Moscow

[The Observer]

Off to Moscow for the next few days, taking in Red Square, vodka, the Metro at night, vodka, borscht, vodka, and more vodka. Oh, and did I mention vodka?

[Thule]

Nemiroff Birch Special. Great stuff!

[Doktor Avalanche]

Off to Moscow for the next few days, taking in Red Square, vodka, the Metro at night, vodka, borscht, vodka, and more vodka. Oh, and did I mention vodka?

Um, I don't think you quite have enough vodka. Then again, you can never have enough vodka.

[obadiah]

Chilled/iced, of course.

[The Observer]

Um, I don't think you quite have enough vodka. Then again, you can never have enough vodka.

Which may be true here. My first vodka was offered at 10:00 AM Moscow time. I later found out that this was not coincidental; liquor stores are not allowed to sell vodka in the evening but can sell during the morning. This is part of an effort to control the alcoholism in Russia. All I can see it doing is getting the drunks up earlier in the day.

And remember when you meet your potential Russian bride for the first time, show some class, do not be nekulturny.

Since my wife is with me, this is unnecessary and unwanted advice. However, since you have not managed to get married yet, this is probably excellent advice for you to follow, no matter which country you are in - even the good old US of A.

Amusing attempts at translating Russian into English bound here. At our hotel breakfast buffet (a very large and nice spread) I noticed one sign over a dispenser of water that said: "Water without Gas." My guess was the hotel wanted it's guests to know that the water was non-carbonated, but when was the last time you saw carbonated water offered at breakfast? As soda for those 10 AM vodka shots?

[Doktor Avalanche]

Um, I don't think you quite have enough vodka. Then again, you can never have enough vodka.

Which may be true here. My first vodka was offered at 10:00 AM Moscow time. I later found out that this was not coincidental; liquor stores are not allowed to sell vodka in the evening but can sell during the morning. This is part of an effort to control the alcoholism in Russia. All I can see it doing is getting the drunks up earlier in the day.

I'm surprised they can afford it. I read somewhere that after the fall of communism, steep taxes priced regular vodka out of the range of the average working man to such an extent that they've taken to that horrible of substitutes - surrogate alcohol.

To wit, aftershave.

(If any of you don't know what surrogate alcohol is just know that your liver has decided not to take a restraining order out on you.)

I've been told the problem is so bad that aftershave companies have taken to marketing their product inside what looks to be a liquor bottle because, let's face it, drinking from an aftershave bottle looks kind of lame.