A lot has happened since my last blog at the beginning of the year and I have not really been in the mood to blog about the positives of life here (and there are many). However, since I am still in Moscow and this is supposed to be a blog about my life here, I thought that maybe I should start writing again.
With spring in the air, this seems like a good time to post about a subject that I have had in my mind for a while. Because one of the things I love about Moscow are its parks. They come in all shapes and sizes and there are very many of them: Courtyard parks, Boulevard parks, Sculpture parks, Sports parks, Military parks, Riverside parks, Flower parks, Aristocratic Estate parks, and parks to cycle in, swim in, pose in.
“Courtyard Parks”. Almost every street seems to have a small green space of some description. Some are just small squares containing sculptures and a couple of benches, many of them are areas between the apartment blocks filled with children’s playground equipment, a few of them quite old and dilapidated, but most of them, certainly in Moscow city centre, have been modernised. Duck through a gateway into a courtyard and you will often find a shady garden or playground.
“Boulevard Parks”. Many of the larger boulevards have walkways down the centre lined with trees and flower beds and containing display boards with incredible wildlife photos from around the Russian Federation, or perhaps features on WWII veterans, or prominent female scientists. With a lot of city centre traffic along both sides these green path ways are a little oasis.
Then you get the much larger parks, usually in the grounds of the vast estates belonging to former aristocracy of Tsarist Russia and nationalised after the Revolution. Gorky Park, which I have mentioned in a couple of early posts, is one such park. Many of them, like Gorky Park are strung out along the banks of the Moskva River and you can, walk, run, cycle from park to park.
All these parks are easily accessible by metro and bus and are always full of people enjoying the space and the greenery throughout the year. In the winter months, many of the larger parks undergo a transformation and one can cross-country ski through the trees, or ice-skate along the park paths, now converted into ice-rinks.
There are parks in Moscow to suit everyone from manicured formal gardens, to forests and wilderness. There is nothing better that to stroll through one of the parks on a summer’s evening eating an ice cream and watching all the families out enjoying the sunshine and space. Or equally to head out into woodlands away from everyone on a beautiful autumn day for a bit of contemplative quiet.
Food for the soul and definitely good for your mental health in these uncomfortable times.
Russian Reflections 