as ever and as usual, there isn't much I can say about it due to privacy concerns.  But if you read the news, you know it's an interesting time in Russia.  We're gearing up for another trip soon and you never know who you might see in an airport around here... (just kidding).