the capital walks
Now that spring has arrived and more than 10 minutes outside doesn’t induce frostbite, Muscovites have hit the streets. If you’re wondering where to go for a nice stroll through the capital Helen Harvester outlines where to see and be seen.
TEXT HELEN HARVESTER feedback
With the exception of the miserable few whose lives are spent under very large rocks, it looked like everyone in Moscow spent last week outdoors. For the past eight days, the center has been mobbed at all hours with beer toting, cigarette smoking Russians out for some good clean fun. City parks have been jammed from noon until dusk with young mothers, joggers and — could it be — small children gamely stepping between the newly-surfaced dog droppings that now pepper the landscape. Two people smiled at me the other day for no good reason. The Russian frown has been turned upside down and I’m too buzzed on Vitamin A to care whether or not I’m jinxing this beautiful weather by crowing: Spring has come to Moscow! What does one do to wile away the lengthening daylight hours? In this city, it’s called ‘gulyat,’ which means “to walk in an aimless fashion,” and it cannot be done without a friend and a Baltika. Why does everyone do it? Well, if you think this through logically there aren’t that many options. Running is still a bit risky and can’t be done while drinking. Picnics are ruled out until the ground dries and those aforementioned dog dumplings go the way of all flesh. Just sitting around is not only chilly, it’s dangerous too; most Russians will tell you that even a few moments of bum-to-ground contact leads to a lifetime of sterility. Thus, when spring comes, we walk. Where to go depends on whom you’re with, where you live and what you want to see. If you’re into trees, or have forgotten what I mean by ‘trees,’ the hills outside of Krilatskoye and Izmailovsky Forest are surprisingly untouched and easily accessible by metro. You can peacefully walk in both parks for hours without a high-rise in sight. Of course, this being a colossal city, there are also a few large parks more conveniently located near the center. Behind the exhibition halls, fountains and photo opportunities at VDNKh is an extensive forested area. Situated between Gorky Park and Vorobyovy Gory on the Moscow River is Neskuchny Sad — or the not-boring garden — which was formerly the tsar’s playground but is now free to the public. The wooded park behind Moscow State University also makes for a pleasant in-city walk. If you’re taking the metro to this latter locale consider stopping off at Vorobyovi Gori on the way. The ski lift to Sparrow Hills is only thirty rubles and provides excellent wedding-party watching — in addition to the best look-out point in the city. Of course I would be remiss for leaving out the four best-known and most-frequented parks in the center: Alexandrovsky Sad, Victory Park (Park Pobedy), Chistiye Prudy and Bulgakov’s famed Patriarch’s Ponds. The tree-lined promenade that runs down the middle of the Bulvar ring road from Kropotkinskaya to Chisitiye Prudy is also quite popular — albeit muddy at this early stage of spring. There are three other less crowded places to go if intensive people watching isn’t in the cards but you’d still like to see some vegetation. Check out a small park like the one behind Zubovsky Square, not far from Park Kultury. It sports a grand statue of Tolstoi and stately tree-lined boulevards perfect for a sedate Sunday stroll. A park wedged between Kievsky Vokzal and the Stalin-style Hotel Ukraine is beautifully landscaped and never crowded. Although my personal pick is a lovely little garden by the Tretyakov Gallery upon whose grass I have spent many a lazy afternoon. However, a pleasant, landscaped walk does not require a trip to your local park. Been wondering about those concrete slabs full of soil and snow that line the largest streets? When Putin gives the word, every single one of them will be planted with tulips, daffodils or violets. By May, Moscow will be a cornucopia of floral displays, and the best way to see them is on foot. The long walk from Kievsky Vokzal to Victory Park down Kutuzovsky Prospect is particularly well decorated. Another long-but-lovely allee runs between Christ the Savior Church at Kropotkinskaya and Kitai-Gorod, which you can reach by walking through Okhotny Ryad, past the Bolshoi Theater, and turning right at Lubyanka Square. Wherever you decide go, get there soon. It could always start snowing again. |
