Well, it’s happening again here in Mockba. As I write this it’s 12:00 midnight and the sun set about an hour and a half ago. Sunrise will be about 4:30AM tomorrow.
Nancy has decided this time she’s retiring for good this time – we’ll see. She’s done June 22nd and we leave Mockba for the last time June 30th. Our stuff ships out June 27th. The car has been sold and I closed up the woodshop at Nancy’s school. My to-do list is very short at this point so I guess we’re really leaving the place. We’re stopping in Slovenia for 2 weeks and then taking a train to Milan for 5 days and then it’s back to the US.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
On Our Kruzinsky Neighborhood 5 мая 2013
Nancy has decided this will be her last year teaching so after two years in Moscow we’ll be headed back to the US in the middle of July. I’ve put together a slideshow of images from our neighborhood so we’ll remember it.
We live on Gruzinsky Pereolok (or sidestreet or lane)( Грузинский переулок ) which starts by intersecting with Gruzinsky Street (Грузинский улица) on one end and ends at Bolshoi (big or large) Gruzinsky (Большой Грузинский) on the other. As you can see there are a lot Grunzinskys so while it’s not officially known as the “Gruzinsky neighborhood” that’s what we call it. Actually our building is called Kruzinsky or Kruz for short.
Russians do this a lot with multiple, near-the-same street names making for a very confusing situation especially when you first move in. Aside from Gruzinsky Pereolok, Tverskaya Street (Тверская улица) is a good example that’s totally confusing. It’s a main street in Moscow leading from the Kremlin and has different names all starting with “Tverskaya xxx” for different segments of the street taking on the name of various neighborhoods until it gets to the Belorruskaya Train and Metro stations (our neighborhood). There it changes name completely to Leningradsky Street (Ленинградская улица). As you can imagine what’s been very helpful over time to have a GPS with a Cyrillic keyboard…
On a typical outing I first look up where we want to go. I then translate it to Cyrillic (Google Translate helps a lot). Then I print the Cyrillic out on paper and finally type it into the GSP using the Cyrillic keyboard – piece of cake…
In some of the images, if your Cyrillic (Russian) is not up-to-speed and as good as mine (cough, cough) I’ve provided a translation. In some cases you can do a letter-by-letter translation of the word while at other times you have to know what the Russian word means.
Our neighborhood is an interesting mix of European, Soviet era and modern, westernized buildings. Since we’ve been here we’ve seen many new modern buildings replace the older ones.
We live near the Belorruskaya (Белору́сская) train and Metro stations. Moscow’s metro system is excellent making getting around the city and Moscow’s three airports very easy. This makes the neighborhood quite attractive and a very convenient place to live. It seems to be an up-and-coming place and we’ve been fortunate to spend our two years here.
If you’re interested the easiest way to view the slideshow is to click on this link:
http://vimeo.com/65497107
I’ve also posted the slideshow on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com Click on the RUSSIA link.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
We live on Gruzinsky Pereolok (or sidestreet or lane)( Грузинский переулок ) which starts by intersecting with Gruzinsky Street (Грузинский улица) on one end and ends at Bolshoi (big or large) Gruzinsky (Большой Грузинский) on the other. As you can see there are a lot Grunzinskys so while it’s not officially known as the “Gruzinsky neighborhood” that’s what we call it. Actually our building is called Kruzinsky or Kruz for short.
Russians do this a lot with multiple, near-the-same street names making for a very confusing situation especially when you first move in. Aside from Gruzinsky Pereolok, Tverskaya Street (Тверская улица) is a good example that’s totally confusing. It’s a main street in Moscow leading from the Kremlin and has different names all starting with “Tverskaya xxx” for different segments of the street taking on the name of various neighborhoods until it gets to the Belorruskaya Train and Metro stations (our neighborhood). There it changes name completely to Leningradsky Street (Ленинградская улица). As you can imagine what’s been very helpful over time to have a GPS with a Cyrillic keyboard…
On a typical outing I first look up where we want to go. I then translate it to Cyrillic (Google Translate helps a lot). Then I print the Cyrillic out on paper and finally type it into the GSP using the Cyrillic keyboard – piece of cake…
In some of the images, if your Cyrillic (Russian) is not up-to-speed and as good as mine (cough, cough) I’ve provided a translation. In some cases you can do a letter-by-letter translation of the word while at other times you have to know what the Russian word means.
Our neighborhood is an interesting mix of European, Soviet era and modern, westernized buildings. Since we’ve been here we’ve seen many new modern buildings replace the older ones.
We live near the Belorruskaya (Белору́сская) train and Metro stations. Moscow’s metro system is excellent making getting around the city and Moscow’s three airports very easy. This makes the neighborhood quite attractive and a very convenient place to live. It seems to be an up-and-coming place and we’ve been fortunate to spend our two years here.
If you’re interested the easiest way to view the slideshow is to click on this link:
http://vimeo.com/65497107
I’ve also posted the slideshow on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com Click on the RUSSIA link.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Saturday, April 6, 2013
On Vision
7 апреля 2013
A few years ago I watched a documentary series on John Adams. In one of the scenes Adams was in the White House (still undergoing construction) and he was reading a newspaper with an enormous magnifying glass probably 10 or 12 inches across while still wearing his spectacles. It struck me as somewhat funny, although clearly the scene was not comedic.
Yesterday I was looking over some travel documents that were printed in a tiny font. Like Adams I searched my desk drawer and pulled out my magnifying glass and with my glasses on was able to decipher what I was reading. My only problem was that my magnifying glass was about 4 inches across. I immediately thought about the scene in the documentary and all of a sudden didn’t think it was so funny anymore. At the moment I wished that I had a glass the size that Adams was using…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Yesterday I was looking over some travel documents that were printed in a tiny font. Like Adams I searched my desk drawer and pulled out my magnifying glass and with my glasses on was able to decipher what I was reading. My only problem was that my magnifying glass was about 4 inches across. I immediately thought about the scene in the documentary and all of a sudden didn’t think it was so funny anymore. At the moment I wished that I had a glass the size that Adams was using…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Friday, March 29, 2013
On When Spring Arrives in Mockba
29 марта 2013
A friend of mine asked me recently via email: “When does spring arrive in Moscow?”
I thought my response would be a good blog post. Here’s the text of my response:
“Spring has NOT arrived here in Mockba. We just went through a 3 day period where it snowed continuously at -16 degrees C. This year we've had over 10 feet of snow and it's been one of the coldest winters since the 50s. Today was a balmy -6 which warmed up to 0. Next week we're supposed to get all the way up to +6. Around here that's shorts and T-shirt weather...almost. To keep the windshield wiper fluid in your car from freezing you buy the cheapest bottle of vodka; 100 rubles = ~$3 (which is cheaper than the actual fluid) and dump it in. When you squirt the windshield you get "bar room kind of smell."
Getting around in the car is a bit challenging. They plow the main roads but not the side streets. We live on a side-side street. They just let the tires of cars mash it all down. Of course at night it freezes into a massive sheet of lumpy ice. Then in the daytime, if it gets a bit above 0, there are massive lakes everywhere. We have piles of snow in our parking lot over 6 feet high. Eventually it gets so high maintenance brings in a Bobcat and dumpsters and haul it out. The cycle then repeats itself. We've been through 3 cycles so far..”
До следующего раза ...
Борис
I thought my response would be a good blog post. Here’s the text of my response:
“Spring has NOT arrived here in Mockba. We just went through a 3 day period where it snowed continuously at -16 degrees C. This year we've had over 10 feet of snow and it's been one of the coldest winters since the 50s. Today was a balmy -6 which warmed up to 0. Next week we're supposed to get all the way up to +6. Around here that's shorts and T-shirt weather...almost. To keep the windshield wiper fluid in your car from freezing you buy the cheapest bottle of vodka; 100 rubles = ~$3 (which is cheaper than the actual fluid) and dump it in. When you squirt the windshield you get "bar room kind of smell."
Getting around in the car is a bit challenging. They plow the main roads but not the side streets. We live on a side-side street. They just let the tires of cars mash it all down. Of course at night it freezes into a massive sheet of lumpy ice. Then in the daytime, if it gets a bit above 0, there are massive lakes everywhere. We have piles of snow in our parking lot over 6 feet high. Eventually it gets so high maintenance brings in a Bobcat and dumpsters and haul it out. The cycle then repeats itself. We've been through 3 cycles so far..”
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Varvarka Street
28 февраля 2013
Before the holidays we went on a walking tour of Varvarka Street (Barbarska улице). The sky was overcast and the light wasn’t very good for pictures. I’ve been waiting, a long time as it turns out (see a previous post: “On Gloominess in Mockba”), for a sunny day with blue sky to go back and shoot some photos. The other day the sky opened up for a few hours and so I headed back.
Varvarka Street (Ulitsa Varvarka - Улица Варварка) is said to be the oldest street in Moscow leading to Red Square just opposite St. Basil’s Cathedral. It has the largest number of churches of any street in Mockba. In medieval times artisans lived and worked on Varvarka Street and sold their goods on Red Square.
Mockaba was originally a walled city and a section of the original wall can still be seen running parallel with the street.
At the end of the walk as you enter Red Square along the side opposite the Kremlin wall is an enormous, long building running almost the entire length of the Square. The building is called Гум, literally spelled out in English to be Gum but pronounced as goom. Гум could be described and as 3 long buildings each with a greenhouse roof reaching upward perhaps 5-6 stories. Today Гум is an upscale mall with many shops you’d be familiar with.
During the time of the Soviet Union Гум served as a food distribution and storage center where people would get their ration of foodstuffs, often in short supply.
With the change of seasons Гум is decorated with seasonal motifs. The day I was there was later winter approaching early spring. In the middle of the Гум, where all 3 “greenhouses” intersect is a fountain. Above it was a series of colorful shapes made of fabric that intersect with each other making interesting abstract forms extending from the roof almost all the way to the first floor.
Lastly, if you’ve been to Red Square lately in addition to the usually skating ring and winter time outdoor shops is an enormous white dome-shaped bubble over Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin wall. The tomb is apparently getting a new look.
I’ve put together a brief slideshow of images I took during our visit. The easiest way to view the show is to click on the following link:
http://vimeo.com/60731207
The show is also located on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/russia
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Varvarka Street (Ulitsa Varvarka - Улица Варварка) is said to be the oldest street in Moscow leading to Red Square just opposite St. Basil’s Cathedral. It has the largest number of churches of any street in Mockba. In medieval times artisans lived and worked on Varvarka Street and sold their goods on Red Square.
Mockaba was originally a walled city and a section of the original wall can still be seen running parallel with the street.
At the end of the walk as you enter Red Square along the side opposite the Kremlin wall is an enormous, long building running almost the entire length of the Square. The building is called Гум, literally spelled out in English to be Gum but pronounced as goom. Гум could be described and as 3 long buildings each with a greenhouse roof reaching upward perhaps 5-6 stories. Today Гум is an upscale mall with many shops you’d be familiar with.
During the time of the Soviet Union Гум served as a food distribution and storage center where people would get their ration of foodstuffs, often in short supply.
With the change of seasons Гум is decorated with seasonal motifs. The day I was there was later winter approaching early spring. In the middle of the Гум, where all 3 “greenhouses” intersect is a fountain. Above it was a series of colorful shapes made of fabric that intersect with each other making interesting abstract forms extending from the roof almost all the way to the first floor.
Lastly, if you’ve been to Red Square lately in addition to the usually skating ring and winter time outdoor shops is an enormous white dome-shaped bubble over Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin wall. The tomb is apparently getting a new look.
I’ve put together a brief slideshow of images I took during our visit. The easiest way to view the show is to click on the following link:
http://vimeo.com/60731207
The show is also located on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/russia
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Friday, February 15, 2013
On Seniority
16 февраля 2013
While Russians are a rather grumpy lot they are quite respectful of their “elders”. Yesterday I was on the Metro (subway) and I was shown, reluctantly, that I have become a “senior citizen”. And, while I am closer to 63 than 62 and therefore have been among the elderly for almost a year now (using eligibility for Social Security as a criterion) it hadn’t occurred to me until yesterday that I am old.
The Metro car was packed and I was standing, hanging onto the bar above me. I was going to get off in 5 stops. The doors closed and the car started to move forward. A young woman, probably in her 40s, was seated in front of me. As we got up to speed she motioned to me to take her seat. I waved her off and hopefully had a polite face on signaling “thank you” but I was fine. She again insisted (this is going on in “Russian sign-language”) that I sit down, which I did grudgingly. My hair, what’s left of it, has turned a snowy-grey white and has been this way since my early 50s, a trait I obviously inherited from my father.
My benefactor got off at the next stop. As I sat there I contemplated what had just happened. It dawned on me that I had just been officially identified as a senior citizen and from a 40 year-old no less.
This is hard to take…and something I guess I’m going to have to get used to…I think…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
The Metro car was packed and I was standing, hanging onto the bar above me. I was going to get off in 5 stops. The doors closed and the car started to move forward. A young woman, probably in her 40s, was seated in front of me. As we got up to speed she motioned to me to take her seat. I waved her off and hopefully had a polite face on signaling “thank you” but I was fine. She again insisted (this is going on in “Russian sign-language”) that I sit down, which I did grudgingly. My hair, what’s left of it, has turned a snowy-grey white and has been this way since my early 50s, a trait I obviously inherited from my father.
My benefactor got off at the next stop. As I sat there I contemplated what had just happened. It dawned on me that I had just been officially identified as a senior citizen and from a 40 year-old no less.
This is hard to take…and something I guess I’m going to have to get used to…I think…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, February 7, 2013
On Gloominess in Mockba
8 февраля 2013
When we first came to Mockba we were warned that some people have trouble with the lack of light in the winter time. As I’ve noted in a previous post until January 21 the “sun” rises at about 11AM and sets about 4PM making for some very short days.
As it turns out, it’s not the short days but rather the unrelenting overcast and general gloominess that starts to get you. Since early December I’m not sure we’ve had more than 10 sunny days and never 2 in a row. And just to cheer you up a little more many days are accompanied by fog. When the temperature gets a tick above 00 C and there’s a bit of a melt we get an extra bonus: wet, slushy days.
After experiencing this for a while you start to realize why Russians have a reputation for being grumpy… makes sense…
Today’s weather at 10:30AM: Cloudy overcast with fog; temperature: -20 C; expected precipitation: wintery mix.
Have a nice day!
До следующего раза ...
Борис
As it turns out, it’s not the short days but rather the unrelenting overcast and general gloominess that starts to get you. Since early December I’m not sure we’ve had more than 10 sunny days and never 2 in a row. And just to cheer you up a little more many days are accompanied by fog. When the temperature gets a tick above 00 C and there’s a bit of a melt we get an extra bonus: wet, slushy days.
After experiencing this for a while you start to realize why Russians have a reputation for being grumpy… makes sense…
Today’s weather at 10:30AM: Cloudy overcast with fog; temperature: -20 C; expected precipitation: wintery mix.
Have a nice day!
До следующего раза ...
Борис
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