Top Ten Best Things about Moscow
By Kris Newman
(Editor’s Note: ninetyandnine.com will be publishing
an entire “Top 10” issue in a few weeks. If you’d like to create your own
Top 10 list, then submit it to editor@ninetyandnine.com
by mid-August, 2006.)
1.
2.
St. Basil’s Cathedral—Seeing
the grandeur of the finished Cathedral, Ivan the Terrible asked the artist if he
could build anything more beautiful. “Yes,
sir, of course.” Ivan’s
response was to have the man blinded so that he could never build
anything more beautiful. Truly, a
characteristic piece of Russia.
3.
Church Family—Over the ocean and through the
woods it doesn’t matter where you are from, when you sit down to tea in a
Russian home, you are family. We
might not have understood each other’s language very well when trying to
speak, but a hug and a prayer need not interpreter.
4.
Beautiful Architecture—When
you expect something to still be standing in 1,000 years, more effort is put
into the details. The most common
buildings may have been a palace in a former life.
5.
European Clothes—Yeah, we knew pointy toes
with “clickety” heels would be here, but they had them first in Moscow and
sold them along the streets at kiosks for a fraction of the cost.
6.
Tolstoy’s House—Right in the middle of
the city, in the middle of a block of offices, stands a palace surrounded by
trees and intricate wooden fencing. And
right there in the parlor are works of Chekov, Gye and others who came to chat
and exchange ideas with Count
Leo Tolstoy.
7.
Winding Tree Lined Pathways—Walking
paths off the “main streets” will get you from here to there.
Why so many trees? Stalin liked them and demanded so many be planted in a span
of time. If enough weren’t
planted, those responsible died. Needless
to say, they planted a lot quickly!
8.
Starlite Diner—A slice of America in the middle
of Moscow. One July evening we
listened to Boyz2Men sing Christmas carols. Well, it was American music, right?
9.
4th of July Celebration—An
all-out American party sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow.
It came complete with hot dogs, ice cream, the Statue of Liberty, and fireworks.
10.
Internet Café—The place to be if you
need minutes for your laptop or you just want to hang out with the In crowd!
ninetyandnine.com
© 2006, Kris Newman
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When
Kris Newman is not traveling, she can be found reading books like Oh!
The Places We Will Go!.