Moskva-kva-kva!

We're back from a week in Moscow, and home for our last five weeks of Russian life (for now, anyway). Moscow was wonderful. We were staying with Davide and Tanya, whom we initially knew through my parents, but who have now become fast friends of ours, too.

Coming back also ends the two-week visit of my parents. They had a great time, and we enjoyed showing them our home city, and sharing a kupe down to Moscow and back on the train (overnight both ways). Lyova greatly enjoyed having his grandparents around, as did we. We packed in so much, it is hard to believe it all happened. In the meantime, we also got three easter services in: ours in the Anglican church in Petersburg; the Orthodox (on TV), from Christ the Saviour in Moscow; and the Nazarene easter, at Tanya's church in Moscow. Khristos voskres!

Sandra had been to Moscow once before and had left rather underwhelmed, to say the least. I'd been a couple times before and my appreciation of the city had increased with each visit.

This time, we both thought it was excellent. I've set up a lobby at Browler HQ to press the powers-that-be to allow us a few years there at some point.

We did all the touristy things: Bol'shoi ballet; Red Square; the Circus (!); down to dacha-land in Podmoskov'e; a visit to Chekhov; Novodevichii monastery and cemetery; the state university; and so on.

We also did a lot of comparing of the two 'capitals' -- Petersburg and Moscow. It is true, Muscovites have a funny accent. (That's a comment that will enrage any Muscovite reading this. Sorry.) That 'ee' sound when it should be 'ye'... the hard, hard 'a' on the unstressed 'o' (in Petersburg, it sounds like an 'a' too, but you can sort of tell it is written as 'o').

Otherwise -- and here I risk offending the Peterburzhtsi -- Moscow is just, well, a bit more 'big city'. In our book, that's a good thing. It is, of course, more multicultural; also a good thing, in our book. And the architecture is a bit of a mess: medieval next to style moderne next to some Brezhnev-era monstrosity next to constructivist next to classical. I like that mess. Walk down Bol'shaia Nikitskaia (my favourite Moscow street), for example, and you get a sense of the Moscow mess. It reminds me of London's mess. But in Moscow, the mess is on a truly epic scale.

And no one can tell me there is anywhere in the world a more impressive, awe-inspiring stretch of real estate than Red Square.

Another thing. Like him or loathe him, corrupt Mayor Luzhkov gets things done. He also keeps the streets clean. The latter, plus the hills and the green spaces, makes it a nicer place to go for a run, too. And, because Moscow has become totally bourgeois, no-one in Moscow gave me any jip for going for a jog, either.

Among many highlights: Sandra and I went for a naked dip in some 'holy' Orthodox waters in Talezh, a town in Podmoskov'e. She in the women's section, I with two other men in the men's. It was ice cold water, but we both felt blessed (to have survived, anyway). The excessively decorated (and guarded) holy springs -- where, it is speculated, some not so clean money has helped the Church build the complex based on the springs -- were an interesting contrast to some of the appalling post-Soviet poverty and devastation less than a mile away.

Below are some of the holiday snaps.