Moscow….the city of tears and fears

So I did something silly that I now regret – I threw out last year’s plastic Christmas tree because I didn’t think I’d still be living through another winter in Moscow!

I nearly threw out my big brown puffa coat, gloves and boots but today I’m wearing them all over again with utter disgust!

I thought I’d never see snow again as I had dreams of being back in a warm country of my choice but today I walked through the first real snow of winter ……. and I smiled. In fact I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as it was so pretty and white and fluffy. The city took on a whole new light…..not grey but white.

But last week I cried – in fact I cry a lot in Moscow and I’m not the only one. I call it the city of tears and fears. I’ve never seen so many people crying openly in the streets, trains and cafes. It’s this time of the year I feel sad especially when I see the poor old ladies openly begging in the streets kneeling in the snow without gloves on and tears in their eyes. So many Russians give openly this time of the year….every second person opens their pockets for these poor souls.

But this year will be different …..I know how to walk in the snow and I’ve done a course on how to fall in the snow (it should have been the Greek doing the course not me!). I know that if you really want to keep warm to wear something that has claws hanging off the edge of your collar…..but most importantly I will have friends who have become family to spend christmas with. This is what will make another year in Moscow worth it.

Who stole Moscow’s Summer

So this is Summer and outside it’s pouring with rain and the skies are grey. To quote my three year old grand nephew in Australia……. “What’s going on here?”. Every now and then I can see sunlight fighting its way through those fluffy sad clouds that just want to open up and shower down tears every time I attempt to step out in my new high heels. Jumping puddles and making my way through slippery broken pathways to the supermarket is no fun.

Someone has lied to me! I was told Moscow has a beautiful hot summer with blue skies, sunshine and the chance to get a tan while walking the city.

The Greek and I have been away for two weeks sunning and beaching in Greece visiting family, eating wonderful Greek food and exploring new quaint beach towns and the highlight is always a visit to Santorini island…our own piece of paradise.

Arriving back to Moscow tanned and little bit heavier I was looking forward to the new season fruits of sweet white peaches, black cherries and nectarines in my local supermarket. The week before I flew out for Greece I had to fight the notoriously famous grey haired babushkas (grandmothers of Russia) to get to this limited fruit. On my return from Greece I was looking forward to a more quiet city where the supermarket would be all mine in July and August.

Not only did I come back to a quiet Moscow but also no seasonal summer fruit! So not only has someone stolen our summer but they took the white peaches with them! Is it because all the wives, children and grey haired babushka brigade have left for their Dashas or Vilas in the South of France for the next two months that the supermarket decides it’s not worth selling any more seasonal fruit?

Moscow in Colour

THE COLOURED SEASON

It’s been an amazing month…. April snow, April sun, April showers and it’s now May and I think we are very lucky to be experiencing some of the best weather Moscow has to offer as opposed to the rest of Europe.

So I’m finally showing my arms….white as they are but it’s good to see flesh again and I’m slowly getting some colour back into them. But what’s happened to the rest of the Muscovites? I still see coats, beanies and scarves and way too many black, grey and beige colours! Spring is in the air and it throws colours of green trees, red and yellow flowers, bright blue skies and a warm 20 degrees celsius.

Do the Russians know something I don’t know, like what happened on Tuesday 1st May….. An aptly named hurricane wind hits Moscow late afternoon …. I’m nearly blown away towards my homeland Australia but fortunately the Greek takes hold of me and keeps me firmly planted to the ground …there is no escaping living in Moscow for me!

From what started off as a lovely sunny day turned into treacherous gale force winds leaving my freshly washed long blonde hair looking like a scarecrow covered in twigs, leaves, sand and cigarette ash! Obviously this one day was not normal and I didn’t really react or worry too much as it reminded me of a typical day in Dubai during a sandstorm, which were way too many for my liking. Living in Dubai for 7 years deprived us of the wonders and magic of Mother Nature.

I only realized how bad our little storm was after reading about it in the Moscow News this morning (people hospitalized, multiple trees blown over, vehicles crushed) otherwise I would of assumed it was a spring breeze in Moscow! So I’m back to wearing more conservative warmer clothing till I’m sure it really is the beginning of summer.

To get into the mood of spring, I practiced walking to my local supermarket 400meters from my apartment last week in 5 inch heels. Well if I’m going to keep living here I need to blend in with the crowd and high heels is the number one way of doing it. So instead of taking me 10 minutes it took me 20 minutes to get my groceries and if I thought everyone would stare at me strutting down Arbat in the middle of the day then there was no need as not even a glimpse, a glare or a stare let alone a side glance was given to me trying to maneuver grocery bags in my 5 inch heels!

The park outside the Kremlin walls are now beautiful and green….the massive flower bed of tulips are about to bloom bringing so much colour to what I still believe is a very grey city. Spring is turning Moscow into a rainbow of colours. It’s nice to see the locals picnicking on the lawns, even if it is McDonalds that they are eating, and lovers canoodling under trees.

Speaking of lovers, the Greek and Moi celebrated our wedding anniversary with roof top drinks at the Park Hyatt. We sipped on champagne and G&T’s that were accompanied by the best ever valued cheese board either of us have ever tried, but the Piece-De-Résistance was the explosion of colours that the Moscow sunset gave us (and him being married to me of course)!

Every combination red, orange, yellow and purple has to offer was on display to entertain all that were present, in fact every camera, i-phone, i-pad and eye was pointed due West.

As for the “canoodling under the trees picnic” well we will join them soon, but being married to the Greek may mean I have to start preparing the picnic lunch a few days in advance. After all it takes a lot of planning to bring a large freezer bag to store the array of cheeses, cold cuts, salads, paninis, dessert and not to mention the thermos of espresso with baileys, champagne flutes and of course the Russian champagne! I think McDonalds is looking really good at this moment.

Enjoy photos of “THE COLOURED SEASON”……

I love Moscow in the Springtime…..

April – so this is Spring-time in Moscow.

So far I have experienced snow, rain and sunshine all in one day, talk about your April Fools!

We took our first break and have been traveling throughout the month of March and were hoping to return to the beginnings of crisp cool mornings and sunny warm days. How does snow fall in Spring come into the equation?

It’s been interesting to watch the transformation of this white covered city expose itself to its true colour…..GREY. I don’t mean that in a bad way….but we can suddenly see what the city really looks like and until the trees start to blossom we are covered in a grey shadow. The ice has all but melted exposing so much litter and cigarette butts, which is much more noticeable when you travel out of the city and into the suburbs.
Only at night do we see the colours we expect to see (like Las Vegas)! Neon signs come alive and the Golden Ring Hotel turns on an impressive lighting show, covering the building and making it look like a department store and not a hotel.

I am slowing taking off layers of apparel, very slowly, as any day could be between zero and 10 degrees Celsius. Weather wise it’s still not time to get into the bright pop colour spring fashion that is going to blind us this summer, as indicated from all the fashion window displays, in this grey coloured city.

The Greek thinks it’s hot and wants to walk around sleeveless and keeps insisting I start doing the same! I think he is crazy and have stopped listening to him when I ask how the temperature is outside when he returns from work. The usual answer is…”oh it’s beautiful and warm, no need to wear your coat and scarf for our nightly walk”. I don’t call 6 degrees with the ice cold wind blowing from Moscow River up Arbat Street beautiful and warm!

The transformation of Arbat Street has been fascinating… Nearly all the cafes and restaurants are building outdoor decks and some are already operating with heat lamps to draw in the crowds. We hear constant banging as we do our nightly walk through this long pedestrian street and they seem to be working day and night to have it all ready for the upcoming fine weather, yeah right! From Starbucks to sushi bars they are all building outdoor terraces transforming the city into a more European feel, which was missing during the brutal winter.

Besides coping with this long winter we are feeling quite settled and have been exploring more new restaurants, bars and cafes, using our very good sign language. My one advice to the Greek when ordering in a restaurant was to just point at the menu and wait until each order was written. Never begin a sentence with “I would like to order”. That is 5 words too many which has caused many a staff to do an immediate 180 degree turn never to be seen again. Point and nod is the secret and you will be able to walk into any eatery with confidence!

He still insists he can pronounce Russian words; I’m waiting for him to order a fish burger and instead ending up with a pistachio milkshake!

Below are some photos of the city taking on the change in season taken over a series of two weeks!