I had a fantastic last weekend in Moscow! I actually spent most of it enjoying the beautiful parks and nature in and around the city.
On Saturday, I went to a park on the eastern edge of Moscow with some Russian friends “na shashlike” (for a Russian BBQ; “Shashlik” is a type of Eastern European kabob). We spent the whole day enjoying the beautiful (finally warm and sunny) weather, the atmosphere of the park, amazing food, and good music. We grilled meat, chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables, and snacked on apricots, cherries, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, cookies, cake, and kvass (a traditional Russian drink). At one point, a few folks broke out their guitars, and we sang Russian classic rock songs (Bi-2, Aria, Tsoi, and Zemfira to name a few). We also played charades (“crocodile” in Russian) which was a fantastic way for me to practice my vocabulary. I didn’t know everyone there to start, but by the end of the day I felt like we had all been friends for a long time. It felt like such a quintessential Russian experience; it’s one of those things that the characters always do in classic Russian/Soviet films.
At the end of the day, I went and saw the new Lion King movie in theaters. It was dubbed in Russian, and I loved listening to how the songs were translated. You cannot always translate text literally. There are nuances in meaning and context that sometimes just can’t be translated word for word. This is even more true in songs and poems, when you have to consider rhythm, rhyme, and other such aspects. For that reason, it’s always very interesting to see how songs and movies are translated.
On Sunday, I spent the day exploring Sokolniki Park and the Losiny Ostrov (Moose Island) National Park. Sokolniki Park was incredible- it is a gigantic wooded park with an exhibit area, fountains, cafes, a bird zoo, outdoor theater, walking paths, ponds, swimming pools, and so much more I didn’t even get to see! It was a super popular place, and parts of the park were packed with people walking, biking, roller blading, and swimming. I happened to go during “BBQ Fest” so I had even more shashlik! My favorite part of the park were these beautiful dirt paths along a series of small ponds. The path was lined with picturesque Russian birch trees, and it was so peaceful!
Losiny Ostrov is situated just to the north of Sokolniki, so I just walked straight there. It’s known for being one of the largest parks/natural areas in the territory of a city. It was very different than a national park in America! For starters, you didn’t need a pass to get in, and the entrance was a walking path (no cars allowed!). It was also really hard to find information about the park. I.e., the website didn’t give very clear directions on how to find the entrances, and I couldn’t find any sort of ranger station to ask for a map. My first impression upon entering the park was that it wasn’t very well-kept: it was overgrown with plants, and there were electric wires routed overhead. The main entrance was a wide brick path in a field, with smaller paths branching off into the woods and around a small pond. My opinion quickly changed as I walked through the wooded paths. These paths were all very well traveled and maintained, and some were even paved. Again, it was very peaceful, and it was so nice to breathe fresh air. However, no matter how far into the park I walked, I could still hear cars from the nearby highways. Losiny Ostrov was also a popular park, but not as crowded as Sokolniki.
In all on Sunday, I spent about 6 hours walking around, and by my estimation, walked about 15 miles!
Another highlight of my weekend was docking a Soyuz on the International Space Station. That is, training to dock using the same model of simulator that astronauts and cosmonauts use in Star City! One of the guides at the Museum of Cosmonauts offered to train me in the simulator, and it was fantastic! Many cosmonauts say that the physics and dynamics of the simulator are super realistic, just like you’d find in a good flight simulator. You fly a Soyuz using two joysticks: one controls the position of the spacecraft, and the other controls it’s attitude (orientation). It took a couple tries to get the hang of it, but I quickly found it to be pretty intuitive. Hopefully one day, I’ll be able to compare it to the real deal, too!
Do Vstrecha!
Piper
Shashlik in the Park! 
Tuning up one of the guitars at the shashlik. 
BBQ Fest at Sokolniki! 
A wooded path at Sokolniki. 
My favorite part of Sokolniki, by the peaceful little ponds. 
A pond-side beach at Sokolniki- very popular! 
The main entrance path at Losiny Ostrov. 
Taken from the main path at Losiny Ostrov. You can see Ostankino Telebashnaya in the background! 
Another main (but smaller) path through the woods at Losiny Ostrov. 
The flora and fauna at Losiny Ostrov. 
A view of the Yauza River passing through Losiny Ostrov. 
The new (3-4 year old) financial district in Moscow, literally called “Moskva City.”
RLASP in Moscow 