We have been fortunate to get a bit of travel in as we had a few days in
Innsbruck,
Austria, and Tim to
Moscow Russia on a business trip.
Jayne is In London, England visiting family and we will update that trip in our next posting.
Innsbruck is a beautiful city that is sandwiched in a river valley with the Austrian Alps overlooking the city on either side.
We had beautiful weather and we were able to enjoy the old city charms from balcony’s clad with choirs singing and trumpeters playing to wine cellars with samplings for 2 dollars a glass.
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| Cheers and Happy New Year! |
Moscow was not a place that a child from the cold war era would ever expect to spend some time, never mind
Red Square or the Kremlin.
The greater metro area has a population of about 15 million and as many cars.
The weather was cool with constant light snow that turns to brown slush from the cars instantly.
The city is quite north so daylight arrives at 11 am and leaves at 4pm, so with the combination of snow and little light it was a week long visit in the dark.
Sergey our man in
Moscow, says that the KGB still likes to keep it that way so that we westerners are always a little fearful of Russians
J The city is booming and shopping is a national pass time. The Moscovites are living off of an oil rich economy and still not trusting government tend to spend all their money in case it becomes worthless or communism returns. There is no manufacturing and the recent demonstrations have made Russians nervous about the future. This has caused nearly a 80 billion dollar outflow over the past few months. It is difficult for Russians to invest in their economy until they are sure that they will get to reap the rewards. They are living a fairly good standard of living, as we found that virtually every conceivable item from the west was for sale in vast quantities, and with a flat 13 percent income tax rate, this has allowed for hyper consumerism.
From a business perspective this is good for adidas Group and we plan to build over 200 stores in the Commonwealth of Independent States. It's an organization of 11 former Soviet Union republics, including
Russia.
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| 2012 Lada |
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| The Lada we remember! |
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| Red Square |
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| Standing on the markers where the tanks are lined up for propoganda |
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| This is the 0 mile marker where all distances in Russia are measured from Moscow |
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The Kremlin - Putin says to say hello!
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| Micky D's facing the Kremlin so governent workers can enjoy American food for lunch. Who would have thought it ???? |
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| There are about a half dozen churches within the walls of the Kremlin dating from the late 1400's |
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| Soldiers still patrol the Kremlin |
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| Most Moscow shopping centers hold a free public skating rink and the stores rival anything in North America |
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This grocery store was so big it required over 70 check outs. I don't think the shelve are bare anymore.
May your travels always be safe, and we will update once Jayne returns from England!
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