so this is the area i live in. the region is a great tribute to sovietdom, as well as post soviet kitch. so on one side of the street (appropriately called kosmonaut street) is a really tacky and monstrously large soviet hotel (the cosmos) which has tons of limos in the parking lot, some of which have new jersey licence plates tacked on top of the normal russian ones. what the appeal of new jersey can be, i cant possibly imagine, but apparently it exists. inside the hotel is a casino, so there is naturally tons of security and occasional shoot outs.
on the other side of the street is VDNH, an exposition theme park more or less dedicated to the soviet unions great accomplishments in all spheres of life. it is pretty hideous with its gold fountains and psuedo palaces, but then it is really nice to live next to one of the city's largest parks, especially as it has been over 30 degrees for the past week, and is predicted to remain so for the foreseeable future (and air conditioning is essentially unheard of) so the second picture is taken next to the park's public toilets, located at the feet of a statue dedicated to the soviet unions victories in space. why they put the toilet next to the monument is beyond me, but you cna imagine the smell!
in general i like the neighbourhood, there are tons of japanese restaurants and supermarkets near by, which is convinent, and the area is green by moscow standards...not that that is difficult!
4 commentaires:
there is something very sad about the VDMX, i guess from all moscow places it is the one that most suffered the falling of the soviet union. other parks or streets have more or less adapted (look at tverskaya or manezhnaia) but the VDMX, once the most visited attraction in moscow, is now a rotten monument to a dream turned nightmare. i walked it a few times, and always had the same sad feeling when i saw the golden fountain with the girls in traditional dresses from all soviet republics. last time I was there, I found an indian spices shop in one of the pavilions… weird…
yes marcus, your statue is still there!
actually i think little has changed since you were probably changed in the park since you were here last.
on the one hand i have been really lucky for the past month to live next to such a huge park, especially as it has been over 30 degrees for some time, and it is nice to relax in a park. on the other hand i am also happy i am moving in a few weeks to a different flat that is much more in the centre of the city, which means i will have a lot less commuting time, and i will be able to go home for lunch, although i wont be able to sit in the park.
i went to the VDMX with joao in 2000 and spent a few hours walking around the park. i also felt that there was something very sad about it, it seemed frozen in time, empty as there were few people there, overall it looked pretty abandoned. i guess today it must be different. "happier and sunnier" - at least you enjoy going there!
hey didnt i go with you guys to VDNH? i think i have pictures of the three of us there...or was i with caitlin and nicole?
to much time has passed and my brain has turned to mush...
Enregistrer un commentaire