Moscow

Moscow: The city where everyone is perpetually in the biggest freaking hurry of their lives.

I'm afraid I don't really "get" Moscow.  I also have the distinct impression that I could spend a month, a year, or even a decade in Moscow and still not get it. 

The first thing that surprised me about Moscow was the scope of its sprawl.  Now, I don't just mean that it's a big city, because I was fully aware of that.  What I mean is that it is by far the most spread-out city I have ever seen.  There are relatively large patches of forest in this city that is significantly larger than NYC.  There were always constant throngs of Russians milling about, but I still couldn't help but wonder, where are all the people?  Where do they live?  Work?  Shop?  I suppose I was expecting a city like a turbo-charged Chicago or New York, and what I found was a Russian village that had eaten one of Lewis Carroll's enlarging cakes.

I did a lot while I was in Moscow.  I was always rushing, power-walking, half-jogging to keep up the pace.  There was nary a moment when I wasn't entirely occupied, from the moment I woke up in the morning to when I fell into bed at night, exhausted.

I can't say I really did anything in Moscow.  My visit to the Kremlin consisted of a brisk walk from one side of Red Square to the other.  I found myself whisked through a dizzying array of opulent Metro stations (seriously, google "moscow metro" photos), admiring or puzzling over each one for a scant moment before rushing to catch up with Sveta.  A visit to a park with Catherine the Great's palaces (at least that's what I gathered it was) meant a power-walk on the circular path around the park.  I'm not sure I could even recreate a chronological listing of my Moscow adventures (and I doubt anyone would want to read such a thing anyway), so I will give some bullet points about what I did.

I ate something called "ploff."  Twice.  To fully appreciate the unappetizing sound of this word, make sure to imagine it said with a thickly-accented Russian "o."  It consists of seasoned rice with chunks of meat.  Verdict: tasty!

I rode the Metro.  Each station is decorated in a unique and impressive way, with mosaics, marble tile, and chandeliers.  Some stations still feature amusing odes to communism.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that transfers between lines do not require additional tickets.  I was also pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved to find that descending down escalators well over a hundred feet into the bowels of the earth did not bring about the claustrophobic panic that I had been fearing.  Verdict: an absolute pleasure!

I drank a 6-dollar-plus latte.  I had read about Moscow being an expensive city, but the prices for everything were still pretty unbelievable, especially considering that the average Russian isn't exactly rolling in the dough.  Verdict: watery, so not worth it.

I (kinda) saw Red Square.  It was neither red nor square.  It also happened to be filled with bleachers and a stage for an upcoming event.  Verdict: TBD

I ate at Subway.  My host wanted to grab sandwiches, so we did.  I'm still not sure if she prefers Americanized food or if she thought I would want to go there.  My sandwich came with little chunks of pressed chicken and raw bacon.  Verdict:  *shiver*

I watched Heroes.  My host is a huge fan of the first season, but has a passionate disdain for subsequent seasons.  At least now I know why everyone a few years back was saying "Save the cheerleader, save the world."  Verdict: addictive

I learned that Starbucks  in Moscow has gotten "too Russian" and is therefore no longer a good place to work.  Verdict: ???

I ate Okroshka.  It is a cold soup made from a drink called kvass, itself made from fermented rye bread.  The version I tried was vegetarian, with small bits of cucumber and other crunchy veggies along with a heaping portion of dried dill.  I tried very hard to come up with something to compare the taste to but failed utterly.  The closest approximation I could imagine was that if gut cramps had a taste, this would be it.  Verdict: ghastly

Overall verdict: Utter confusion  I'm still not entirely sure whether I enjoyed Moscow.  My host was a wonderful person, everyone I met was very kind, but somehow...  I fly home from there, so I'm thinking of spending another few days there at the end of my travels to solidify my response.