I am beginning to truely love this country...

Football is the center of my life whenever I live in Europe. I love it. It is the one great thing I have in common with everyone and there is almost always something exciting going on as far as football goes. If I'm not showing the male skeptics how girls can play or just kicking the ball around the apartment, there is consistently good football to watch.
Of course I am referring to the Champions final we went to a few weeks ago and the current UEFA Cup games. Switzerland and Austria are hosting the tournament games this year. Last summer when I lived in Switzerland they were heavily promoting the Cup and it pained me to think that I wouldn't be there for the games. But being here is the next best thing. Especially as the Russians are successful.
We have been going out almost every night to watch the games. I think we have found a bar that we will frequent from now on. They have food that we can both enjoy, it's fairly cheap, and although it isn't incredibly convenient to our apartment, it is uniquely situated- it is across the Lubyanka Square from the former-KGB headquarters. Emerging from the basement bar, usually a little bit buzzed, the first thing you see is the building of the former secret police of the Soviet Union- the symbolism of the building in itself is profound... let alone the fact that I am there so casually.
Two nights ago we went this bar to eat, drink and watch more football. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to order the "personal beer flask" with out inquiring about it first. This is what $50 of beer looks like:

$50 and we have to fill our own glasses.
And yes, somehow we drank the whole thing before the beginning of the second game.
We ended up spending over a wopping $100 watching one game, and all I had was a salad and pickled veggies. Have I mentioned that Moscow is incredibly expensive?

Last night Russia was victorious over Greece- we went to another bar and had a great time. Afterwards we went to a club and salsa danced to techno. As soon as I took my camera out they pounced and told me I couldn't take any pictures. It's a shame.


June 12 was Russia Day, marking "the day, in 1990, Russian parliament formally declared its sovereignty" So we are all on a long holiday weekend.
It was only appropriate to visit Victory Park:




See the cute little conqueror?

It's very common on nice days to see wedding parties out at popular landmarks.

Close up- it's a tribute to the Russian cities that served during WWII on the bottom it says "Murmansk" and "Odessa"



Someone caught this little guy and was selling him :(







Cingular advertisement.

And last weekend we returned to Gorky Park for a "The Beatles & India" festival. It turned out to just be a Hare Krishna festival with a Beatles cover band that we couldn't stay for. I think their false advertisement jipped me out of a Sunday, but it was interesting nonetheless. Hare Krishnas make great veggie food and I picked up some vegan red caviar. mmmm fake fish eggs.




In the last picture you can see the Moscow spring "snow." Everywhere, it looks like it is snowing because of these fluffy seeds that float through the air.


I love this city and this country.


"Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
-Winston Churchill