March 31: Traffic

March 31: Traffic

Moscow has some of the worst traffic in the world. There are too many cars and people for a city designed prior to the invention of the automobile. This combined with a limited number of places where making a left turn is legal and a law against moving an automobile crashs off to the side of the road  (even a fender-bender) until the police arrive causes traffic to come to a complete stand still sometimes.

Today, I sat somewhere between 80 - 100 minutes in my car in this tunnel. Did I mention my son was in the car?  Not the best picture; just my pain and frustration.

March 30: Peace Throughout the World

March 30: Peace Throughout the World

This tile mosaic - titled "Peace Throughout the Word" - is located in the Moscow Metro station Novoslobodskaya. The 3 letter word written in Russian near the top of the mosaic is "мир" (mir). This word is one of my favorites in Russian as it has an interesting double meaning. Mir means both peace and world. 

The banner stretching from side to side has the Russian words "Мир во всем мире" written on it.  This can be translated as "Peace Throughout the World", "Peace for the all of the world" or, more simply as, "World Peace". 

A friend of mine from Houston visiting me last fall took this picture.  I wanted to share it with all of you today given the events yesterday and the fact it is a splendid example of artwork in the Moscow metro.

March 26: Woman Entering the Metro

March 26: Woman Entering the Metro

As you have probably heard, two women suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Moscow Metro today killing at least 40 people and injuring dozens more. I took this picture at around 2:00 PM this afternoon of a woman entering the metro. ( The sign on the door translates as "Entrance to Metro".) The people of Moscow were doing the same thing they and residents of too many cities to name have done after other terrorist attacks: they were living their lives and taking the metro as needed.

Click here if you want to read more about my Moscow metro system and my thoughs on today's events.

March 28: Pizza Time

March 28: Man Dresses as a Big Slice of Pizza

I finally found the man dressed as a big slice of pizza.  He is standing out in front of Sabarro.  

You can click here to see a man dressed as a big mug of beer.  If only these two worked the same street corner....

March 27: Exchange Rate

March 27: Exchange Rate

The electronic sign depicts the buy / sale rate for the dollar to ruble. These signs are common throughout the city.

The sign directly above is for a popular chain of coffee houses.  The name of the establishment is Coffee House.  This is written on the sign in the white letters below directly below the picture of the coffee cup.

March 26: Bright Blue Sky

March 26: Bright Blue Sky

The sky was a brillian blue today in Moscow. It was a bit crisp out side as the temerature was 40 F (+4.5 C) and it was windy. However, it was a great day to be outside.

This winter as had a lot of sunny days and, even though the winter sun has provided no warmth, I have really appreciated these days.   There was nothing but grey skies day after day last winter for 3 - 4 months.

This church is located off of Tverskya near Belaruskaya train station. I do not know the name of the church. I was walking along thinking about the blue sky when I saw the church.  I thought it would make the perfect backdrop to the blue sky, so I snappd the picture.

March 25: Sea of Green

March 25: Sea of Green

I was so happy today to see a patch of green grass appear from under the melting snow.

March 24: Spring Flowers for Sale

March 24: Spring Flowers for Sale

This women selling flowers outside of the metro was the only sign of spring today in Moscow. A light snow blanketed the city early in the morning before turning to rain.

March 23: Frozen Showers

March 23: Frozen Showers

After a full-day of spring rain, the water freezes in the drain pipes at night. This is the part of the year where you have to be very careful where you walk. The rain and melting snow freeze at night on the sidewalk and roads. You never know where there will be a patch of black ice.

March 22: Spring Showers

March 22: Spring Showers

Spring has sprung in Moscow a couple of days late. It rained most of the day and the temperature was a warm + 4 C (40 F). This is a welcome change after the cold winter weather.

Although a good portion of the snow has been removed from the city, there is still a lot of snow piled-up in various places. The rain did a great job of melting the snow and the street are flooded.

March 21: Man Dressed as Giant Mug of Beer

March 21: Man Dressed as a Giant Beer Mug

I think the title of this post says it all. Not a lot of other words are needed.

This beer mug was standing on Tverksya Avenue about mid-way between the Kremlin and Pushkin Square. He is advertising beer for a local restaurant. I have seen people in the US dressed in a lot of costumes to advertising a place of business, but I have never anyone dressed as a giant mug of beer.

I am still looking for the "Man Dressed as a Giant Bottle of Vodka".  I am sure he is out there, some where on the streets of Moscow.

March 20: Beep! Beep!

March 20: Beep! Beep!

Parking on the sidewalk is an illegally accepted method of parking in Moscow. The Volkswagen is this picture is parked illegally. In order to get to this spot, the driver had to drive about 50 yards on the sidewalk.

As I was standing on the sidewalk talking a picture, I was almost hit by the driver of this Volkswagen. I was so engrossed in what I was doing I did not realize he was honking at me to get get out the way. At least the driver did apologize for almost running me over. 

Little did you know...I risk my life for these pictures.

March 19: Pedestrian Walking Path

March 19: Pedestrian Walking Path

This pedestrian walking path is located across from Pushkin Square. It is bordered by two busy one-way streets and runs perpendicular to Tverskya. This pathway is about 1.5 miles long and provides a beautiful place to walk in the city center.

March 18: Tverskaya Ulitsa (Part II)

March 18: Tverskaya Utiltsa (View II)
A reader requested a picture of Tverskaya Utiltsa leading into the Kremlin. This picture was taken about a 100 yards (90 meters) from the picture I posted on March 15. ( Click here to view March 15 photo).
Tverskaya stops about 50 yards before the red building. The red building is the State Historical Museum. This building is wedged between Red Square and Manege Square. The Kremlin is just off to to the right and you can see the towers in the picture.
If you have ever seen a photo of a military parade in Moscow along a street, there is a 99% chance the photo was taken on this street around the area these two pictures were taken.

March 17: Men Drinking

March 17: Men Drinking

Several men stand outside of this small grocery store drinking (vodka, beer), smoking and talking. I have seen them start to gather as early as 10:00 AM and the crowd will grow larger at around 6:00 PM. There is a well-used bus stop located in the front of this grocery store (in front of the tomato) about 50 feet away; therefore, the sidewalk in front of the store has a lot of foot traffic. I have never worried about my safety as I have walked by the men drinking and no one has called out to me.

March 16: Tverskaya Ulitsa

March 16: Tverskaya Ulitsa
This is a view of the main street, Tverskaya Ulitsa, in Moscow. The street starts at the Kremlin and ends just outside the city center.

March 15: Honey Festival

March 15: Honey Festival
This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago at the semi-annual Honey Festival in Moscow. Over 400 vendors from Russian and the former Russian Republics attended the festival to sale their honey.

March 15: Separation of Honey Comb from Dividers

This women is separating the honey comb from the hive dividers. The comb tastes like honey filled candy. Most people suck the honey out of the comb and chew on the comb for a bit. They spit it out once all the flavor is gone.

You can read more about our adventure at the honey festival by clicking here.

March 14: Books for Sale

March 14: Books for Sale
These vendors are selling used books on Old Arabat street in Moscow. As a friend of my in Moscow pointed out, these vendors haul their books down the street everyday and set-up shop regardless of the weather.

March 13: Bread - Xлеб

March 13: Bread

This is a kisok for buying bread and other products full of carbohydrates (cereal, crackers, oatmeal, etc.) near my house. Xлеб (Hlyeb) is the Russian word for bread. Every day at 4:30 a truck delivers bread to this kiosk. The seniors citizens are often waiting for the break truck's arrival.

March 12: Meeeoooow!

March 12: Meeeeooow!
There are so many comments that come to mind with this picture...I am not sure where to start. It is hard when you are as sarcastic as me to find just one appropriate comment.

The fact is a lot of cars in Moscow have custom paint. This is by far not the strangest one I have seen. Imported cars are extremely expensive - almost 40% - 80% more than in the US. A friend of mine in the auto industry told me car owners apply customer paint to help prevent a cars from being stolen. Not sure if this is true, but it makes sense to me. Who would want to steal someone's cat?

I bet the dogs have fun chasing this car! Bark! Bark! Meeeeooo!

March 11: Ice Skating on Red Square

March 11: Ice Skating on Red Square
This is a the outdoor skating rink located on Red Square. You can see St. Basil's Cathedral rising in the back and the edge of the Kremlin wall on the right. The workers have started the process of ismantling the rink. This is a sure sign spring is just around the corner....

March 10: Waiting at the Ritz

March 10: Waiting at the Ritz
About 300 young girls were lined-up oustide of The Ritz-Carlton waiting to see Tokio Hotel. You can read more about my experience when I first moved to Moscow with celebrity stalkers by clicking here or about how I can hum along to five lines of a Tokio Hotel song by clicking here.

March 9: Old Posters

March 9: Old Posters
Posters advertising a wide range of products and events use to line the side of this building. This is all that is left. A worker has been scraping the side of the building for two day trying to remove the remnants.

March 8: Happy International Women's Day

March 8: Happy International Women's Day
Today is International Women's Day. In Russia, it is very traditional to give and receive flowers for the holiday. My daughter and I received the flowers in this picture from two of my friends. If you want to learn more about the holiday and gifts we received, you can click here and here

March 7: Underground Shopping

March 7: Underground Shopping
This "little shop" is located in the underground passageway for entering / exiting the Metro near my apartment. There are thousand of shops like this one located in underground passages throughout the city. These shops are independently owned and sale about everything you could imagine. The cost of the items sold depends on the quality of the item and location of the kiosk.

March 6: Adverting in Ice

March 6: Advertising in Ice
An advertisement for a tabloid magazine is encased in a block of ice located on Red Square.

March 5: And the Snow Starts to Melt

March 5: And the Snow Starts to Melt
This is what happens to the streets and sidewalks of Moscow when the mercury climes a couple of degrees above ZERO. It is a big, wet mess in the city! I have to navigate through this puddle every day on my way to the metro.

March 4: Flower Shops

March 4: Flower Shops
Most of the flower shops are open 24 hours a day in Moscow. This is a picture of 2 flower shops located side by side.

March 3: Snow is All Gone

March 3: Snow is All Gone
What happen to the snow? Did it all melt? The answer is NO!
The snow was removed from the street as I mentioned here and here.

I took the picture below February 21 and posted on this site. It was taken at almost the spot as the picture above. You can use the red building on the right as a reference point. There is a 10 day elapse between these two pictures.

March 2: Club Football (Soccer) Practice

March 2: Club Football (Soccer) Practice
Russian children often focus on only one sport or extra-curricular activity at at time. They will train 5 - 6 times a week. Some club's train year around while other will take a short break depending on the club's level, sport, and season. This approach to children's activities today is similar to the approach employed during the Soviet era.

This children's club football team practices 5 times a week. Practice is only canceled if the temperature drops below -15 C or they can not see due to poor conditions. The children in this picture looked to be about 7 - 8 years old in person to me.

March 1: Moscow Kremlin

March 1: Moscow Kremlin
This is a view of the Kremlin from the embankment of the Moscow River. The word Kremlin translates as fortress in the Russian.