Muscovite Cafes and Art Galleries

A view from the terrace of Art Strelka, a bar that also hosts film viewings and art lectures
(photo: James Hill for NYT)

I was three times in Moscow, each time for a very few days. Big city, big streets, some mandatory stops in Red Square, Kremlin, that kind of stuff. For guys with good taste, also Vorobyovy Gory, for art lovers some galleries of Russian and Western art, and of course churches.

For the cheesy pies known as khachapuri, head to aptly named Khachapuri, a relaxed cafe with a mostly Georgian staff and a piano player with a penchant for jazz standard
(photo: James Hill for NYT)

Well, it's more. Each place on Earth has its beauties, you need time and patience to find them.

There is the Moscow of Russian literature, you can discover it, with some luck and some imagination. There is history there, lots of history, it is yelling at you, only you need to know how to listen.

Housed in a former bus depot, Garage is one of the few galleries in Moscow devoted to contemporary art
(photo: James Hill for NYT)

And not only literature, not only history. You need to walk on the streets, to hang around by random. You'll find some weird cafes or weird art galleries in weird places you'll find never more, you'll talk with people you'll meet never more, you'll dream. You'll be a free spirit.

An exhibition by Francesco Vezzoli at Garage
(photo: James Hill for NYT)

And you'll get the chance to realize what Moscow means.

(Blogosphere)