So Sonia and I started out together because she had to go downtown and I was going to meet Anna at the exhibit. I noticed that, in some places, the ice has been chipped off the sidewalks and you can even see the pavement in some places. But it usually only lasts about 50 feet until you hit another long patch of ice. They’ve got ice chunks piled up in the pedestrian zone. I’m presuming they might come in and remove them during the week.
I Got to the exhibit all right and rented another audio guide for the historical portion from 1917 to the present. Nothing runs here without bureaucracy, of course, so I had to show my passport and fill out and sign two forms to rent the audio guide. So, armed with my audio guide and earphones, we started to make our way through. This portion was just as thorough as the pre-revolutionary portion. And I found it pretty even-handed. There was criticism of Lenin, Stalin and the Bolsheviks. Aturally things are from a Russian point of view, which is sometimes different from how I learned it in school. It’s interesting to see the different perspectives.
Before we left the exhibit, we wrote in the guest book. And of course, the ladies at the info desk wanted to know if I had enjoyed it. The citizens of Kazan really want to leave foreigners with a good impression and want to make sure they have enjoyed themselves. Even when I got on the bus and asked a guy if it was going to the place I wanted to go, he made sure he sat near me to tell me when my stop was. The people here just make you feel so welcome.
After the exhibit we headed back to the pedestrian zone where we ate at a great Italian restaurant. We yakked for 2 hours before I headed home on the subway. The walk home from the Metro was invigorating, but I wasn’t cold. The worst part is when I have to take off a mitten to fish a scented German kleenex out of pocket and blow my nose.
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