russia: moscow: welcome back

My first Friday evening in Moscow I rode all the way to the end of 'my' metro line. Several new metro stations had opened, I was keen to see what they looked like. Each was very modern looking, and each was very different. Very cool.
It was nice to be back in Moscow, i was ready to get back into a regular routine of work and weekend trips.
My first weekend I met up with Claire, who introduced me to Angela. The two of them had met while teaching for the same school in China; Claire had helped Angela get a job at the third branch of our school in Moscow, out at Izmailovo.
We met up for a late lunch at Kimchi, one of our favourite Moscow restaurants. While at lunch Claire pulled out calendars she'd printed out. She said we needed to start planning our weekend trips ASAP so we could be efficient and see as much as possible. I love the way she thinks :)

After lunch we walked about Arbat, it was all new to Angela. We needed to kill a couple hours before our evening plans, and since Arbat is a touristy area, that was easy enough to do.
When I'd first arrived in Moscow the year before, I'd wanted to see Red Square immediately, but it was closed because of an event called Spasskaya Bashnya. This year we'd decided to see the even for ourselves.
It was the best 3000 rubles I've spent. The event was a performance of the military bands of a number of countries. Several Russian bands started the evening, and I remember thinking it was going to be a long night. (The marching was good, but it was just marching, no real feeling, no excitement in what they were doing.)

That thought changed when the Dutch band came out. They hit every Dutch stereotype and I loved it. Wearing clogs and riding bikes, it was awesome. The Mexican band had ponchos and beautiful dresses. We also got to see the Burmese band, and Jordan I think? The evening ended when all the bands played together, and fireworks exploded over St Basil's Cathedral. Like I said, best 3000 rubles ever.
While we were wandering around Arbat on Saturday I got a message from my Garmisch friend Jeff, who was coming back to Moscow for work. (I'd already seen him in Moscow the previous February.) 

I made arrangements for all of us to meet up on Sunday.
We met Jeff at his hotel on Sunday, then hopped on the metro to go out to Tsarytsino, one of several museum estates around Moscow. The metro ride was long, it was nice to catch up with Jeff.
The weather was fabulous, so I'm pretty sure the entire city was out with us. The gardens around the property are extensive, but it was still crowded. We spent our time looking in the church,and wandering all over the grounds. There are some areas carefully landscaped, so I assume the looks of those areas change with the seasons. 

I liked the fountain, and two different bridges. Maybe we can go back at a different time for better photos with fewer people in the way.
When I'd been looking up what to do at Tsarytsino I found a listing for a kite festival that weekend. It turned out to be really small, and there was no wind, which made it even worse. Oh well.
At some point we decided to save the palace itself for another trip. We all went back to the metro, and headed back to the city center. Angela got off at a different station, as she had made other evening plans.

Claire and Jeff and I went to dinner at a modern Indian restaurant. It was a place where you don't know what you're going to eat ahead of time, and you don't get to choose from a menu. Jeff is a chef, so he enjoyed trying to sort out the flavours of each course as they were brought to the table. I will definitely be back for another meal.
What a great weekend to start another school year in Moscow.