CNNGo.com |
| Posted: 26 Aug 2012 09:10 AM PDT by Joy Neumeyer Moscow suggests that age-old cliche, "a city of contrasts:" onion domes and concrete, avant-garde and bureaucracy, Vogue-thin beauties and sour cream-smothered beets -- not to mention a populace as given to partying as it is to quoting Pushkin. For visitors, the heavier side of the Russian capital has often outweighed the light, but in the past few years the best of Moscow has gained a serious spring in its step. Now, disused factories host cafés and art galleries. Concrete-heavy parks sport free Wi-Fi and table tennis. Chefs whip heavy pelmeni and borscht into airy new concoctions. English-language signs guide visitors through ancient streets. While this city of 11.5 million residents modernizes (some estimates place the population as high as 17 million), remnants of the Soviet past remain just below the surface. Behemoths such as Stalin's Gothic Baroque skyscrapers have triumphed against the course of history. But treasured spots like bliny cafés, a proletarian palace, and other landmarks struggle to survive. read more     |
| You are subscribed to email updates from CNNGo.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
