Land or Water

                                       (web picture)

I like to visit islands but I'm not sure if I would like to live on one of them. Islands are small and completely surrounded by water whereas I prefer land. Land gives one the feeling of more stability.

More stability does not necessarily mean more security. I live in a country which has the sea on one side and land on all its other sides, but this land is unfriendly, to say the least.  So, I feel like living on an island from the transport  point of view (to the outer world -by sea and air only), but it's worse than living on an island from other points of view: lack of peace - conflicts and wars with hostile neighboring countries.

Anyway, islands are being marketed to the tourist as little paradises. Many people with money buy a vacation house on the island of their choice. I  once met a nice german woman who possesed such a house on a greek island.  I sometimes found myself thinking about her and  and her property with worry, because of the anti-german sentiments in Greece of the last years as a result of austerity measures imposed on the latter by the EU. 
Now it sems the situation is quiet;  until...next time when Greece needs a  bailout.

Well, nothing is without some risk in this world.

Seeking Equality

                                                          (Web picture)


The other day I bumped into a beggar, not the usual type of beggar . It was a young woman holding in her left hand a plastic jar for coins, and in her right hand a ...smartphone for keeping her company during her sitting (on a chair) and waiting for the coins to come.

That made me think.
I know some families that are clients of the welfare authorities, and not only do they have smartphones but also cars, airconditioners, and other items that are not exactly considered basics.

The above reminded me of an article I once read.   According to that article the task of social welfare nowadays is not only to assure a minimum of living to everyone, but also to seek some sort of equality .

Well, the world is certainly changing.  We live in a society of tremenduous gaps, and this is a very explosive situation that has to be dealt with one way or another . 

Moscow 10 - Old Arbat Street

The 'soul" of Moscow as they call it, is a long pedestrian street full of atmosphere. Easy to get there. At one end, the Arbatskaya metro station, at the other end, the Smolenskaya metro station. 

It has everything;   a bank, a cute post office, theaters, an automatic toilette which opens with a plastic card (obtained by inserting some coins in a slot), the headquarters of Aeroflot - the russian airlines .
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              W.C.- a cop showed me how to get the card that opens it.

                    front of the Vakhtangov State Academic theater

                                                         Post Office at a corner

The street is lined with souvenir shops and  eateries, sprinkled with street performers and art vendors. Amid all this - the house of Alexander Pushkin, the famous russian poet, where he lived for several months with his young wife Natalia.

Teremok - chain food specializing in russian crepes

Paintings for sale

                                        Pushkin's house museum

                      young bronze couple: Pushkin and his beloved

                                                         Pigeons'  vendor

                                         Tai chi demo by the girl in blue

I visited twice: on a cloudy day and on a bright day and enjoyed it on both visits. Perhaps it's not a "must see"  place, but still one that gives much insight into the russian way of life (past and present), and offers a pleasant stroll along an old and famous street.