Fall Frolics in Moscow

A glorious 70-degree Indian Summer day greeted us in Moscow yesterday, and people headed to the parks in droves.  Always game to dive in and do as the natives do, my friend Sarah and I headed to the park ourselves.  We opted for Tsaritsyno, because hey, if it's good enough for Catherine the Great, it's good enough for us.  Oh, wait--Catherine turned her nose up at it and refused to ever live there.  I don't know why--I found it perfectly lovely. 

The annual honey fair was going on right outside the park, so of course we had to drop by and check it out.  Apiarists come in from all over Russia and set up tents and tents full of honey you could taste to your hearts delight, and then buy if you found some you loved.  The word for honey in Russian is мед --I remember this from the good old Medieval fermented honey-ale drink, meade.  Here you can buy honey to cure virtually any ailment you might have, depending on the medicinal properties of the flower upon which the bee dined. The catch, of course, is you need to be able to converse and read in Russian to find all this out.  Otherwise, just do like I do--taste a bunch, and buy the one you like. 

Russian hiking boots

After tasting enough honey that I do believe my throat actually closed up from sheer sweet-rebellion, we headed into Tsaritsyno.  If you want to blend in and look like a local you'll  need to put on your hiking boots. And be sure to wear something comfortable to go walking in the park.  Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that Russians love being comfortable.   OK, just kidding. Since the fall of Communism, Russians have embraced fashion in a very big way.  Muscovites are very stylish and cosmopolitan,and they have taken a maxim we Texas girls live by, "suffer pain for beauty" to new heights.

Dressed for a day at the park...

In Beijing, I would see thousands of activities going on during a beautiful day in the park--singing, kite flying,  checker playing, ballroom dancing, Tai Chi, and so on.  But in Moscow,  there seem to be only two accepted activities for the park.  1) Getting your picture made.  There are a variety of ways this can happen.  The obvious one is to grab your instamatic camera and a family member...or your toddler can man the camera, too. Or a boyfriend with a cell phone.  The less obvious, though highly recommended version, is to bring a professional photographer with you, complete with metallic disc light reflectors.  You can even put on your wedding dress for some photos. 

Bring your own professional photographer!

Wear your wedding dress!

The other accepted activity...

Get your picture in a leafy crown!

2) Playing with leaves.  Again, there are a variety of ways to do this.  You can collect bouquets of leaves.  You can roll and frolic in the leaves.  You can weave the leaves into leafy crowns and wear them around.  I am pleased to report that a Russian lady actually taught me how to do this yesterday and I can now bring the fine art of leafy crown making to Texas! I imagine the leaves will be ready in December, right about the time I come home for Christmas.   Of course you earn extra points if you can combine the two activities... wearing a leafy crown *while* getting your picture made!  But for maximum point value, you must combine all of these things into one....wearing a leafy crown, while being photographed, IN a wedding dress!  And extra bonus points if you can get your photographer to sport a whale tail!