Our Little Russian Apartment.

We made it to Moscow safe and sound!  The first night I felt pretty overwhelmed when it hit me: I am helpless here without Tim. I'm sure I could get by, but only if I don't have to talk to anyone or read any signs (a.k.a., I will probably spend a good part of this summer lost and/or confused). Hopefully I'll be able to work on my Russian as quickly as possible, so that I can at least say some elementary phrases. 

In the meantime, I want to show you our apartment! We knew it would be furnished, but we were both expecting something a lot plainer, I think.  It's an adorable apartment.  

Here's our front door:

Most Russian apartments have someone that watches the door on the ground level.  To get in to your apartment, you have to buzz yourself in to the building with a door key, then pass by the door guard.  Then you ride the elevator up to your floor.  Once you're there, you use another key to get into your hallway.  Then, once you're in your hallway, you unlock your door.

With two keys.

Suffice it to say, I'm not really worried about getting robbed up here.

We're on the uppermost floor of the building, so we ride the elevator 8 floors up. I'll have to take a picture of the Russian elevator for you some time--I seriously considered taking the stairs when I saw it. 

Yes, I consider hiking up 8 floors instead of taking that elevator.  Just wait until you see it.

P.S.--the fisheye photos are taken courtesy of Olloclip. You should get one.  They're great.

Here's a shot of our bathroom:

Russian apartments are the epitome of space savers.  Everything is tucked away and every corner is used.  This apartment is actually pretty spacious, all things considered.

 Other side of the bathroom (that tub is bigger than ours at home). I am not entirely sure what that little sink by the toilet is--we thought it might be a bidet, but I don't know if I've ever seen one like that. Leave a comment if you know.

I don't know how well it turned out, but I tried to take a panorama of our sitting room:

The door at the far end leads to the entry way, and the one on the left leads to the bedroom.  One cool thing about this place: every single painting I've looked at is real.  Most of them are just from contemporary old-style painters, so they're not valuable by any stretch, but as an artist, I appreciate the non-hotel art decision.  A LOT.

I am absolutely in love with the quaint Victorian vibe.  It's awesome.  There are rugs in every room and I love it.

Here's the bedroom: 

Our window looking out on Moscow:

Probably my favorite thing about the apartment is all the detail.  

 Here's the entry room.  I'm taking it from the perspective of the front door, if you've just walked in.  From left to right: kitchen door, living room door, and (not pictured) bathroom door.

Most Russian apartments are designed in a way that allows you to compartmentalize.  So, all the doors can shut and separate the rooms from one another.  Even the kitchen has a door.

Here's the view looking into our kitchen:

And from the end of the kitchen looking back to the table:

I'm pretty sure this kitchen is bigger than mine in Nashville.  At least, it's wider, that's for sure.  We lucked out and have not only a stove, but also an oven, a toaster, a microwave, and a DISHWASHER. That is awesome.

This is an extra room off of our kitchen.  Both couches in the apartment also pull out into beds (a classic Russian space-saving move), so we have PLENTY of room for visitors...just sayin'...

 The view from our bedroom.

 Close up shot of our kitchen.  They have little knick knacks from everywhere.  Notice anything...I don't know...out of place?

We call him Fred.

Our eating nook.

I love this plate wall.  Aubry, do you approve?

Okay, let me show you our view from our window.  Most of these pictures I took with my iPhone, because I'm too lazy and also I don't really know how to use our expensive camera. (Help.)  

Buuuut I did take a couple shots yesterday of the views from our window with our other camera.  We are located pretty close to the center of Moscow, which is great. 

Here's a panorama from our window:

Some close-up shots:

I can't get enough of those golden domes.

These two, below, are two of the Seven Sisters, skyscrapers built in the Lenin-style built from 1947-1953.  They both have the Communist stars atop.

We looked out last night and I think we saw another one, too.

Needless to say, I am thrilled about our living situation. Our apartment is everything we could have imagined and more.  Our nearest Supermarket (Супермаркет) is within walking distance, so that makes things a lot easier.  We are close to the Metro stops and to Tim's internship, and we're pretty centrally located in Moscow.  Here's a map of where we are: 

 If anyone wants to come visit, we have room. Seriously.

That's all.