Moscow Bound

Victory Park.  "Moscow" as written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Welcome friends!  By way of this blog, I hope to capture a summer of adventures abroad with my most favorite person (who also happens to be my husband), Fritz.

On Wednesday, my mom brought me to the Newark, NJ airport where the adventure began.  After a flight through the night with a short stop in Switzerland, I arrived in Moscow, Russia where Fritz met me at the gate, a warm smile on his face.  We had been apart for 3 weeks because he left the US ahead of me to get established and begin his research in the archives.

Mom and me at the airport for a final farewell.

Perhaps a little back-story would be helpful before we dive into the Moscow adventure.  Fritz is a brilliant historian (I'm allowed to say that because he's my husband and I love him to bits, but also because it is true), and he is working to finish his book on the Cold War and global finance.  His research has taken both of us all over the place these past few years, including an incredible year in Germany (you can see those stories at journeysingermany.blogspot.com).  Two years ago, Fritz decided that if he really wanted his book about the Cold War to be taken seriously by reputable historians, he would need to include some Soviet sources.  The problem was, he did not speak any Russian.  He wasted no time and enrolled in Russian language courses for 2 semesters at Cornell University, an intensive 2-month summer emersion program in Vermont, and a final semester at Yale University.  Now two years and many Russian flashcards later, Fritz has set up shop in Moscow and is reading as much archival material as he can get his hands on for the 2 months that he will be here.

Our plan is to be here in Moscow for another month, followed by some bouncing around Copenhagen, Cambridge, Oxford, and London before returning back to the US in July.  I decided to start this new travel blog, "A. B. Sees" (Fritz thought of the title - it's a play on my initials, and the alphabet if you didn't catch that, and the fact that it's a photo blog hence the "Sees"), because I thought it would be a nice way to keep a running record of this adventure, and all the adventures that come in the future.  Fritz and I got married almost 2 years ago (time flies!), and it has become clear to me that globe trotting will be a part of our lives together with his profession being what it is.  I have enjoyed chronicling our adventures together through a mixture of pictures and stories.  My camera has become my most essential travel item.  It was a gift from Fritz on our first Christmas together five years ago.  He pretends to dislike all the times I make us pause for a photo, but he always seems to appreciate having our memories well documented and available for review later.

Safely arrived with a happy greeting in Moscow. 

Naturally the first thing I did in front of the airport was bust out my camera to snap our picture.  He rolled his eyes a little, but there is no doubt that smile is genuine. 

The Moscow Airport

Arriving at the airport brought me back to how it felt to land in Frankfurt, Germany 2 years ago.  Even though I had expected to hear a foreign language in the airport, the shock of being completely oblivious to what was being said around me is something I never fully know how to anticipate.  Thank goodness for familiar airport graphics and the occasional English translation.  I made it through customs, said "Spasibo" (thank you) a few times, and searched for Fritz.

And so we began the first weekend in Russia together.  With a 7-hour time difference, jet lag was (and continues to be) a real thing.  Still, I managed to bounce to life the first morning and Fritz took full advantage of my apparent energy bringing me on a 15-mile walking tour around the city.

Döner Hot Truck. 

Day one started with a walk through a bustling market that is close to our AirBnB.  More on our housing soon, but I'll start by saying we live in a lovely quiet neighborhood, in a cute apartment, close to public transportation as well as several food markets.  Of course Fritz was thrilled to discover a Berlin-style Döner stand.  

Post-Döner smiles.

With food in our bellies, we were ready to hit the streets and see what this enormous city had to offer two adventurous Americans. 

Evropeyskiy Shopping Mall.  This enormous shopping heaven spans several blocks.  It is massive! 

Moscow River

My first impression while walking down some of the main streets was that Moscow is a really wide city.  It all feels extremely open with sprawling buildings, broad rivers, and expansive 6-lane roads.   Everything feels very open, spread out, and kind of massive.  Moscow truly is a huge city.  A glance at the map makes it seem like our lodgings are close to the city center, but somehow it still takes over an hour to get to the center on foot. 

Crossing a bridge and headed toward the Kremlin.

The other thing that I noticed immediately, was that every sign or piece of written material in Moscow is written in Cyrillic.  This means that I am basically illiterate in Russia.  Even if I know the name of a street or shop, I am completely unable to read it on a sign because the letters are all different here.  Written words are completely indecipherable to me.  Goal number one will be to learn the Cyrillic alphabet so I can at least sound things out even if I don't know what they mean. This will be very helpful when riding the subway. 

Arbat Street.  A pedestrian block that is meant to attract tourists and is spattered with live entertainment. 

A walk down Arbat Street eventually brought us outside the Kremlin, the historic home to Russian leaders ranging from Stalin to Putin.  This huge fortified complex in the middle of Moscow is situated at the edge of Red Square, a large, open expanse surrounded by beautiful works of architecture.  

Red Square

St. Basil Cathedral 

The Kremlin wall overlooking the Moscow River

Our continued journey along the river eventually brought us to the famous Gorky Park.  I suspect we will be spending a LOT of time here!  Like everything else in Moscow, Gorky Park is huge and absolutely bustling with things to do, people to watch, snacks to eat, benches to sit, paths to rollerblade... you name it, Gorky's got it.  

Fountains at the top of Gorky Park

All this walking requires sustenance.  A cheese burger hit the spot while watching swans, ducks, and paddle boats float around in a little pond. 

After the burger break I did take a bit of a park bench snooze on Fritz's lap while he studied his Russian flashcards.  Feeling a bit sun-kissed after I woke up, we decided to start the walk back home.  We took the shortcut this time, crossing a few bridges since the Moscow River winds back and forth a good bit in our part of town. 

Covered pedestrian bridge.

If our first day is any indication of how the rest of our time in Moscow is going to unfold, I'd say this is going to be another wonderful adventure!