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23 August, 2002

Moscow, known in Russia as Moskva, is in every way large and impressive. Usually it's a case of either/or - if the hotel is really large, like the hotel Rossky which can hold 4,000 people, it's pretty much a cement block with not so clean plate glass windows. On the other hand, st. Basil's Cathedral, while not absolutely massive, is incredibly beautiful. (It's the one you always see whenever there's a picture of Russia on the news, with all the colorful onion domes) Inside one of the domes with a twisted, dairy queen like top, there is a pattern of bricks set in the white plaster which, when viewed straight on changes the 3-d swirl to a 2-d spiral. All sorts of cool patterns like that. It's a popular spot for photographs; While waiting for some friends to meet up on Red Square (Ploshchad Krasnaya) today I counted fifteen wedding parties that came through to take pictures in front of all the landmarks. It kind of takes away the idea of the bride being singular - there were enough brides wandering around to have a decent party. Don't believe anyone who tells you Moscow is grey and boring - it's stunning and capitalism has hit the streets here like the shit hits the fan-- it's everywhere. I don't know if it's a good thing, but it gives you plenty to look at, from the outlandish fashion ensembles sashaying down the streets to the couture shops and chichi cafes with sneering bronzed waitresses. Don't get me wrong - there's a smokestack behind every golden dome - and our hotel boasts both peeling plaster and a glorious view of decaying apartment block after decaying apartment block. But after a week and a half on a boat, it's absolutely glorious.

For those of you wondering about the boat trip - which was also an animation festival - I didn't really attend the viewings because the boat itself, and the surrounding countryside, were too distracting. I especially liked passing through all the enormous, cement dripping green slime lochs. Also watching the different timber, gravel and sand barges travelling up and down the river. (All named things like "Volga-Don") In the towns we visited there was a pattern of-- the boat arrives AM, passengers exit for an "excursion" through an empty town. We visit a church which had been shut down for fifty years and only has been revived in the past ten, typically with honest local people applying whitewash and hammering away as they slowly restore the buildings. By the time we get back, the area near the boat has amazingly transformed into an entire souvenir market, with everything for sale from berries and mushrooms and handknit babushka shawls smelling of sweet woodsmoke, to those horrific dolls-within-dolls-within-dolls-within-AHHHHHH!

I particularly enjoyed the scenes of the apocalypse painted on the inner walls of the cathedral at Svirsty, and the fact that the place is still used as a mental hospital --as we toured the grounds I had the distinct feeling I was being watched from the upper windows of the courtyard. Well, that's all for now folks, hope this note finds everyone well and in good spirits.

Add these menu items to the annals of Russian cuisine:

#1 Myasnya Blyooda:

The legend says in days of old a cowboy, when travelling in prairies, could always afford to stop by a saloon and order a good meat chop. Besides, a road to the nearest saloon could take days. In such situations a cowboy would place a raw steak under his saddle and the steak would get chopped and the temperature of the horse would grill it to perfection. We offer you real cowboy's chops, but prepared according to our recipe.

(From Saloon Sanches, Tex-Mex restaurant in Petrozavodsk)

#2

Pickled meat mix with vegetables and potatoes baked in beckon. If you like peculiar meal and don't want to be hungry this meal is for you.

(From Cafe Saigon in St. Petersburg)

#3

c43 - Prawns balls with broth
c45 - Fried prawns with nuts

(From a Chinese restaurant in Moscow)

Finally, seen on a grafittied wall in St Petersburg: "Oh my god! Sumbudy kile this bustard Kenny!"