While the day is unmistakeably about the armed forces, the spirit in Panfilov Park is decidedly festive. A little train weaves its way among the crowds and picnickers spread their blankets and feasts on the grass among the trees. Young people dress up in military uniforms and pose for photos with passersby and everywhere you look there are flowers, Flags, balloons, and orange and black striped ribbons.
While a large portion of North America and parts of Europe were taking a battering from big snow storms this week, the city of Almaty has been in the full-on embrace of spring. Most people in Kazakhstan will tell you that spring begins on March first. Most years this is probably just wishful thinking. This year, however, March first saw a dramatic warming of the weather. By March fifth, most of the snow was melted and sidewalks began to show through the thinning layers of ice and sand. By the time the Nauriz Holiday began on the 20th, it was warm enough to venture outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt. |
| A valley just west of Almaty and the site of my first hike of the season |
Spring also brings me back to the blog that I have so sorely neglected these last two months. I apologize to the seven of you who read every post and have been missing me (I'll try not to let it happen again). So in the spirit of new beginnings and fresh starts: Happy Friday, Happy Spring, Happy Easter everyone.
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| Skiers at Shymbulak January, 2013 |
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| A man cross-country Ski-ing in Gagarina Park, Almaty |
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| Almaty HC January, 2013 |
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| Shymbulak by night from the Gondola |
On the corner of Gogol and Furmanova, tucked in under an overhang and almost hiding beside a large pharmacy (more on that later) sits a little bookshop called Академкнига (academic books - established in 1950). Now, don't get the wrong idea, Almaty has plenty of bookstores - we have the large, sterile, Barnes & Noble-esque establishments of Meloman and Booking, and the little tiny mall bookstores and even a couple of amazing Kazakh bookstores, but this shop is different. This shop is something pretty special. |
| Gagarina Park's Golden Autumn, October 2012 |
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| Tree branches were down all over town. |
"Baum's Grove" is actually the Almaty Canal Park. The canal area (currently holding only a small layer of water that is home only to algae and frogs) has been developed for summer water fun. a set of four water slides line the park and one side has a very shallow grade to allow for wading or even swimming. The park also has an extensive, largely un-groomed, forest area to the north of the canal which is what I saw from the train window. This forest has many walking (or biking) paths, some planned, others not so much. It is the perfect place for a quite walk, or a long bike ride.
All spring Almaty has been a parade of blooming plants. When the Tulips stopped
blooming, the bushes and trees began, now those blooms have turned to
thick green foliage and the roses have burst forth. It makes sense that Almaty would have a festival dedicated to plants and flowers.
This morning, a colleague and I set off to "Astana Square" (commonly called the "Old Square" or "Old Republic Square" by locals) to see what was going on at the local flower festival. We found the streets adjacent to the park blocked off and lined with tents containing exhibits and plants. A large stage featuring singing and dancing (standard fare at any such celebration) was set up in front of the old government buildings. There was also fun to be had in the form of a large labyrinth, horse drawn cart rides, and crafting tables in the park. Here are some pictures from the event. 
If you ever attend an event with mixed expat and local company, people inevitably ask you which of Almaty's attractions you have been to see. Have you been to Medeu? Have you been to the Green Bazaar and Panfilov Park? The one place I had not been (until today) was Kok Tobe.
My reason for delaying my visit to the enormous television tower on the green hill overlooking downtown was purely aesthetic. I really wanted to go up there on a clear day, and we have not had many clear days here since last October. This morning, though, I woke up to a brilliant blue sky and wonderful fresh air that still smelled like last night's rain. So I took the metro down to the end of Abay, bought my 2000 tg round trip ticket for the gondola, and went up to see the view. Here is a short video of the trip. Enjoy.
Located on Furmanova just up from the Opera, Marrone Rosso is one of Almaty's more popular coffee shops. This morning, armed with my posse of fictional characters, I took the metro downtown to sample the food and drink and to share a good story.
