sheep in the city

Wow! That's so exciting! I hope you & your cousin have a great time. How wonderful for her to soon see her new baby :)

Hi there. I read regularly...comment sparcely. But, I've been to Moscow...so if you have any questions just ask and I'll try to answer. I went before I knit...so I didn't buy yarn. But, I came home with a gorgeous shawl that I bought from an elderly woman on the street. My translator told me that she had knit it herself. I paid $10 for it!!! And that was generous on my part. Things have changed with the Russian economy though since I visited in 1993. I hope you have a great time!!! Can't wait to see the photos.

Wow! What an adventure! You should post in the Traveling Stitches group on Ravelry - there's folks in there who have been all over the world. I bet one of them would have some details for you.

holy crap that is SO cool! congrats

Take something to make for the new baby!

Take something to make for the new baby!

Sorry I hit the button twice! I got overly excted for you! I also meant to say that I will be praying for you and your cousin and the baby for a safe trip.

Wow! What a great opportunity! I can't wait to see pictures!

Wow, how exciting!

can't wait to see pics of Russia and the newest member of the family!

That's so cool! I'm sure you'll have a great time, and something extra special to share with your cousin and her family!

Make sure you can take knitting needles and what kinds are allowed by the different airlines. still no scissors or shampoo bottles or water or anything, though, I don't think, are allowed. I've heard many stories about real Orenburg shawls being sold for cheap over there... and it would be very cool to buy for you AND for the baby so the baby has something(s) of its heritage.

You are going somewhere I always wanted to go, I love Russian. OMH! Ya ne znahyou (I don't know), Ya (I) ne (not) pa-knee-my-you (understand).

Enjoy!

Wonderful! I'm so excited for you. I love to travel and have been to several countries, so I'm always excited when someone goes on an overseas trip for the first time - Mexico and the Bahamas do count, but Russia is a biggie. Good luck and have fun.

Wow, how exciting!!! Both bringing a new family member home with you, and going to Russia!

Like someone said, make sure you check if knitting needles are allowed or not, and I strongly recommend that you bring yarn and needles separate if you do plan on knitting on the plane, just in case they take your needles (so you won't have to drop the project from the needles). It's really tricky. Even if it says on the airline's website that they allow knitting needles, the security people at the airports might have a different opinion.
I flew Sweden - UK - Canada a while back, and brought bamboo needles. They were accepted (I didn't ask, just brought them along, but they went through all the hefty security checks), but I have heard from many knitters whose needles were confiscated. So, it really is a lottery.
Needles made of wood is def. the safest option.

Another tip, concerning luggage in general, is to check and check and recheck the airports' websites to see what you are allowed to bring on the planes. It changes quite a lot. During my trip, I saw sooo many people who had to check in some of their carry-on stuff at extra costs, because they had too much, for example.

Heathrow, London, is by far the strictest airport I've been through. If you're going through there, make sure you know the luggage rules that *they* have. It may differ from what your "home aiport" says, a lot. For example, they only allow one piece of carry-on. Not carry-on bag + handbag or camera, for example.

Sorry if I'm rambling :), it's just that I saw so many unhappy travellers who had to repack or pay extra fees for checking in carry-on's or even leave things behind.

Have a super trip!

I have been to Russia - Moscow 20 years ago, I went to the summer camp there, we studied russian back at school. It was communist country then, so after 1989 it changed so much I wouldn´t recognize it now. Can´t really recomend any yarn store :)But I am sure you will have a great time. Enjoy it :)

Do I even need to say...TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES? :) What a wonderful experience! I hope that you do learn how to say yarn in Russian.

Wow, Wow, Wow! How very exciting! This is so wonderful I can hardly speak/type! I am sure you will have a wonderful time! Take lots of pictures so that we can partake in your awesome adventure:)

Oh I am so happy for you. I would bew very honored as well. Oh you will have so much fun as this babe comes into your lives. Have a great trip.

While it has been 17 years since I have been to Moscow, the Kremlin is a can't miss with three cathedrals inside the wall. Also try to catch a circus performance if you can.

Have a fantastic trip!

How exciting! Another baby to knit for and international travel!

I read a lot of knitting blogs, but I don't actually comment too often. However, I had to leave you a message to let you know that a woman who writes another knit blog I read regularly has visited Russia - maybe a year ago, I think. You should send her a message! Her blog is called, "Unfurnished Brooklyn". Hope you have a wonderful adventure!

I read a lot of knitting blogs, but I don't actually comment too often. However, I had to leave you a message to let you know that a woman who writes another knit blog I read regularly has visited Russia - maybe a year ago, I think. You should send her a message! Her blog is called, "Unfurnished Brooklyn". Hope you have a wonderful adventure!

Hey, wow, that's me you linked to in your post! I've spent a little over two years living in Russia, on separate trips, in Petersburg, Moscow and Ivanovo. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions, but a few notes:

Moscow changes a LOT every day - my husband is there now (I'm going there Oct 29th for an 8-month trip) and he says prices are much higher even than 3 years ago, when I was last there. After factoring in the fallen dollar, most things cost about twice as much as they did on my last trip. That means that essentially you should expect NYC prices. So I'm not counting on yarn bargains this time! That said, it's still totally worth visiting the factory shop for one of the main Russian yarn producers - the yarn company is called Semyonovskaia, and the factory store is at Semyonovskaia square (it's a little tricky to explain the directions, but I found that it's easiest to just take the metro to the Semyonovskaia square stop, then follow the line of women holding bags full of yarn...). There is (or was) also a nice little shop right on a main downtown square at metro Kitai-Gorod. Unfortunately the Russian word for yarn is incredibly hard to pronounce (I've been working on my Russian for 14 years and I still can't really say it right...), but you should learn to recognize it in cyrillic, since shops usually have that word displayed prominently! A picture of the word in Russian is on my web page that you linked to - print that out if you have to so you'll recognize it when you see it!

Also, you might want to go to the Izmailovskii market. It's a huge outdoor marketplace for all kinds of things, including furs, wooden things, amber, knitted shawls, antiques (which you can't take through customs easily so I wouldn't try it..), etc. Note that any knitted shawl you get for around $10 is NOT a traditional Orenburg shawl, made from Orenburg goat down. Those cost at least $100 even in Russia. The ones you can get for circa $10 are lower quality down, wool or mohair, and much simpler patterns, but still very nice (I bought one). Be careful when buying yarn or knitted goods of getting dog hair (unless you want that). Russians use the same word ("sherst'") for all kinds of animal fiber, and dog is used a lot. So just smell what you're buying.

If you have any sensitivity at all to animal suffering, I wouldn't go to the circus. Instead, go to the ballet or the opera. Tickets are no longer dirt cheap, but they're still a good bargain for the quality of what you'll see, and the experience of seeing a show at the Bolshoi is very much worth it. Matinees are a good idea for reasonable prices. Or try the puppet theater.

I recommend taking one of the river boat tours, if the weather's nice. It's a great way to see the city, and the view of the kremlin from the river is unforgettable. Also, be sure to go inside St. Basil's - it's awesomely labyrinthine and atmospheric. And the kremlin tours are great. Go inside every cool church you see. Some are museums that require an entrance fee, but working churches are open to the public all the time - but it's a good idea to have a little scarf in your purse that you can put on your head when you go into a church. While they're usually used to tourists, it's more respectful to cover your head. I also like to go to metro Tretiakovskaia and just walk around. It's an old part of the city that's less formal than the red square area. You won't have much time, I know, but if you happen to be near the Novodevichy monastery, it's a beautiful place to walk. If you have the opportunity to see any kind of estate/palace ensemble type place, do it.

And don't forget to knit in public! You'll probably at least get a few smiles, and that's rare enough for Muscovites in public to be very worth it! (and don't let it get you down that the public Russian face tends to be a grumpy one - they're totally different in more interpersonal situations.)

Some tips on food: if you want local, eat at a Georgian restaurant. Georgian is by far the most reliably good food from the former Soviet Republics. Central Asian is also really good. If you're eating Russian food, I find that it's almost always safe to pick a mushroom dish. I tend to stay away from meats and, sadly, fresh things because minor food poisoning is all too common. Soups are good, but they almost always put sour cream in it, so I tend to just eat less food overall, because otherwise I end up feeling bloated and icky from all the heaviness and fat. The fresh bread is fantasic, and pastries in general are usually good. Bliny (crepes) are a safe bet. If you don't like beets and they keep offering you borshch, ask for solyanka (usually available with fish or meat) which has everything but beets in it, or for a mushroom soup, which will be most like an American vegetable soup, often with barley in it.

A few words on safety: the basic urban safety tips all apply, of course, but there are a few things peculiar to Russia. First and foremost, the police are NOT your friend! There are a million different kinds and divisions of police and military, and they're all over the place. Most of the guys you see on the street are retired from the army (often having seen hellacious service in Chechnya), aren't getting paid, and have nothing better to do but harass people. Just don't make eye-contact. If you get stopped by police for any reason, try to speak *really* bad Russian (they usually get so frustrated with this that they decide it's easier to leave you alone) and insist on calling the embassy on your cell phone - and do so!! Having a cell phone there is essential. If you do need to ask someone for help or directions or whatever, ask an old lady or a hotel employee, but never any kind of police/military personnel. Also - pick-pocketing is very common. Be especially careful of backpacks, esp on the escalators in the metro. Metro entrances are always full of people and you should be particularly self-aware. Most pick-pocketers in my experience are little Russian boys or gypsies who hang around tourist sites and the metro. Also - Moscow drivers are notorious. Be twice as careful crossing the streets as you would be in NYC (no - three times more careful), and always take a pedestrian underpass when you can. Don't carry a lot of cash, pay in rubles not dollars as much as possible, and carry what cash you do have in different places on your person (I always put some in my bra, and the rest in various different pockets of my purse/wallet). And watch out for stray dogs. They're all over the place, and usually they just sleep in the sun in a corner somewhere, but sometimes they fight, and when stupid people have been feeding them they can get a little frisky (unfortunately, this usually happens around metro entrances, but usually not in the city center where you'll probably be). Just keep your distance. I don't mean to scare you at all, it's just that Moscow can be a little different, so you should know what to expect and what to do about it.

And don't forget to have an awesome time!!!!

I almost forgot the most important tip of all: when you need a bathroom in downtown Moscow, go to a five-star hotel!!! There's always a bathroom in the lobby and the employees are nearly always very nice. Also a good place to safely use an ATM, to ask for directions or pick up a map or English-language newspaper while you're there. Try the local English-language Moscow Times - it's a great paper and it's free! Just ignore the young Russian prostitutes hanging out in the lobby looking for (and finding) rich Western businessmen....! For all these reasons, it might be a good idea when out wandering around to mark the major hotels on your map, so you can plan for bathroom stops.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Take lots of pictures to share. A relative who grew up in Russia (Moscow) but now lives in Germany came to visit one year and we drove her to Taos. She said the drive from Denver to New Mexico looked like Siberia. Let me know if that is true or not, I found that hard to believe!

I'm so excited for you and for Terri, I can't wait to meet our newest cousin soon!

Wow! I'm a little behind on my feeds! What exciting news! I'm so envious. I hope you take loads of pictures to share!

Very cool that you get to take this trip! Do you think that I'm worthy of a postcard? Have a great time and travel safe :)