Ugly Times

If ever you are thinking about coming to Russia, DO NOT choose to come during the middle of March to the middle of April. Why? Well, now is the slow transition from winter to spring, one that is filled with lots and lots of melting snow, slush, muddy walkways, and very ugly looking piles of snow. Of all of those, the worst, I think, is the snow piles. Unfortunately, there is tons of trash thrown into the snow, and so during this time of diminishing snow, it is almost as if the trash is being regurgitated. It is really just one big eyesore.

Not only is it rather unpleasent to walk along and see such ugliness, to navigate asphalt rivers (that is how it has been, on particularly "warm," sunny days), and trudging through inches of slop, it is still rather cold and unpleasant. I think that we have topped out so far at about 50, but usually are hovering around 40-ish. But, I must say, that after a hard winter, like this past one was, 50 feels rather nice, not at all cold--as it would be considered by most people in my home state of California.

Well, now, however, most all of the snow in Moscow is melted. One big excepting is right in front of our apartment entryway. Unfortunately, there are two things that are hindering us from having a snow-free portal. First, is that the snow has been mounded up right in front of our door. Unfortunately, it hasn't simply been snow, but also tons of ice, which will take longer to melt. At its peak, the pile was, I would guesstimate, around 8 feet in height. Also, it doesn't help that our entrance is shaded by the building from the spring sun, which probably has done more to extend the life of the snow than anything else has.