I moved to Moscow,
Russia!! The move sortof fell into my lap, it was something I'd
thought about vaguely ever since moving to Kyiv, Ukraine, but hadn't
pushed for in any way.
I arrived in Moscow
at an airport, my employers had booked a taxi to pick me up and drop
me off at a hostel in the city center, not too far from school. My
very first afternoon/evening in the city I went for a walk, since I
was temporarily staying in the city center. I wanted to go see Red
Square, because I now lived in Moscow. Unfortunately, when I got to
one of the entrances, I found security, and a ticket booth. It turned
out that an annual military band show takes place around this time of
year, so the square is blocked off.
Even though the
square was blocked off I got to watch one of the international bands
in town for the show, as they stood around in an informal practice
session. Bagpipes galore, what a welcome to the city.
I also stumbled
upon a changing of the guard ceremony just outside the Kremlin walls.
It was fun to watch, I don't know how often the ceremony happens, or
how much the uniforms change throughout the year.
The next evening I
went for another walk, I got to see the sunset, which was lovely. I
was already discovering that Moscow has quite a few lovely skyline
views. During this walk I crossed a bridge over the Moscow River, I
love bridges. Just on the other side of the bridge I spotted one of
the so called 'Seven Sisters,' (which is how foreigners know the
buildings, locals have a different nickname,) the one now known as a
Radisson Hotel. It used to be called the Hotel Ukraine. All of the
Seven Sisters look generally the same, the shape of the buildings is
rather iconic.
During the first
few days we had meetings at school, and I figured out
accomodation.Taking a chance, I decided to live with another teacher
at the school. She had just moved to Moscow as well, after living in
another Russian city for four years.
We figured it would
be a bit cheaper for us to live together, and we hoped we'd get
along. (I already have one story of a bad flattie, I hoped she
wouldn't be the same.)
The first weekend
in September, we moved into our new flat. Moving meant bringing my
pack, purse, and day pack. I'd sent everything else by post from
Kyiv, I just hoped it would arrive, and soon.
The worst part of
moving is the time it takes to get settled into your new
accomodation: figuring out where to put things, where to find a
grocery store, where to find public transport, etc... When you find a
grocery store you have to do the first buy, which always ends up
costing a fair amount, as you have to buy things like salt and
pepper.
They don't cost a lot, but all the little costs add up, and
when you first move somewhere you don't typically have a lot of money
laying around. At least I don't.
Obviously, I went
for a few walks in my new neighborhood. I had a fantastic view of
Moscow State University from my bedroom window, I wanted to see what
the rest of the area looked like. Much of Moscow State is in one very
very very big building, it's more than a little impressive.
I walked to and
from school a few times in the first month. The walk was under two
hours, and the weather was good, so why not? A chance to burn
calories and see more of the city.
During the month
some of the stuff I'd shipped from Kyiv arrived, yahoo!! I got
notifications at school that there were packages waiting for me at
the post office, so I went there after school one evening. I had to
order a taxi to bring everything to the flat, thankfully the four big
bags fit in the trunk.
I was very used to
the main post office in Kyiv, which is very grand; the post office I
went to this time was not at all grand. It actually took me a while
to find, as it is in a building behind the building on the street.
That probably doesn't make any sense, but I was the same amount of
confused in finding the office. At least it wasn't too far from
school.
My school schedule
this year gives me Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons off. I
intended to make use of these half days off to see the city as much
as possible.
One of the
Wednesday afternoons in September I walked to an area called Moscow
City, which is basically a business center. A whole bunch of office
buildings, with modern architecture. The weather involved low clouds,
which covered the tops of the buildings, I loved the way it all
looked.
During this month I
got to see a number of beautiful sunrises. Absolutely gorgeous. These
views made me fall in love with the city pretty quickly, and it's
always good to love the city in which you live.
Another Wednesday
afternoon I walked from school all the way to a museum reserve area
called Kolomenskoye. It was originally a royal estate, now mostly
open to the public. I went into a couple churches on the property,
watched a sunset, and realized I'd only seen a small portion of the
estate. Royals in Russia used to have quite the life!
On several of the
weekends I got caught up in watching tv shows until late each day,
but managed to get myself out of the flat for evening walks. One of
those walks I went back to the university area, as the building is
lit up at night. There is a big pond on one side of the building, I
liked seeing the building reflected in the black water.
This side of the
building was not too far away from an overlook giving an amazing view
of the city. I could pick out some of the Seven Sisters, I could see
a convent, I could see the river, and I could see a sports stadium.
Awesome.
Another nighttime
walk I went in the other direction, ending up at Park Pobedy, (known
in English as Victory Park.)
Many parts of the
park were lit up, and I had another city view. There was a museum on
one side of this area, something military I think. I was way after
closing hours, but I hoped to return and see the museum at another
time.
There were several
fountains still running, with lights making the water different
colours. I loved the way everything looked. Even though I felt like
it was fairly late on a Sunday evening, there were still plenty of
people out and about, enjoying a great city at the end of the
weekend.
Even though it was
only September, the view from my bedroom showed me how quickly fall
comes in Moscow. The leaves started to change colour pretty quickly,
I had the best view possible for watching it happen. There was a park
directly across the street from our flat, so my bedroom view showed
the trees. Sooo pretty.
I love Moscow, I
can't wait to see more!
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