guest blogger: tamara of american girls in moscow (part III)

7 CommentsWednesday • June 18, 2008 • by michelle

I hope you’re enjoying the From Russia With Love tour of Moscow from guest blogger Tamara of American Girls in Moscow as I enjoy time with my mom! Yes, we’re having a great time, thanks!

With Tamara, we’ve already visited Gorky Park as well as Sparrow Hills and Victory Park. Today it’s:

Fourth Stop: Novodevichy Monastery

We’ll now make our way back towards the city’s center, stopping at the famous Novodevichy Monastery—which is actually a convent.

I recently took a picture of the girls here with the dolls (from 1774 Colonial Williamsburg) their grandparents gave them and in the matching dresses my mom sewed for them. (American Girl magazine publishes pictures of girls and their dolls in interesting locations; look for my daughters in a future issue!)

In 2004 Novodevichy Monastery was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See for yourself how incredibly gorgeous this place is, both during the day and at night, in summer and in winter:

To say that my family loves this spot would be a vast understatement. The grounds inside the convent are beautiful, filled with museums, a famous graveyard (Yeltsin was just buried there last year), and historic churches dating from as early as 1524 filled with rare icons. Many couples do stroll the grounds inside, stopping to pose for photographs.

Just as beautiful, however, are the grounds surrounding the fortified walls. On a clear day the pond reflects the convent in its water and the gardens, birch groves and walking paths are filled with appreciative locals.

We also love the modern playground on the other side of the pond; what a backdrop! I’ll be bringing the girls to the slope below to take pictures for this year’s Christmas card; they’ll put on their traditional Russian costumes.

See you tomorrow at the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer and Alexander Gardens!

guest blogger: tamara of american girls in moscow (part II)

6 CommentsTuesday • June 17, 2008 • by michelle

Welcome back to the newlywed tour of Moscow, From Russia With Love led by guest blogger Tamara of American Girls in Moscow. Yesterday we visited Gorky Park, and here are today’s destinations:

Second Stop: Sparrow Hills

From here you have a stunning panoramic view of the city in front of you, just across the river. You can make out many of the famous gothic “Seven Sisters” skyscrapers commissioned by Stalin, spires from the Kremlin, and gleaming golden domes from many of the city’s famous churches.

Along the hill there are ski jumps, nature trails, a playground, sports areas, cafes, and paths for biking and rollerblading. Here’s a picture of my girls taken during the first days of spring this year; we had a wonderful time exploring the woods there.

This spot is definitely the most famous of the “newlywed tour;” everyone has a picture from this rotunda. We stopped there for a picture the day my oldest daughter graduated from kindergarten (it’s a very big deal in Russia); high school seniors take over the spot during the last week of May, too.

The view behind you (when you’re standing on the rotunda) is equally famous; here is awe-inspiring Moscow State University.

The campus is particularly breathtaking when illuminated at night; it’s no wonder that part of the annual Victory Day (to celebrate the end of World War II) fireworks are always held here. I took the following picture just before this year’s extravaganza.

Now we’ll get back into the limo and make our way down the other side of the hill, looping back towards the center along Kutuzovsky Prospect—the main grand avenue leading to the heart of the city. This is the road the President and most bigwigs follow during their daily commutes (often leading to temporary blockades and ghastly traffic jams).

Third Stop: Victory Park

This vast landmark is a memorial to Russia’s defeat of the Nazis in World War II. It was completed in 1995, in time for the 50^th anniversary of the end of the war.

The park’s design is formal, with straight alleys dividing the cobble stoned square, grassy slopes and forested area. Main monuments include the 142 meter (466 foot) Nike obelisk and the domed, semi-circular Museum to the Great Patriotic War (what Russians call World War II).

Given how every single family in Russia suffered during the war, losing sons, fathers, grandfathers and uncles, this park is a very important stop for newlyweds. It gives them a chance to honor the relatives who are unable to attend the wedding festivities.

This floral artwork is a good example of Russian landscaping and a very popular spot for photographs. The clock actually works! (MOCKBA is “Moscow” in Russian).

Across from the park, dividing Kutuzovsky Prospect, is the Triumphal Arch that commemorates the Russians’ victory over the French in the War of 1812.

Come back tomorrow to visit our fourth stop, Novodevichy Monastery!

guest blogger: tamara of american girls in moscow (part I)

11 CommentsMonday • June 16, 2008 • by michelle

Although many of you know about my Italian heritage, you may not realize I’m also part Lithuanian. That corner of the world has always fascinated me, and so it is with great pleasure I turn over the blog this week to Tamara, who writes about the lives of her, her husband and her girls (pictured at left) at American Girls in Moscow.

In a series called From Russia with Love, Tamara will take us on the same grand tour of Russia that many newly wedded Russian couples follow–and just in time for me to wish my brother and father and their wives happy anniversaries!

I’ve divided Tamara’s fabulous photos and information into a week-long series, which means no reduced blogging schedule this week either! Somebody stop me!

So be sure to come back every day for more gorgeous Russian sights. Today is Gorky Park, and other stops will include Sparrow Hills, Victory Park, Novodevichy Monastery, Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer, Alexander Gardens and Red Square.

Now here’s Tamara:

Michelle asked me a while ago if I’d be interested in contributing a guest post here, something that would give you a glimpse into my current corner of the world—Moscow, Russia. Her blog is usually filled with such, well, SUNSHINE and everything gloriously Italian… My life here seems so very different from hers in that gorgeous Calabrian landscape…

I then thought of Giuseppe, my host father from when I studied in Rome while in college. I had been invited to join the family on their ski holiday to Cortina—and don’t get me wrong, I’d have loved, loved, loved to go. The thing is, I had already made plans six months before to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my friends in Moscow. I had worked as a translator for a children’s writer here in the fall of 1991, making many dear friends and I was looking forward to seeing them all again two years later. After all, I was already so “close by”… (Well, Rome is a heck of a lot closer to Moscow than New Hampshire…)

“Ma, MOSCA? Perché mai andare in quel paesaccio quando si puo rimanere qua, IN ITALIA, nel piu bel paese del mondo???”

“But, MOSCOW? Why on earth go to that country when you could stay here, IN ITALY, in the most beautiful country in the world?” (If only you could have heard the bewilderment and disdain in his endearing Italian voice!)

As an admiral in the Italian Navy, he certainly wasn’t on “good terms” with what remained of the Soviet Union… He was genuinely flummoxed and try as I did, I couldn’t help him understand what was pulling me back here—and then back again? Why would I willingly travel economy-class for four days on a Euro-Rail pass to get here? Why would I choose to stay with friends who were scrambling to get by economically, trying to find their way in the wake of their country’s unraveling? What could be FUN about three weeks of Moscow’s deep freeze?

It can be hard to convince someone of Moscow’s charm during the long winter… Weeks of no sunshine, only gray light… Pollution-tinged snow and slush covering the streets, cars, and the bottom of your pants… That’s why I’m glad that YOUR virtual visit to Moscow is coming at a splendid time of year. It’s summer here, and Moscow is in her green and flowery glory. (We’ll, ahem, skip all discussion of the infamous poplar pollen caused by sexually-frustrated trees… You could read more about that—and how sick it makes many of us—here.)

Now… with no further ado… I bring you my post from Russia. Let me give you amici in Italy (or those of you who enjoy pretending you’re living in Italy vicariously through Michelle’s blog) a glimpse of Moscow’s beauty and charm.

From Russia with Love

“So, now that you’ve just ____________, what are you going to do?”

If you watched TV in the USA during the early ‘90s, that question might conjure up images of Super Bowl winners declaring they’re off to Disneyworld. Even the Genie in Aladdin puts on his mouse hat, grabs his suitcase and heads to the famous park as soon as he is granted his freedom.

Well, if that question includes the words “gotten married” and you’re in Moscow, Russia, there’s no doubt where you’re headed. Before you make your way from the ceremony to the reception, you’re 99% likely to hop into one of these, followed by your closest friends in cars decorated with ribbons and streamers. (Third picture borrowed from here.)

Your destination? The “Grand Tour” of Moscow’s most picturesque spots.

Regardless of your wedding budget (they commonly range from $100 to $1,000,000 in this city of drastic extremes), you’ll stop to have your picture taken in front of at least a few of these popular places:

Unlike the couple I saw on Old Arbat Street last weekend, we won’t be stopping to have our picture taken with Shrek and Fiona. And I will not be asking you to climb up on top of the cow in front of Moo Moo restaurant.

Ladies: go easy on the champagne; there won’t be any place to relieve yourself until you get to the reception. Guys: drink up. You can pee pretty much anywhere you want along the side of the road, even in the city’s center… Trust me. We live right near one of the popular stops and I’ve gotten an eyeful too many times to count. If the cops do give you trouble, we’ll just slip them some cash and they’ll go away.

Ah, the joys of Moscow!

First Stop: Gorky Park

Everyone has heard of this place… It’s a huge complex on the southern bank of the Moscow River, including tree-lined paths, ponds, outdoor theaters, cafes and an amusement park. The promenade—and the pedestrian bridge over the water—are popular spots for photographs.

Here are my daughters, Katya and Natalia, in the picture that was my blog’s header for the most of this year. You’ll see more of the other view from this spot—with the Kremlin in the background—when we stop later at Christ the Redeemer Cathedral.

Now get back in the car… We’re headed over the river along Prospect Vernadskovo, driving by the famous Luzhniki Olympic Sports Complex, as we drive to Sparrow Hills—the highest spot in Moscow.

See you there tomorrow!