More snow photos … freshly new snow from Moscow. A walk from Patriarchy Pond to Pushkin Square. Then I took the Metro down to Teatralnaya. From there I went to Kitai Gorod and the Riverside to the going away party of my friend Patrick.

Malaya Bronnaya

Malaya Bronnaya

Church near Pushkinsquare

Okhotny Ryad

Entry to Red Square

Patrick W. von Pattay - Going away Party

Ul. Yauskaya from the Vysotko (Stalin skyscarper)

One of the 7 sisters. The Stalin skyscraper (Rus: Vysotko) at the Kotelnecheskaya enbankment

You know what I am talking about, when I say its hard to find the right hairdresser right? No, its not just a women thing, if you want a halfway good and trendy cut you must search long. I have been at cheal and expensive shops in small and large cities and in 90% of the cases I was not happy with the result. Its even harder to find someone, if you are new in a city.

My new haircut.

Well, here is a Moscow address, which I use for the past 3 years regularly. Its not cheap, but not too expensive. Usually I pay about 1300 Rubles for a cut and washing. I never make an appointment. I just walk in when I am in the area and I feel like it and I always got my haircut and it was good. Even my girlfriend Sonia checked them out and liked them, although she has her own.

Anyway, how you like my new cut? Here is the address and a link to their website in case you want to check any of the other branches in Moscow or elsewhere:

SALON CAMILLE ALBANE
22 rue Malaya Bronnaya, Bat 2
MOSCOU
Russie
Phone : +74 95 2416050
Fax : +74 95 2051416
Email : camillealbane@mail.ru
http://www.camillealbane.com/new/gb/salons-new.asp

Just three weeks ago, the heaters were turned on in my building and now its total Winter. The streets are covered with snow and ice and last weeks temperatures varied from 0 to -6C. Welcome General Winter. Nice to see you again. Here is some Moscow street life from last night.

The remains of the first big snow this year. But it won’t be sunny for long. The next snow is coming tonight already.

Yesterday was a great sunny day. It was one of these late cold autumn days. Winter arrived last Monday, when it snowed about 15cm in one night. The streets were fully covered and with temperatures around -2 it felt like a normal European winter. Instead in Moscow its just the beginning of the season and it’s a nice one I have to say. Tuesday we had a lot of sun, but at 0 C the snow hardly didn’t melt away and it was just a nice crispy day as I like them. Usually at this time of the year we only see gray skies and a mix of snow-rain. The streets are covered with dirt and its wet and cold.

The local “project dog”, a stray, is enjoying the last sunny autumn days

Well, as you can see on my photos its still dirty here and there. The snow has melted over the past days, but you find some of it left in shady places. It doesn’t matter. The weather service is promising a lot of fresh snow for this long holiday weekend, with -2 to -6 C. That won’t hurt the Moscovites at all. Many of them are sitting on their dachas drinking vodka and celebrating the communist revolution holiday as in the old time. Some of my friends went to Perm for hunting. Maybe they’ll bring some fresh deer meet, a few photos and some stories and I can post them here for you.

I have to stay in the city. Have to prepare tax statements and work on my projects. After all we don’t have holidays in Germany and the US, so Monday is a regular work day for me. I also have another task, Sonias Peugeot needs some winter tires. We went to check some places, where they change the tires yesterday and the wait was about 1 ½ hour. People were cuing with cars and having a chat outside in the cold. I guess we’ll do it late at night today in some place, which is opened 24hours. Its capitalism. Supply and demand. There is a huge demand right now and people (like) me even come in the middle of the night to have their tires changed.

Let me take you on a walk through a project as we have so many here. No, its not suburbia already. We are still close to the center and most of the people living here are upper middle class with good jobs. Most of the houses are post-communism, meaning the owners haven’t received the apartments for free, but bought them with hard cash. In between we still have some older houses, which look quite bad. Usually the people who own apartments here and live here are offered apartments in a new building on the outskirts of Moscow. The old buildings are torn down and the apartments sold for a lot of cash to the new middle class and the rich. Many times its not a good deal for the people who are moved. The commute is longer and they are offered a 40 sqm studio for a 2 room 60 sqm apartment. But they have no chance. City officials are involved in these deals and fishy laws support that. So either you go, or you’ll be forced to go. Its another bad face of the open capitalism in Russia.

These apartment buildings were built after communism and are in a much better state. Especially this form and color you find all around the brown metro ring. Usually the residents are middle class people.

A new apartment building. These are hardly 5-10 years old and many more are being built these days throughout the city. usually there is a high fence around them and they are heavily guarded. These buildings include roof terraces, pools, gymns, parking garage and anything else you’d expect from a yuppie temple. Its mostly the new upper middle class and the rich, who live here.

So, enjoy the rest of the photos of pre-winter or late autumn Moscow.

As usual and in any weather the babushkas (grandmas) or mothers walk with their kids in the early afternoon (after lunch).

Fixing their cars is one of the main hobbies of most retired Moscovites. You can see them spending hours with their Ladas, like this man.

The elderly meet infront of the door for a chat.

We buy beer, vegetables and other stuff in these Kiosks and there used to be one near any street corner. You can get anything you need in your household for a good price and usually they are open 24 hours. Mayor Lushkov is closing them down one by one now, because he wants us to buy expensive none tasty Dutch tomatos in one of the big supermarkets, instead of some tasty ones from Usbekistan. Its all about money here.

The usual view at this time of the year. I am happy its getting colder and these deep and dirty water holes disapper until April/May.

Nevertheless, Russians are very tidy. The walkways are usually very clean. So are the green areas and parks between the houses. Labor cost is cheap and some foreign workers are busy day and night with street sweeping and collecting all the leafs. This worker is collecting some of the last leafs. Maybe tomorrow morning he needs to shuffle the snow already.