We’ve just returned from a couple of weeks in the south of
France. Sunny, with temperatures in the high 20s. Arrived back in Moscow to
bleak skies and snowflakes yesterday.
During the Second World War (Great Patriotic War to the locals) the Russians managed a remarkable
feat in moving much of their heavy industry east of the Urals, out of bombing
range. So here’s a suggestion – move Moscow south to the warmer Black Sea coast.
Shouldn’t take more than a few years
with a determined effort. Might be a bit of work, but afterwards everyone will
be saying ‘why didn’t we do that ages ago?’. Might even see some smiles on gloomy
Muscovite faces.
On to the theme of this post. Many cities in
Europe are closely linked to the rivers that run through them. Think of Paris,
think of the Seine. London – Thames. Vienna – Danube. Rome – Tiber (did you really
know that last one?).
Here’s a challenge – can you name the rivers that run
through these European cities?
Berlin - Madrid –
Oslo – Prague. Answers below.
In Moscow it is, sensibly enough, called the Moscow River.
What to say about it?. It’s quite wide. It flows past one of
the long walls of the Kremlin. It freezes in winter. Visitors can cruise up it in
tour boats in summer. The banks of the river provide the only hills in the
otherwise flat landscape of Moscow (Sparrow Hills even has a ski lift - see my
very first post). So there you have it.
 |
| Moscow University's 'Stalin skyscraper'. |
 |
| Moscow City |
 | |||
| Another of the seven 'Stalin skyscrapers' - now the Radisson Hotel |
 |
| Covered pedestrian bridge near Kievskaya |
 |
| Evening cruise - just add wine |
Berlin – Spree; Madrid – Manzanares; Oslo – two rivers, the Akerselva
and the Alna; Prague – Vltava (hands up if you said Danube).
No comments:
Post a Comment