Helsinki, Finland!

So, every month, I have to get out of this place...... The last place I went was Kiev.. but now, we are going to Finland! It is about 1hr 45 min to Helsinki, and seemed to be a pretty cheap place to go from Moscow.

Yay!!! I look forward to: Idyllic island restaurants are a vital part of Helsinki’s unique restaurant culture. The archipelago of Helsinki provides a beautiful setting for summer dining.
http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_English/Visitor/Eat__enjoy/Island_restaurants.iw3

Actually, I most look forward to really fresh air and the waters of the Baltic Sea... the breezes across the Moscow River are not all that relaxing..

I want to see and do all I can while I am here... I really try not to think about the cost of all my travels and goings out, but rather the experiences I am getting...

Shoe shopping in Moscow...

I was at the Europesky mall today attempting to shop for shoes.... I really cannot describe what I see in the stores here, but please look at this link I got when I typed in "ladies shoes moscow"

http://svik.hit.bg

This is an important site for many reasons:

1. First, you will notice how this girl poses in all of the pictures.... this is what you see everywhere here - the girls make these really sexy poses for EVERY picture.....no matter where they are. It must be something that is taught at a very young age.
2. You can see some of the shoe choices I am talking about if you click on the link next to the sound button - it says "gallery" in Russian, what starts with a backwards looking 7, is actually a G in Russian. Also have a look at the link -3a Hac...

Ok, so I really don't think I will be able to get with these strange fashion statements... Lots of patent leather, bows and ribbons, other wild colors... I mean, I just want like - sensible, professional shoes that I can actually walk in......

And, I should not really wonder why that concept doesn't really exist here... Sensible and professional haven't quite evolved here.... I have seen quite a few see-through shirts/skirts in the office... I am sure no one can imagine why I might want sensible shoes :)

Last Saturday Pics

So, this was not last Saturday... this is my rent money... I pay my rent in cash... 1000 Rubles is about $30.

The envelope I hand it over in....
The 3 patty cheeseburger at Starlite Diner.... He ate it all....

Young kids making out in the grass outside the Kremlin wall... Most people live with their parents, so they don't have too many private places to go.

Alexandrovsky sad - Alexander's Garden by the Kremlin

Ornamental cabbage

Platform, metal spike heels, good for a stroll in the Kremlin...

Gardens inside the Kremlin.... There is not a ton to see inside the walls of the Kremlin... Some really nice churches, but you cannot take pictures inside.

Sunset at 11:30 pm... from my kitchen window.

Life is seeming to have some normalcy now.... I know where to find what I need, and work is getting a bit better... One sad thing is alot of people are leaving...

I may try to find a weekend trip for this month. I will go to Germany in September, and back to the US in October.... August is the big vacation month here, so things will be pretty quiet.

Sexual Discrimination in Russia

Nice article from today's Moscow Times....

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1009/42/379931.htm

Formula One Racing pic

Red Square at night

So this weekend, they were doing Formula One racing around the Kremlin..Saturday night as we left Red Square, some of the cars were showing off doing crazy things.... Going really fast then turning - thankfully traffic was blocked. I still continue to be shocked nearly every day here.... And Saturday was no exception... So, I'll go backwards again.

For the Formula One - they set up this makeshift party house behind St. Basil's - see the pink and purple lights.. Here you can see GUM - lit up like Christmas, and part of the Kremlin.

GUM
St. Basil's... I know, not the best picture, but oh well.

State Historical Museum - keep in mind it was like 11:00 pm when I took this picture...

Another view of the museum. I really need to actually go inside and see what is there.

This is now an exhibition hall. It used to be horse stables.

View of part of the Kremlin from where we were sitting.

Ok, to one of the shocking things from Saturday... Now, I guess I am over the shock that people get in the fountains here, but I was shocked to see them JUMPING from up high into the water - and shocked to see them strip down to their underwear in front of tons of people.

And shocked that they would get in this water and no one would say a word about it... I wonder how they knew how deep it was...

GUM in the daytime.

Another shot of Red Square/St. Basil's. It is really nice how empty Moscow is on the weekends. Some people from Atlanta are here, and one night we were talking about the population here and about how roughly the size of Atlanta commutes into Moscow from the outer regions each day.

Rush hour on the metro is so unpleasant...

Another shock - at the souvenier market, they now have bears chained up outside.... quite a disturbing site. Moscow is hot in the summer, and these bears were panting and trying to get their collars off.. It was so horrible that I did not take a picture.

So, I bought 3 bootleg dvd's, for $10 and got one for free... I did not notice the bag until later - Bear Beer? Really?

Here is a link to some interesting reading on corruption....http://ftp.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/ruscrime.htm

Despite it all, I feel safe here, and have had no issues..Really the most dangerous thing here are the sidewalks... uneven, holes. The other night, my heel got caught in a crack.. and the heels I wear are MUCH lower than most of the ladies here...

Russia

Sorry, it has been so long since I posted anything.... but, right before I went to Kiev, I spilled coffee on my personal laptop at home....... and ruined my computer....

The office IT told me where to take it to have it looked at for repair. Well, just finding the place was an adventure (challenge).... Way up on the Gray Line of the Metro, then I went into 3 buildings... Finally, I found the right building. I was told they spoke English... .Yeah, they spoke English like I speak Russian!

So, they said it would be $400 for a new keyboard and a new motherboard, and they did not seem certain that would fix it... So, I decided not to fix it....

Then, I thought, well, I'll buy one in the US and have it shipped here - another great idea that is not possible here due to customs restrictions....

Oh well, I will figure something out. It is actually kind of nice not to be connected all of the time.... It has given me time to watch more TV. There is an English Russian new channel where I have been watching some very interesting shows and learning alot about Russia.

The longer I am here, the more truly bizzare things I see. I will post some pics from this weekend.