Shapovalova

Some work of Russian fashion designer Shapovalova has been exhibited at GUM for last few weeks. Interesting combination of traditional Russian spirit and modern style. Well, matrushkas are kind of cliche but I must admit that there is something very fascinating about them!

Scandinavia

Close to Tverskaya metro station can be found this nice restaurant and summer terrace called Scandinavia (http://www.scandinavia.ru).         

Matrjoshka Restaurant

Dinner at Russian Matrjoshka Restaurant.          

Tretyakov Gallery

I spend  a nice Sunday afternoon in a Tretyakov Gallery with some friends of mine.          

Easter food

One the Orthodox traditions is Kulich cake which can be called easter cake too.       

Easter in a orthodox church

Easter will take place following the Orthodox calendar and this year it was much later than for example in Finland. Easter is the most important celebration for Russian Orthodoxes. Maybe because of anti-religious Soviet times there will be no extra holidays added to the easter weekend. Important tradition is to go to the church and join the easter procession. Some of my Russian friends were going to church and I was been invited to come with them. I am not very religious with my views but of course you can't refuse to experience something so interesting and special. We went to this church located in a beautiful area of Tsaritsyno ("The Tsarina Village", unfinished building project for a summer palace started by Catherine the great), south of Moscow. When entering the church you should dress up in suitable way. With women that means no make up, dress covering your knees and scarf covering your hair. So I looked little bit like matrjoska ;-) The ceremony can go on for hours and there are no seats to sit, except for old & sick people. However, this time it was possible just to visit, lid a candle and leave when you feel like it. The church was full of people and there was so many candles that I felt it's christmas. Around midnight more people were gathering around the church with candles in their hands – it was a time for the procession. Everybody were following priests when they walked around the church. It looked very beautiful with so many candles! My muslim friend told me earlier that after that you are supposed to greet people around you by saying "Khristos voskres" (Christ is risen) and then other person replies "Voistine voskres" (he is truly risen) and people are kissing one another three times. You can spend the whole easter night in a church if you want but we felt so cold after being long time outside that we decided to go home. On my way home I experienced some Russian friendliness again because a friend of mine wanted to drive me home. It was a long way, more than one hour one way! Thank you so much :-) Wonderful and interesting night! When I was entering my home building I could hear singing from the Sokol church too. It sounded very beautiful!

Menza Cafe

Japanese Menza Cafe has become my new favourite, this is a second time already here this week. We were so hungry after been at markets all day! This is interesting Japanese restaurant because they don't have any sushi (almost every other restaurant in Moscow has a separate sushi menu). However, their food is very tasty. Salads of mine in a photo may not look so tasty but actually they are! Menza's menu is only one page long and you will make your order by marking the things you want with a pen. Good and fast with extremely fair prices – you can order many things with just few hundred Rubles!

Russian souvenirs

Some most common Russian souvenirs can look like this... Price for matrjoskas will be defined based on the amount of details, quality of painting and how many dolls there are inside. Watches and pins are originals from Soviet times and the porcelain from Gzel town is very famous. 

Izmailovsky Park

This park is one of the biggest ones in Europe covering nearly 12 sq km. Very popular weekend flea market can be found here too, about 20 minutes with a metro from the center. I am sure you will find interesting things to look at even if you are not planning to buy anything. Many tourists are shopping here because many of the items sold are good for souveniers: samovars, scarfs, coins, old caps from soviet army, medals, stamps, photographic equipments, books, matrjoshka dolls, painted wooden eggs, handicrafts, pictures of Lenin, flags, paintings, jewellery etc... So much of everything and they are much cheaper than in the centre. 

Cherkizovskaya

You can buy almost anything from this market close to Cherkizovskaya metro station, there is even own section for flowers made for plastic ;-) Prada bag costs 300 Rubles (about 10 euros) here but it doesn't mean that everything would be so cheap. Some places look like small shops and prices can be sometimes higher than in some big shopping malls. Some sellers were worried when they saw me taking photos because coverment has been planning to close these kind of markets. It's a bitty if that happens because there is lots of colourful and interesting things to look at!

Savenok

Savenok market is located next to Savyolovskaya metro station. 

University

The biggest university in Russia can be found close to Universitet metro station.

Street market

According to the law they are not allowed but that doesn't mean they wouldn't exist. This street market can be found next to Universitet metro station.