2010 11 18 - Zima

ZIMA is the Russian Word for Winter - This is easy for me to remember because back in the early 1990s there was a huge marketing blitz by Miller Brewing for an alcoholic beverage named Zima and it sucked - sucks is also an apt description for the Russian Winter.

On Thursdays Billie Jo works and I typically have class later in the afternoon.  This particular Thursday, She called me from work and told me to "dress warm it's starting to get cold outside".

.....????

uhm.....I have been wearing a Parka for a month and NOW it is getting cold.

oh and if you check the calendar - ZIMA actually doesn't start for another month!!!

5 Stages of Cold

I think I can break Moscow's Urban Winter into 5 Stages

Open Parka - I wear my jacket but it is not really that necessary - but since I am traveling it is the only coat I own and much easier then transferring all my necessary items(sunglasses - used Ticket Stub) from one jacket to another.  On open parka days it is nice enough I stroll rather than briskly walk from the apartment to the metro.  I may even take a few minutes to walk around the park on Ukraine Blvd and take a few snapshots or perhaps admire the young ladies in their fine fall outfits.

Park on Ukraine Boulevard

Hat - These days are slightly colder - and I really don't stroll on Hat days - I walk at a pleasant pace.  But I don't need gloves and it is fairly easy to carry my book bag  I don't have to remove my gloves when I need to rummage through my pockets for my Metro card - which I forgot I needed because I was distracted by some fair young lady exiting the metro.

Hat N Glove Days - Things are getting more serious now - Any Walking outdoors is all business - there is no strolling to be done - Fair Maiden do still get a quick head turn.

Scarf Days - I don't know of scarf days - Never liked them and don't wear them.  Many a Fair Maiden have assured me they are wonderful.

Today is a Knit Cap Day - For the first time this year I have broken out the Knit Cap.  I prefer the Baseball Cap.  I am used to the baseball cap it is utilitarian - keeps rain off my head, keeps me warm, folds up into my pocket easily and went for something like $5 at a Phillies Closeout Sale.  Note: Many a Fair Maiden look  good in Phillies Caps as well

The Knit Cap is dual purpose - 1) it will be much warmer then the well traveled Phillies cap.  2) It will help me to blend in to the swell of Russians in the city.  For the most part I actually pass for Russian (by sight) - There is a historically large Asian community here as the Mongol Empire stretched to Moscow and beyond during the latter part of the 13th century. About once a week somebody asks me for directions - I usually either shrug or point to my right.

Unfortunately There are many more stages of the Moscow Winter.  but as of 11/18 These are the only ones that I know about.


School
I am doing all this travel talk because it is a school day and that always involves the metro more me.  Today I had class with Vladimir who always breaks on the hour for a cigarette - today when he went out he raised a cigarette and said "I go Kill the Stick"  I am not sure I have heard this in English before but I like it - Almost makes me wish I was a smoker just so I could use the expression.

Branding
First off - on the escalator in front of me some guy was wearing a baseball cap with the "Quilted Northern" toilet paper logo on the back.  I cannot make this stuff up.  If QN or any other TP company ever sponsors hat day for the Phils please remind me not to attend.

Even more distressing on the way back from school I saw some weasel wearing a Michigan Letterman Style Jacket at the Bus Stop - Score 1 for the Wolverines I guess.

New York Yankees 5
Boston Celtics 1
Elliot Sadler 1
Atlanta Braves 1 
Chicago Bulls 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 1
NHL 1
U of Michigan 1 
Solchi 2014 1

Post Script
I am not positive, but I think they still sell Zima in Russia.



For Further Reading

If you would like to learn more about Zima Click Here - Yes it is worth your time.

2010 11 17 - The e-Centre

Yesterday, I introduced you to some nuances regarding the Ruble - today we will look at spending them.

The e-Centre is the Mall located at our Metro Station (Kievskaya). Similar to the MacDonalds post earlier this week - I am no expert at what goes on in an American Mall, thus I am not really qualified to tell you what is happening in a Russian Mall.

I think I can say with some degree of confidence that the e-Centre is an upscale European mall - there are some familiar stores or more correctly brands - bunches of stores that girls may know - Benneton, Probably Prada, The ones I remember were Timberland, and the athletic gear stores - Puma Adidas and Reebok - Nike is here but not nearly as ubiquitous as in the states. Adidas is probably the most dominant of those brands here - note from my Sneaker Warehousing days - ADIDAS is an acronym for "All Day I Dream About..........Sneakers".

Among the many restaurants is a Fridays and they have a Burger King in the food court.

Victoria's Secret has not made it to Moscow yet, but there may be a reason - there are more lingerie stores in the mall then one could count.

The e-Center is extremely large 5 floors and probably rivals the KoP mall for square footage. There is this rather cool clock that is the centerpiece of the restaurant which is on the ground floor of the e-center.

E-Center Clock

click to enlarge - can you tell what time it is?

Rubles
The current exchange rate is 30.80 Rubles/Dollar

2010 11 16 - Rubles

I can start by saying that there are roughly 30-32 Rubles to a dollar. And secondly there is no such word as Rubles.

Yes today is a Tuesday - which means school for me so that means your in for a Language Lesson.

Language Lesson - Plurals

The whole plurals thing in Russian is a bit more complicated then English. We just have singular (one Dollar) and Plural (Two Dollars, 35 Dollars, A Hundred Dollars a Million Dollars) - You simply add an S to indicate the fact that you are dealing with more than one of an item.

In Russian there are two plural endings - ya - which is used for 2-4 items - as in Two Rublya and there is a second plural ending of -ay - for 5-10 items as in 5 Rublay.

The seperate 1, 2-4, and 5-10 endings extend up through the entire spectrum of numbers. If you are dealing with 31 it is specified as Ruble while 32-34 are Rublya and 35 would be Rublay back to 41 would be Rublya.

There is an exception to this - 11-14 are all Rublay - probably because the Russian Numbers in the teens don't quite follow the conventions of other numbers.

The same rules apply when talking about the Dollar - there are no Dollars just Dollara and Dollarov - Dollarov has a different ending then Rublee due to a gender difference for the words.

Time

Time also has the same 1, 2-4, 5+ plural differences for both hours and minutes. Russians use the same word for Time, Clock, and Watch - although they do have two words for Time.

Calendars

Russia uses the same calendar as us, but it is almost always written in vertically rather than horizontally - with the days of the week running Top to Bottom - One of the things I like is that they start the weeks on the calendar on Mondays with the weekends listed at the bottom.

Age
The whole extra plural thing extends to ages - but there is a twist - the Word for year is pronounced GOAD and is also the term for your age if it ends in a 1(exception for 11) with the plural for numbers ending in 2-4 as GOADA. But for the 5+ variations (including 11-14) the term is LET.

Phone
Phone numbers are given out in the form 123-45-67 rather than 123-4567. and rather than saying the number is ONE, TWO, THREE etc. Russians say One Hundred Twenty-Three, Forty-Five, Sixty-Seven.

There are area codes - not sure how they use overlays but Billie Jo thinks the historic Area Code for Moscow is 495.

Weather
The newscast temp in the bottom corner lists the temps in Celsius of course, but they also listen them in decimal as in -9.4 degrees - I suppose so you know precisely how cold it is. The Time is also listed in Military form and down to the second. 22:07:39 = 10:07 PM and 39 seconds. They also list something in MM which is millimeters I suspect - I don't think it is snowfall, but possibly barometric pressure - it is typically in the 750 range I think.

The Russian words for Plus and Minus are Plus and Minus - with more of a long U sounds "PLOOS" - of course sometimes in conversation a Russian may do the C -> F conversion for you but retain the "Minus" when converting a low temp ex) Minus 5 C = 23 F but they will say Minus Twenty Three - which is about what it feels like.

2010 11 15 - MacDonalds

As noted before the Russian McDonalds is spelled with an extra "a" in the MAC portion. I am no longer the McDs authority that I was in college and cannot remember the last time I was at one of the chain franchises in the US. There is a McDs in Wayne but I don't believe I have ever been inside the building. Regardless I will try and sum up the Russian MacDonalds experience here.

First off, the restaurant is always busy - there are 8 maybe 10 cashiers and every line is a half dozen deep. Everytime I have been to a McDs here it has been packed - yet very efficeint. They have picture menus (like at Denny's) for non-native speakers like myself to quickly point at what we want.

The one near our hood is across the street from the e-center - a huge European shopping mall and draws many shoppers, teens, collegians,and urban families from the mall. Despite the incredible crowds, the restaurant is basically spotless - I also like the European-style seating with hi-top seating and counters that look out from the stores windows.

The Menu is generally the familiar McDonald's menu with a few Russian Touches. The Quarter Pounder has the "Royal" moniker that we all learned about from Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction. There is a MacChicken and a Big Mac that all go by those names - The words for Hamburger and Cheeseburger are both the same - Hamburger is a German word - which was brought both to Russian and English.

Russian MacDonalds do carry a special variety of French Fries that Billie Jo said sort of translates to "Country Fries" - which are more like potato wedges with curly fry seasoning - and are quite tasty. The Royal and the McChicken are exactly the same as they are at home - The McChicken may have had a bit more mayo in Russia - everything has more mayo in Russia. There is also a charge for Ketchup in Russia - 15 rubles (roughly 50 cents) for one of those rectangular containers that McDs typically supplies for Nugget Sauces.

Prices are cheap for Moscow but still a bit more then in the US. Sandwiches are in the 160-200 Ruble range.



MakKafe on Arbat (click to enlarge - snapshot taken right before an employee sternly told me that pix weren't allowed - I wonder if that is a McDs regulation stateside)

Attached to any MacDs I have seen there is a MacKafe - which as it's name implies is a full service Kafe - Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate and a very appealing selection of desserts and cheesecakey looking items.


I have also seen MacExpress - which is basically a walk up version of the drive-thru - I have not seen any actual Drive Thrus here.

Breakfast
I think B-Fast foods are a relatively recent concept to much of Russia and MacDs here is still trying to grab their piece of that market - indeed there are 8 different variations of the McMuffin here including double MakMuffins and Fresh MakMuffins (Lettuce Tomatos and Mayo) - I think they also have MakMuffins featuring Chicken.

2010 11 14 - Moscow's Trees of Love

A relatively recent phenomenon that has begun in Moscow is that of the Lock Trees of Love. The idea is that couples can symbolize their love by attaching a lock to one of several iron trees on the Luzhkov Bridge. The Luzhkov is a pedestrian bridge that spans the Moskva River near the Kremlin and Red Square.

Billie Jo and I at our lock tree

See the Giant Lock with two huge hearts above Billie Jo's head. That's not our lock.

Ours is the quality possibly American made gold one that you can only see the side of - it is to the right of my eye and sort of points in the direction of 4 o'clock (bottom) oand 10 o'clock (top).

Moscow Trees of Love

There are many trees on the bridge and a few more that dot the sidewalk near the bridges landings. We elected to place our lock on the top tree at the bridges apex, which was of course the fullest tree on the bridge. The photo above shows a few of the trees on the Bridges North? side which leads towards the Kremlin.

2010 11 14 Sunset over the Moskva River

This is a picture of the Sunset from the Luzkhov Bridge.

2010 11 13 - On Tour: The Bolshoi Theater

Bolshoi Theater Diorama

We spent a wonderful Saturday in Moscow at the Ballet. It wouldn't be my first choice for entertainment, but it was our chance to see the legendary Opera/Ballet company in their home country.

The above photo is not of the actual Bolshoi Theater - it is a replica as you can tell by my ghost lurking in the glass reflection. We did not get into the actual Bolshoi either as it is currently under construction. Our show was in the New Bolshoi Theater.

La Fille Mal Garde

The production was a French Ballet titled La Fille Mal Garde, which judging by what happens in the show must means "the Girl Gets Around." If you want what is likely a more accurate description check here for the wiki-synopsis and a pretty involved history.

I enjoyed seeing the ballet done by a professional company - We were in the cheap seats (quite literally at 20 rubles/person - that's well under a buck folks) but you could make out the dancers pretty well. The theater wraps around a good bit so occasionally we would get screened from the action if the characters were off to one side or the other. There was a pretty large orchestra in the pit, which as far as I could tell was not amplified and still sounded great from where we were sitting. The story was easy enough to follow and since there was no script I didn't have to interpret any Russian or French.

Language Lesson

Bolshoi literally means "Big." The Bolshoi Theater is the Big Theater. It stands next to the Mali Theater and Mali means "small." The Mali theater is actually a few years older than the Bolshoi, but not as well known simply because it is not the Big Theater.

The Bolshoi is within easy walking distance of the Kremlin and like any large city Moscow has its issues. One night while walking on the street adjacent to the Bolshoi we came across and elderly woman peeing in the street - City Life is Grand.

Oddity


When Russians clap during the performance they clap in unison. Generally this starts as chaotic clapping which filters into a rhythm and all of the sudden everyone is clapping at the same time along with occasional shouts of "Bravo"

Branding

On the opposing metro escalator a woman! was spotted wearing a red Yankees knit cap. Later in the Day I also spotted a Solchi 2014 (Winter Olympics to be Held in Russia) knit cap.

New York Yankees 5
Boston Celtics 1
Elliot Sadler 1
Atlanta Braves 1
Chicago Bulls 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 1
NHL 1
Solchi 2014

2010 11 12 - Ya Moscovich: Restaurants

For our Friday Night Dinner Billie Jo, our roommate Salwa, and I all went out in Moscow for Thai Food.

Russians are not very fond of spicy food. We were sort of curious how a Russian restaurant would deal with the dilemma of melding the Spicy Signature of Thai food with the tone of the Russian palate.

Honestly, I am not all that enamored by spicy foods myself - Thai food included. I do like Chinese food - Lo Mein's and Fried Rice - stuff that is fried and greasy. I do like several Thai dishes as long as they are not in the hot hot hot zone (or "Phet" in Thai ).

The Thai Restaurant we checked out was called "BAAN THAI" - I assume BAAN is a Thai word as it is not a Russian Word - Perhaps it means "Kitchen" as the Business card from the venue specifies "Thai Kitchen" in Russian.

We were spotted as English speakers as we entered the restaurant. For this reason we were given an Indian Waiter I imagine. Between us we had 3 dishes and 3 apps. The Tom Yom Goong was spicy and hot. The Thai Salad was good. The Pad Thai was very good. I ordered Shrimp Chips (a personal favorite) which were priced at 180 rubles - the store bought dreck ones in Moscow are well over 200 pyb (that means rubles).

Pad Thai with Shrimp Chips (and a Stella Artois in a very heavy glass)

The Curries (1 Tofu, 1 Chicken) were ok. They were much thicker then you would get at home - almost the consistency of fondue - but they tasted ok. The Spiciest dishes were the Tom Yom Goong (very spicy) and the Spice that accompanied the Pad Thai.

My My
My My which is pronounced Moo-Moo - the cyrillic "y" is used for the "oo" sound as in well, Moo - is a Russian Cafeteria chain. And Yes they have a cow motif. White plates and bowls with Black splotches on them. This is a decent place to go for cheap Russian-style food. Borsht and Soup with Bread, Batter Fried and stewed meats, Desserts and Juices.

Georgian
We tried out a Georgian (European not Gritsville) restaurant here - They serve a delicious stuffed bread called Khachipuri (the K is sort of silent) and I think they may also be known for their Kebab's


American Food
Earlier I had a posting on the Starlite Diner - There are several other American style eateries throughout Moscow as well as many American Chains including Fast Food giants like McDonalds and Burger King - Pizza Joints: Pizza Hut and Papa John's; Coffee+ types Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Moscow newbie Cinnabon - I think there is also Au Bon Pain, but it may be a copycat restaurant. Among the middle range chains are TGI Fridays and Hard Rock Cafe. I am not sure we will get to any of the above other the McDs which I plan on giving a full write up at some point.

Of course there is Much Much more

Moscow is a big city and like New York you can pretty much get any style of food you want - If you peruse the Restaurants listings in the paper the largest section is dedicated to Italian Food - There are several sections for Euro-Cuisines including French, Greek, Irish and English. Asia is covered by several sub-sections as well (Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Vietnamese). There are also Mexican, Carribean and Seafood Categories.

The Georgian food is covered by a rather substantial section titled "Caucasian". The Ukrainian and Uzbek both have their own listings.

$$$
To visit all of the places we would like is well beyond our budget, but we will try and sample as much of the big city as we can while we are here.