Red Corner: Cuban Time Warp

by Neil Woodburn on

One of the most remarkable joys about travel is not so much a shift in geography, but in time. I’ve been fortunate to travel to many places where very little of the modern world has infiltrated and by merely visiting, one is magically whisked back to another era. Such locations are extraordinarily rare these days, but do indeed exist.

Cuba is one such place. Castro’s fiefdom is virtually frozen in the mid-1950s when communism took root and America slapped back with an economic blockade. As a result, the entire Caribbean island is like a museum of the past. For the most part, not a smidgen of post-1950s can be seen anywhere. One can stand in the middle of a Havana street with only a couple of 1950 Fords and Edsels to keep you company; there are no billboard advertisements, neon signs, halogen street lamps, or Neiman Marcus-wearing pedestrians. Just the 1950s, pure and simple.

An excellent LA Times article in last Sunday’s paper covers these themes and also addresses something equally as important: the challenge of actually visiting a country which the US government forbids its citizens to step foot on.

Go now before McDonald’s arrives.

Red Corner: More Fun with Moscow Ice

by Neil Woodburn on

On a related note, immediately after finishing yesterday’s post about the dangers of too much wintertime ice in Moscow, I came across the following article in the LA Times discussing an apparently positive attribute of such bitterly cold winters: the Russian passion for ice swimming.

Despite a cold wave currently sweeping the country that is bad for even Russia, the crazies are still digging holes through the Moscow River ice and plunging in for some heart-stopping R & R. Although the article focuses on the ancient Epiphany holiday which draws the religious to the frigid waters, the author is quick to point out that countless Russians engage in this strange sport throughout the winter.

As a tourist, I’m sure you can join in as well. Just stay away from the vodka to warm you up afterwards. Every year, countless drunks pass out in snow banks throughout Moscow and aren’t found again until spring. Don’t be one of them.

Red Corner: Moscow Ice

by Neil Woodburn on

There is something legendary about Russian winters. They are brutal, cold, and unforgiving. Indeed, with the possible exception of Moses returning the Red Sea to its unparted state, no single natural phenomenon has wiped out more soldiers than the Russian winter.

Three years ago, I went to experience this killer winter myself by celebrating New Year’s Eve in Red Square . It was indeed, the coldest I’ve ever been. Hitler was crazy to march his troops here.

The funny thing about Moscow , however, is that Stalin decided to build most of it out of marble in order to impress the world. Marble and cold weather, however, is a very bad combination. The result is killer ice. During winter, the entire city becomes one giant ice rink as pedestrians slip, fall and crack limbs on an apocalyptic scale. In my short week in Moscow , I managed to fall several times and injure not only myself in the process but others as well. One time in Red Square , I started to slip and threw my arms up in the air to regain my balance. Unfortunately, I was holding on to the strap of my camera. The camera swung up in a big loop and came crashing down on some poor girl’s head where it immediately splintered into a handful of pieces. Another time I lost it going down some stairs. I fell on my ass and bumped down 20-30 stairs before plowing into two very old women near the bottom.

I didn’t realize I was one of the lucky ones to escape more serious injury-although I’m not sure about my victims. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to come across the following amusing, yet very dark, article in my favorite expat newspaper, the Exile. If you’re planning on visiting Moscow in the winter, you definitely want to read this first.

Red Corner

by Neil Woodburn on

Prior to 1989, a large swath of Planet Earth was virtually inaccessible to Western visitors. Thanks to the Russian Revolution launched by Vladimir Lenin in 1917, communism spread with alarming malignancy, imprisoning entire countries and cutting them off from the outside world. Although persistent (and perhaps sadistic) adventurers could muddle through suffocating mounds of red tape to organize limited travel beyond the Iron Curtain, they faced state-sponsored tours, bugged hotel rooms, and “city visas” that made it illegal to travel outside predetermined locations.

Most people, myself included at the time, simply had no desire to visit the godless, Red Menace of bread lines and Siberian Gulag camps. Indeed, this part of the world was viewed in much the same manner as Afghanistan and Iraq are unfortunately viewed today. Very few western publishing houses even printed travel guides to this region of the world. The first USSR Lonely Planet guide wasn’t printed until December 1991-at which point it immediately became outdated as the Soviet Union collapsed that very month.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent domino of revolutions which followed, eradicated communism from most of this planet. It also opened up a fascinatingly diverse region of extraordinary travel opportunities untainted by tourist traps, McDonalds and western awareness. Ever heard of Lake Baikal, Samarkand or Kazbegi? Probably not. But, believe me, this is your loss.

Red Corner is a new feature here on Gadling. The term refers to the small shrine present in every Soviet factory that paid homage to Lenin and the glories of communism. Here on Gadling, the aim of Red Corner is to pay homage to the numerous travel gems hidden for so long behind the Iron Curtain. Travel to this region is still fraught with its share of challenges, but that is what makes it all the more rewarding.