No Stranger in Moscow

I made a week long return trip to Moscow in mid January and though I was really busy with work, I did get to try some new restaurants and see some parts of the city that I didn't experience on my previous trip in December. January is not the ideal time to go to Moscow. In December, it was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the range of -3 to 0 Celsius (26 to 32 F), but January was flat out, freeze your ass off cold. The highs were around -5 C (22 F) and the lows were a very low -16 C (0 F). When you add in the windchill, it was more like -10 or so Fahrenheit. It was the coldest I've ever been in my life. It unseated the time Jenn and I went and tried to hike to the glacier at the top of the Jungfrau in Switzerland when we were not in proper clothing and the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with my family when I was in high school and I refused to wear a coat. It didn't stop me from getting out at night for dinner and walking around on Saturday before my flight.

WIA: I ate lunch several times again at Tepemok for blinis, which are basically the Russian version of crepes. I went with my co-workers for Ukrainian fare at Taras Bulba one night. The decor was just as over the top as Shinok, where we ate on the previous trip, but didn't have farm animals in the middle of the restaurant, which I viewed as a plus. It also was much more reasonably priced. We enjoyed the ambiance, appreciated the service, and the food wasn't bad, so overall, I viewed it as a success. Pavilion felt like classic, old world Russia with chandeliers and the like. The setting was nice, overlooking a park and frozen over pond. The beef stroganov was decent, but nothing for which I'd rush back. My co-worker, Jaro, almost caused an international incident when he accidentally knocked his glass off the table, which then bounced off the balcony and down the first floor. It narrowly escaped hitting anyone and miraculously didn't even break when it hit the floor. We had a fun dinner the last night at Bar Strelka, a happening yet not too trendy feeling place on the other side of the river. All proceeds go to the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design. It's owned by a Brit and it shows as the menu is pretty un-Russian. I had a burger. The big disappointment is that they didn't have any Russian vodka. This didn't deter us from having a few drinks to celebrate the end of our work week, but I don't understand how any restaurant in Moscow wouldn't serve some form of Russian vodka.

WID: The reason I was there was for work, and that is what I did. On Saturday, I walked around the city through the bitter cold and ventured to the river and the area we were the previous evening because I wanted to take pictures. It was peaceful strolling through the snow, listening to my iPod with very few people around. I slipped on the ice while turning a corner and wiped out on the sidewalk. For a moment or two, I thought I had broken my wrist and feared having to find a hospital and get treated, but I was fine. I walked down the river bank to get a good view of the impressive Peter the Great statue and also admired the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from multiple angles.

WIS: We stayed at the Sheraton Palace this time, which was closer to work, and still not too far from the center of the city. I walked with Jaro and Gabi to Red Square one night and it didn't take us much more than 30 minutes. The hotel was a really nice business oriented hotel. I stayed on the executive floor, of which I did not take advantage. They basically have a lounge with drinks and snacks at happy hour, but we never finished work in time to go there. The hotel buffet breakfast was good.

WAM: I bought a new jacket recently specifically for the trip back to Russia and though it wasn't the Prada that I've written longingly about previously in this blog, it did back up my belief that if a coat kept me warm, I wouldn't think twice about how much I previously spent on it. It was worth every penny. Though my hands hurt because of how cold they were (I have circulation issues), my upper body was perfectly fine as I walked around the city on Saturday.

WTF: I'd never seen an entire river freeze over before. It was really neat to see a layer of ice covering the Moskva on Friday night and Saturday.