"Should I know them?"

[estriel]

You know you're in Moscow when, the first time you stick your nose into a rink, you run into figure skaters.
They were American figure skaters.
CUTE American figure skaters.
...
NO, not THAT one. That's reserved for next week.They were a boy and a girl and I kept quite a while puzzling over who they were and whether I knew them. In the end, it

Comments

[albiondreams]

NO, not THAT one. That's reserved for next week.
Haha yeah, I knew all morals would go astride where Johnny in Moscow is concerned. I really hope you get to meet him again :) And yay for skating already. Are you planning to buy the skates anytime soon?

[estriel]

Well, no, not all morals. :P I'm not going to stalk. But you know, I really want to go pay a visit to the Riedell dealer here in Moscow sometime next week... and it just HAPPENS to be close to the Olympyiskiy rink. Which is where Mr Weir just HAPPENED to train the last time he was here (before CoR). When I found out, I was like - okay, the higher powers have decided that it's my destiny to frequent the same places he'll probably be frequenting... so, I hope that my cosmic luck will make me run into him. And if not, that's okay. :)

[albiondreams]

I love how it all just HAPPENS :D Well, anyway, look for a Starbucks nearby, that should multiply your chances. He has to get his million coffees per day somewhere.

[estriel]

Yes, it's fate.
Well, the thing is... I heard a few years ago that Starbucks opened its first store in Moscow, but I have no idea where. Now I tried to find it on the internet and it doesn't look like there is any real Starbucks. And if there is, it's probably somewhere far from the center, in one of the shopping districts outside of Moscow.
So I wonder what the boy drinks here in Russia. (See, that's why he can't move here for good. ;)

[albiondreams]

Lol now I have this hilarious mental image of you bumping into an exasperated Johnny Weir running blindly around Moscow in search of his beloved café, suffering from Starbucks withdrawal.

[estriel]

As for the skates... I WANT to buy some. Lena took me to a small store yesterday (she needed some blade protectors) and they had Risport and WIFA and Edea, some of which looked okay (even the prices). But I want to check out some of the bigger stores, as well as go to Riedell, because if the Russian dealer is anything like what Riedell promises, they should be able to give me advice and measure my feet to get the correct size etc.

[albiondreams]

Riedell sounds awesome so hopefully they will be helpful in the shop as well. I think we only have Risport, Graf and Edea (which aren't exactly pretty in my opinion) here, plus the Czech brands, at least those shops I know of. So I'll probably go for Risport when I'm buying new ones, gonna be like Joubert :/ Though I think Yu-Na skates in them as well, must check it out lol.

[estriel]

Yeah, well, Riedell is kinda awesome in general, what with their customer service and heat molding and varying width of skates (that's useful for those of us who have narrow feet). And their skates are kinda cute. :)

Graf skates look pretty neat, I think. But they're expensive. :( I have seen Risport boots IRL and they looked good, too - all of those skaters in Dresden skate in Risport because that's the only brand you can get there.

As for Botas, for example... They have this one figure skating model (but they're like really professional skates, I guess) and they look great and are cheaper than the foreign brands, so.

[albiondreams]

Aren't they too expensive as well? Graf really is, around 12000 crowns here :( And the blades are pretty pricey, too, though I guess I don't need some super perfect ones. I know about Botas, but I only found them selling on-line and then in Brno, where they don't have that one particular model anyway. And Risport is almost the same price and I think they should be better, though I don't know, I'd need more info to compare them properly.