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| Lovely bathroom, just missing the toilet. |
During the 60s the Soviets put a man in space but at the same time, and throughout the next two decades Muscovites grew quite used to the fact that their televisions would spontaneously explode.
Boom.
As I sit in my huge, gorgeously superfluous apartment, wondering what Soviet Commander lived here and how horrified he would be with my two American princesses and their suitcase full of Disney crap, I have decided to educate you on why the USSR now only exists in history books and on hipster t shirts.
S.
We moved again-more on that later-and are now in a huge apartment, far more than anyone could ever need. It has beautifully painted tiling, an arched column entryway, tray ceilings with molding, a sitting room with a fireplace, and three spacious bedrooms. It also has air conditioning that works perfectly-in the room that has no furniture. The air conditioning in the bedroom and kitchen/front room area do not work.
O.
It has three bathrooms. Which, if you put them all together would actually equal one working bathroom. The one with the working shower (minus the fact that the drain is plugged so you have to turn off the water before it overflows), does not have a toilet-just a bidet. Now you could ask why have a bidet at all, but the real question is why have a bidet without a toilet in the same room?
V.
The other bathroom has a bath with a sprayer, but you cannot take a shower with it because there is no divider at all and the water just sprays all over the floor. And the drain is clogged too.
I.
The third bathroom has a washer and a sink and toilet. So if you want to bathe and use the toilet during your morning or evening ritual, you must use two different bathrooms.
E.
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| Opulent wealth makes her cranky. |
T.
My friends, the philosophy and acceptance of such a way of living is what tore down that wall. That, and nothing else. I do not ramble on about air conditioning and bathrooms to complain. We're just fine. But the sheer ludicrousness of the apartment is only one example, I could give you a dozen more, of such a culture that cannot maintain any kind of stable infrastructure for a set period of time.
History lesson over
Sunday we decided to move back to our first apartment. The water was back on, it was cheaper, the one we were staying in wasn't available the 3rd through the 8th anyway, so, Poshli-Let's go! I got a migraine early on in the morning which made packing and moving extra fun. But, we hadn't brought much stuff and didn't move very far, so oh well. We returned to our cozy little nest, fresh with the smell of dirty dishes that have been sitting in 93 degree weather for 2 days. And, we decided to eat out :)
I've been quite ashamed of not having gone to any museums-I mean, we've been here almost three weeks-what have I been doing?! So we decided to start with the Ukrainian National Art Museum. Maybe you would pick something different to do on a beautifully sunny day, 93 degrees, but museums are full of nice cool marble so it sounded perfect to me!
Sadly, the museum was yet another symbol of needed change in this fascinating yet tragic country. The entrance was overgrown and in shambles. The bookstore closed, its shelves bare. The ground floor exhibit was hastily thrown together, not all cataloged or even labeled, and barred from touch by police tape. Oh so ironically, the exhibit was on the extravagance of the previous administration-the one that led to the protests and war-and displayed all the luxury items that were confiscated form his household. Priceless antiques depicting saints and revered poets, gilded artifacts, self portraits with his wife-showing her as a tsarina, books that he never read, and art that he never appreciated. There was a touching epitaph that closed the exhibit, stating, "At large, bad taste is a diagnosis that could be set for the entire post-Soviet Ukrainian elite. Future politicians must realize a very simple thing: bad taste is unacceptable. Impertinent luxury in a poor country is unacceptable."Take that Soviet Commander with three bathrooms.
Upstairs was Ukrainian art, a floor devoted to the history of this country's greatest artists. Now, I put in the picture below because whenever I am at a museum, I always know what art I am going to see beforehand, so as I enter a room, I look for it. My happiest moment is not when I am standing right next to it, studying the method and appreciating the lines, no, my happiest moment is the first glimpse. It tells me, you're here, you did it, it's yours to admire and remember forever.
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| Alexandra Exter |
Months ago I wrote to you about these artists, Alexandra Exter, Rozanova, Rodchenko. Ukrainian artists at the top of their field, impacting and challenging the art world of the early 20th century. So of course I loved seeing their art and it was especially meaningful to see it in their homeland museum. But bittersweet that the museum is in such a state of neglect and unfair that I saw more of their art when visiting museums in Russia and New York than in their own homeland.
This is the paradox. Ukraine, now and throughout its history showcases incredible people, smart, talented, passionate. They are work against a tidal wave, trying to change the current in a swirling ocean of built in atrophy and ambivalence. They fight time, tradition, and in some cases their own people. But they will keep fighting and we could learn much from their resilience and resourcefulness.
Dinner on the way home was a yummy French restaurant and another testimony to the cosmopolitan nature of this city. Also fun because as soon as we walked in the waited shooed us upstairs-with a bossy politeness that can only come from the French-so that they could show Ice Age 2 for the girls while we ate dinner.
Well, okay!
Get ready for Monday, it's a doozy!
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