It'll Be Grand: And Then There's Love

Moscow does not wake up till 9 or 10am. This was a problem for me at first because the sun blasts through my window around 4am and illuminates my bedroom like a permanent camera flash, and I suddenly find myself wide awake at a time when the rest of the world is fast asleep. And so I go for a run, play around on the monkey bars near my hotel, make a hot breakfast, study scriptures, study Russian, and then it's still just 8 o'clock or so and two hours remain before the city starts warming up. But as jet lag has gradually worn off and I've learned to keep the bedroom curtains tightly closed I've more or less fine tuned my sleep schedule so that I can at least sleep a few extra hours in spite of the upcoming summer solstice.

Aslan and I in front of
the Temple of Christ the Savior

I've spent these first couple weeks getting used to the metro system, which is a vast network of subway tunnels that closely resembles a spider web stretched across the Moscow River with Red Square at the center. Virtually anywhere I need to go is a short walk away from a metro station, which makes getting around very convenient. And each time I descend into the metro I feel like I'm stepping into the wizarding world, because the stations often have cavernous, vaulted ceilings that are exquisitely decorated (much like the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry Magic).

Red Square (behind me) is in the center of Moscow

Classes have already begun, and my instructor's name is Eugene (Евгений). I consider him to be an adorable old man who spends much of each class time imparting bits of Russian wisdom to us and extolling the virtues of President Putin. He also reminds me just a bit of Albert Einstein with his short stature, frizzy snow white hair and mustache. But apart from his endearing idiosyncrasies, he is proving to be a good teacher. Right now we are discussing immigration and the reasons why people move to another country, and we listed off the most well known reasons: economic hardship, political unrest, war, etc. And then Cassandra, one of the students in the class, explained how her now husband moved from Ukraine to the U.S. Eugene immediately gets this starry look in his eyes and says with a tender sigh, "Ah, yes. And then there's love." Ever since that day Eugene has found a way to bring up love in our discussions, and then he will usually throw in a comment about his wife and romance with that same starry look in his eyes. It's just so cute how old and romantic this guy is!

Speaking of love, one of the coolest places I've been to so far in Moscow is the Novodevichy Convent. The neighboring pond and surrounding grounds are famous for inspiring a famous scene in Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina where Levin is ice skating on the frozen pond during winter and sees Kitty and falls in love with her all over again. Tolstoy writes the following heart-throbbing words, "He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. . . . There was apparently nothing striking either in her dress or her attitude. But for Levin she was as easy to find in that crowd as a rose among nettles. Everything was made bright by her. She was the smile that shed light on all round her."

Statue of the tsar who liberated
the Russian peasants

How can you read those words and not swoon? And then to go to that very pond and think about love and romance is enough turn anyone into a romantic! So far I've had most of my adventures in Moscow with the other bros in my group, but I'm realizing more and more that Moscow is a city built for couples. This is definitely a city I would like to revisit one day with a sweetheart!