BalashikhaMapJune 3, 2007 When I’m in Moscow I play “The Encounter” if I can manage it. It’s a game for those who couldn’t get enough of treasure hunts when they were kids, the kind where you’re prompted by a series of clues. There’s no better way to discover ten crazy new spots in the city in the space of one night.  Players come from all walks of life — from graduate students from the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences to young ladies prepared to dive head first into catacombs full of rusty, soupy liquid.  The game ends come morning. Either in a bar or somewhere unexpected in the great outdoors, under some power lines, shrouded in fog.  So as I was saying, if it weren’t for “The Encounter” it’s unlikely I would’ve gone to Balashikha at five in the morning. And I definitely wouldn’t have seen an Eiffel tower there.  My whole heart is yours, my home town, Balashikha! There’s not much else to say about Balashikha. |
