Those that are not familiar with Russian cities are sometimes confused to hear about “kremlins,” yes, in plural. It is a common misconception that Kremlin is a landmark of Moscow, the country’s capital. Some red and cool place for tourists to hang out and take way too many selfies. In reality, the word simply translates […]
Pizza is pizza. It is impossible for me to put what I truly feel about it into words. There were times when I was a huge sucker for ramen, or for lahmacun. Those all came and went. I am not saying that I do not enjoy them anymore, it is just that the “craze” or
Finding out what to do in a free weekend can be, at times, an overwhelming experience if you are in a country or city that you are not familiar with. You do not necessarily know “the good spots” let alone the “hidden gems.” This is made harder if the local dialect is alien to you,
Keeping Up with the Nizhny Novgorodians: Online Catalogues for Events in the City Read More »
Some people are shocked, if not a bit annoyed, when I say that walking is a hobby of mine. They likely assume that I am talking about a short daily commute, but in reality, what I mean by walking being a hobby of mine is that I can walk for 30 kms and upwards a
When Walking Around Becomes a Hobby: Parks of Nizhny Novgorod Read More »
We all know that falafel comes in many different sizes, portions, levels of crunchiness, and just overall style. Nizhny has its fair share of interesting falafel offerings, three of which I wanted to share with you fine folks. These are certainly a great alternative to the mostly meat-oriented budget eats that one can find around
Last week we went over some of the finest shawarma spots in Nizhny Novgorod. It goes without saying that, traditionally, these delicious wraps all have some meat products in them, often chicken or beef. Interestingly though, or should I say interesting for me coming from Turkey, there are in fact some vegetarian shawarmas in Russia
Shawarmas… You like them, I like them, everybody likes them. More importantly, everybody has an opinion on which vendors sells the best shawarma in town, and rightfully so. Knowing that this will likely be one of my most controversial pieces up to date, I nonetheless decided that it was high time to write about the
Calling Nizhny Novgorod a holy city may be going a step too far, but it is a considerably religious place for sure. It is not Mecca, nor Jerusalem, and given its location far away from the birthplace of the Abrahamic trio, it does not really harbour any specific “original holy” sites that relate to this
It would not be an exaggeration if I said that hailing the New Year is the most crucial celebration for most Russians today. It also often means spending some serious family time. In that sense, one may argue that it sort of takes the place of Christmas that one may be familiar from Western/non-Orthodox countries.
Celebrating the New Year in the Russian Federation Read More »
Every so often, I come across a few small details about a city that I am in and have a hard time fitting that “thing” into a bigger narrative thus finding it difficult to write an entire post about it. This means that sometimes a lot must remain untold due to me not being able
Miscellaneous Bits and Pieces About Nizhny Novgorod Read More »