Dear friends,
Another update on the snow removal front: it's not all done by greedy snow machines. Sometimes a couple of pairs of hands, a shovel, and a bag seem to do the trick. See exhibit A:
As for ice, here's a little taste of the Muscovite winter: the ice skating rink at Patriarch's Ponds. It's one of the special features of the Russian winter, that people here really do seem to love skating and they're pretty good at it. The most amazing bit of skating that I've witnessed took place, sadly, without my camera around. Walking by a park, on the little granite square beneath a statue, on a little 15 foot by 15 foot square patch of ice, I saw a 10 year old skating backwards in tight circles, one after another after another, with her dear babushka standing nearby.
Please settle for this far less cute video of one of Moscow's prettiest outdoor rinks and my desperate attempts to catch up my British friend, Ben. (It's a sad day for American sports when a Brit outraces an American in any winter sport, much less skating).
Thus, exhibit B:
Finally, exhibit C, the piece de resistance: the only legitimate falafel to be found in this city. An amazing story goes along with it. David, the Georgian owner, was on business in Israel and realized there was no decent falafel in the city, and that in general, as far as healthy, vegetarian fast-food options go, Moscow is a "polnyi bardok," i.e. a total nightmare. He created a business plan, hired a Moroccan and an Israeli to come for a month and perfect a method, and poof, he had a restaurant. Staffing, of course, is done by Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. So it really is a hopeful little glimpse of international Moscow, in stark contrast to all that you've seen and heard of fascist Moscow. Note, this falafel is REALLY good, far better than any I've had in California and even in Birmingham Middle Eastern places. This might as well be East Dearborn.
