Woohoo! We made it through our first quarter living, working, and studying abroad and are now enjoying our first well-earned vacation. Since we were not sure whether our multi-entry visa would be ready before this break, we decided to stay in Russia. We wanted to eke out a few more warm days, so opted for a Sochi trip via Moscow. We are still in Sochi for a few more days but thought we’d post these pictures from Moscow.

We began our Moscow adventures with a visit to the Kremlin and Red Square, accompanied by our Moscovite cousin Lenny. Alden commandeered our SLR and Mila took over my phone, so many of these shots are taken by the kids. After lunch, we followed the Moskva, down to Gorky Park, listening to the wind of change. Again, the Ruskies impressed us with the amazingness of their city parks- art, leisure, nature, lights, music, cafes, fountains, ponds, kiosks.

On Day 2 we explored the Moscow Subway with its fascinating art, impressive timing, and exceptionally long escalators. We got to the outskirts of the city and walked around in Izmailovsky Park. We dined on tasty pelmeni at Lepim I Varim before heading to the Kuklachev cat theater. I had some hesitations when we bought our tickets- were we enabling animal cruelty by supporting this theater company that exploits cats and forces them to perform? After watching the show and seeing the loving interactions between the feline and human performers, I came away a fan of this quirky and unique show.

We walked some more through the streets of Moscow and then capped off the evening with a dinner cruise on the Moskva river. A beautiful way to see the architecture and lights of the city while enjoying a meal and some wine.

On our last full day in Moscow, we braved the lines at the Tretyakov Gallery. I wasn’t sure if our kids would be interested, but they loved looking for specific pieces (those highlighted in the museum brochure and those they’ve seen hanging in Kachka and Kachinka back in PDX). It was well worth the long wait.

On the day of our flight to Sochi, we awoke to snowflakes outside our window. We braved the snow and wind to check out VDNKh park (exhibitions of achievements of national economy) which is a massive park that Stalin had built starting in 1935 and includes pavilions representing the achievements of the former Soviet Republics. We made an impromptu visit to the Museum of Cosmonautics to warm up and check out all the interesting space gear on display. Alden kept teasing me that I had “weak nerves” because I was so cold in the snow and wind. It’s going to be a long winter!