The Year In Review

It's difficult to believe that Olga and I have been in Moscow now for over one year. It's amazing how quickly time goes by these days. Now that Olga is on maternity leave and we spend more time together we have started reflecting on our time here thus far and below is a synopsis of what we have come to realize.

• We love summer in Moscow! I have to admit that last summer was not that enjoyable, but that had everything to do with living in a hotel for 75 days and enduring rain 5 out of every 7 days. This summer has been fantastic. I'm drafting this post at 11PM and it is still light here! We are almost to the summer solstice and we currently have sunrise at 4:40AM and sunset at 10:15PM. The weather has been fantastic and the city is green...not to mention all of the flowers that have been planted in the parks, squares and boulevards.

• We are not so fond of winter in Moscow. Last winter was by far the most depressing winter I have ever endured. I seriously believe that from October 1 to March 1 the sun was out only about 10 or 15 days total. That, my friends, is a whole lot of gloomy. Combine that with very short 'days' and you have all the makings of BLAH! The snow and cold were manageable, but I'm going to need a sun lamp if I'm expected to live through another Russian winter.

• The fruit and vegetables here are much better than in the US.. As with anything else here in Moscow it is not cheap, but we have been able to find very good fresh fruit and veggies all year around. We trek over to the equivalent of a farmers market each week and do our shopping, with the strawberries, cherries and tomatoes being exceptionally tasty!

• Traffic in Moscow is horrendous. Not only is there more traffic than in any other city that I've lived in, the relationship between drivers and pedestrians is by far the worst that I've ever experienced. I feel like a target on the sidewalks and I now follow the old rule that my mother taught me while growing up...'Look both ways before crossing the street'. I take it a bit further and look both ways twice before scurrying across like a rat in a bright light. I won't go into detail again on the parking issues, but suffice it to say that I rarely wear my iPod anymore when walking, as I want all of my senses to be sharp as I walk on the sidewalk (don't want to lose a battle with a car coming up behind me!)

• The culture in Moscow (and Russia in general) is amazing. New York has Broadway and Times Square, but I've never seen anything like what is here in Moscow. You can literally be anywhere in the city and most likely only be a few minutes from a theater where you can take in a play, musical, symphony or any other type of entertainment.

• Not impressed with the entire country having rolling outages of hot water in the summer. I still don't get this. Although it was a non-event for us, we didn't enjoy the 5 minute showers and the fact that it took over 90 minutes for the water to heat up again after that 5 minutes of luxury. To put things in perspective, we had it very good. Most people don't have boilers, which means they have to boil their water and then pour it over themselves, AND our water was only out for 14 days (I hear in some of the outer regions it can be 3 or 4 weeks or more!)

• The Metro here is fantastic! Not only does it run on-time and more frequently than in any other city that I've been in, it is more affordable and you get the added bonus of amazing architecture in the central stations. During peak times the trains run as frequent as every 30 seconds and the cost is a mere 20 Rubles per ride (that's still only about $0.70). There are a few issues that have to be overcome, but they are not terrible. First, over 11 million people ride the Metro each day. That is a whole lot of people! Second, the cars do not have air conditioning, so in the summer the 'aroma' of the Metro can get a bit strong. Third, mix in fewer showers for people in the summer due to no hot water and the cars can get pretty musky in June/July/August.

Overall, this past year has been nothing short of amazing. I have picked up more of the language and I understand the Russian culture much better than I ever could have had we not moved here. Add to this that we will be welcoming our daughter here in the very near future and I all I can do is count my blessings and be a very happy man.