Fall is here! (with a vengeance)

This is the view out my window.  The clouds are blowing by with a speed even Moscow drivers can't match. Summer, my friends, is over. I can mourn the loss of sun for the next seven months, but I can also enjoy the odd sort of beauty that comes with a Russian autumn. The boreal forests are aflame with golds and reds. Everyone is starting to bundle up. They're drinking hot tea in the park. And sbiten. I just tried this amazing little drink yesterday, after 4 hours stuck in traffic. I'm not going to dwell on the later, but the former deserves some mention. I found it at the Belarus exhibit at Etnomir, which is like a less-organised, Russified version of Epcot's world showcase. Anyways, it's not much to write home about and I didn't take any pictures, but I did come away with a strong desire to find a recipe for sbiten. It's basically a hot drink made from honey and spices which gives hot cider a run for its money. This would be perfect for a cold winter day. There are many versions on the recipe (including the use of wine), but here's one that looks pretty standard. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sbiten

Make it.

 We were on several trips around Moscow in September, but it's becoming clear that unless we want to spend half the day in the car, we should stick to either public trains, or stay in and around the city. It's a bummer, but a fact of life here. 

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but here's some pictures made on our excursions:

Park Sokolniki, Moscow

Ostankino Gardens, Moscow

Grey skies above Podolsk

The church

The church near Podolsk, once part of a country estate belonging to several important noble families

A path nearby

Me, near the river by Podolsk

The ubiquitous victory monument, Podolsk

 Today we went to Sokolniki park, in north-west Moscow. It's a typical Russian park with busy roads running through it, theme park entertainment and blasting music from loudspeakers all around. I can't say it's a relaxing atmosphere, but there were moments, like this one, near the ponds, where one had some peace. The fishermen sure looked content!

Fishing

Petr taking it all in

Leaves!

 Near the entrance, where the music was at its loudest, we saw this scene: old Muscovites getting their groove on. These public dance floors are fairly common in parks around former socialist countries. It was one of those interesting moments where I could peek into a unfamiliar past. And watching these pensioners having a good time, moving to the best of there abilities was just wonderful. I even got asked to dance by a man with several golden teeth. Probably could've had a sugar daddy ;-) Luckily, Petr captured the whole thing, so you can share in the experience too.

It may be cold and wet, but that's not getting their spirits down!

This lady with the obvious wig had this great shuffle move that worked for any song.

This one loved to have her picture taken. Probably a bit of an exhibitionist, don't you think?

The couples were cute too

Watch for this lady in the white hat. She has obviously been watching  MTV. I think Kanye West needs this lady in his next music video. I am not even kidding.

You know there's some juicy gossip going on there

This is the happiest reminder to not step on the grass that I have ever seen

 So now I'll leave you with an earlier trip. Rewind some three weeks, when the sun still graced Russia with it's warming rays. We visited a town about 150km to the north east of Moscow called Pereslavl-Zalessky. One of my students is from there and recommended it to me. It was a really beautiful day and we had a great walk around the town and to the nearby lake and monastery. This is the nicest Russian countryside we've seen to date.

The river that ran through the town and fed the lake

Cottages

Fishing boats in disrepair

Ideal

This one probably works

One of the many churches, but this one was right on the shore

View of the lake. Kind of reminded me of home, except it was really shallow and unusually round.

Spot the kitty

Howdy

This is a terrible picture, but the river was absolutely teeming with little fishies

This man is fishing in waders several hundred yards out. That's how shallow it is.

One of the nicest houses I've seen.

More kitties!

The town. It actually just felt like a sprawling village

Inside the monastery walls nearby