Sochi: Christmas mood

Caucasus, Russia. Photo by Natalia Maiboroda

It is hot in Moscow. In Saint-Petersburg, where I will celebrate New Year 2017, it is raining. In Alps there is no snow. If your Christmas mood depends on the weather, like my mood, you should go to Sochi. 

Mont Saint Michel: against the flow

Mont Saint Michel. Photo: Natalia Maiboroda

Here it is: gloomy, mystical and grandiose. The spear of medieval town scratches the sky. But the bottom is surrounded by water and quicksand. This is how my geographical dream looks like. It is called Mont Saint Michel.

Baku: brand signature

Heydar Aliyev Cente in Baku, made by Zaha Hadid. Photo: Natalia Maiboroda

I never wanted to go to Baku, until Zaha Hadid created her statement building in Azerbaijan’s capital. The futuristic construction situated not in the very center. But it makes people travel out of the historical part, also beyond Soviet way of thinking. 

Shenyang: who let the dogs eat?

Shenyang, Xita street. Photo: Natalia Maiboroda

“No dog, please!” – I asked my waiter in the restaurant. I showed her hieroglyph to make sure they will not cook a dog for me. The waiter smiled and opened the menu. Every single meal on the page contained familiar character.

Beijing: future is today

Galaxy Soho, Beijing. Photo by Natalia Maiboroda.

You don’t need a space machine to travel in time. Take Beijing metro (Line 2 or Line 6) and head to Chaoyangmen station. Just at the exit you will face the future.

Ireland: happy FitzPatrick’s Day

 

Jim FitzPatrick and Natalia Maiboroda

Today, when Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I would like to write about Patrick. But not the one you might think of. About Jim FitzPatrick – famous Irish artist. You definitely know one of his works – the legendary poster of Che Guevara – the black and white image on the red background. Jim was the one who reproduced the picture of Cuban photographer Alberto Korda on paper. You know the rest – this particular image became a symbol of world revolution.

Patagonia: Fifty shades of blue

Photo by Natalia Maiboroda

44 hours from Buenos Aires by bus and you are in the tip of Argentina – chilly and severe land. In other words, in small town El Calafate, which is situated closer to Antarctica than to the capital. This place is so isolated from the rest of the country, that you can easily describe it as being “in the middle of nowhere”. El Calafate lives off tourism due to world-famous attraction called Perito Moreno. This breathtaking glacier is just 80 km away.

Geneva: swan lake

The ballet “Swan lake” has four acts – just lhe same quantity of days I spent in Swiss city. It was 4 days of french language, french cuisine and swiss swank. Also it was 4 days of changing my opinion about Switzerland. Before I hated it. 

Lviv-addicted

Normally there are 2 scenarios for spending winter holidays for Ukrainians and Russians. First is to go skiing to Alps. Second – is to escape from cold days to sunny countries. This winter I was out of the scenario, as I went to my favourite Lviv. Western Ukrainian city looks like Europe due to its architecture, but it doesn’t have any ski resorts within the town. It was warm for us, but weather has nothing to do with it – tasty local coffee made us feel hot. This is actually why I came here – to drink the tasties coffee in Ukraine. And to discover missed details, as Lviv always has something new to surprise.

Nizhny Novgorod: hero of the fete.

The 4th of November – a day to remember. At least in Russia. Some people can’t remember what exactly they celebrate nowadays (Unity Day). Just because before the feast had another date – 7th of November – and was dedicated to  October revolution. This celebration survived Soviet Union, yet was finally abandonded. As long as people got used to November holidays, state historians burried into “this day in histroy” statistics and found out that … in the beginning of 17th century it was in this autumn month that Russia firstly overcame long period of anarchy and state degradation. So, since 2004 National Unity Day has been celebrated on the 4th of November. Another official holiday in Russia needs to be spent somewhere, but not in Moscow. So we choose to travel to the birth place of super model Natalia Vodyanova – Nizhny Novgorod. And what a symbolic trip it was!