On this Palm Sunday, marvel at the varied images of Jesus depicted in churches and other places around the world. Sometimes he is a baby with the face of someone far more mature, sometimes he is an adult, sometimes with…
Christ of Many Colors
Category: Russia
Navigating as a Functional Illiterate
Signs Matter when Travelers Can’t Read or Speak a Language Finding my way around Moscow when I don’t speak Russian and can’t read the Cyrillic alphabet becomes a bit of a fun challenge. Navigating the subway system, I am…
Starbucks Coffee Around the World
I’m probably never contemplating coffee more than on Monday morning, except that I also like it every other workday and on weekends. My favorite place for a jolt is Starbucks, no matter where I happen to be. —Lori Tripoli Like…
Film Glimpse of Moscow and a Famous Defector
For a quick escape, watch Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) featuring Chris Pine (Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek) as the lead character, Keira Knightley as the love interest, Kevin Costner as the fatherly mentor, and Kenneth Branagh as…
Street Art: Russia
Russia is another society I am intimidated by—its wars, its strength, its vastness, its vodka. As I do in Germany, I expect its street art and graffiti to be fierce, aggressive, bold. As in Germany, I find some of what…
Welcome to St. Petersburg!
Need an eye-opener after a long night’s flight from JFK to St. Petersburg? Just look out the window as you head into the city. I have a “was that what I think it was?” reaction as I head to our…
Russian Coke
For this week’s Wacky Wednesday, consider the general likelihood that you might one day be drinking a good old Coca-Cola in front of the gates at Catherine Palace in Pushkin, Russia. Then dream big. —Lori Tripoli
Moscow Now
Any number of people, knowing that I’ve visited Russia, say to me, “I’d never go there now.” I can’t help but think, why not? Well, there’s that crisis in Ukraine, of course. Yet most people I know wouldn’t be heading…
Don’t Let Olympics Coverage Deter You from Russia
I had no idea what a huge deal a snowflake’s refusal to morph into an Olympic ring could be until the global coverage of the snafu at Friday’s opening. That such a commotion was made about a snowflake seems to…
10 Degrees in New York and Wishing I Were in Russia
Living on a lake in a small town in New York, I can’t help but think about winter and warmth and living through the cold. When it’s 10 degrees and even my wood floors are cold, I long for an…