Great Balls of Fire

New Years Eve and the days after are truly a festive time in Moscow. Forget sleeping early for at least a week after the event.... Why??? The answer is simple. Fireworks. What is illegal in most states in Australia is widely available here in Moscow. By widely, i mean that you can buy them in supermarkets.

So many different types.. Rockets, candles, mortars, sparklers, crackers... you name it, its right near the toilet paper in your friendly local supermarket.

We had the traditional Christmas dinner late this year. Tonight on the 3 January in fact. It was a good opportunity to play the new Nintendo Wii and set off many fireworks which someone else had spent their hard earned on.

I must still have not grown up becuase the sound of explosions is still exciting. :) :) Unfortunately anyone trying to sleep might not have been as excited as i was. THe logical thing to do would be to find a quiet field somewhere and set up a launch pad. In Moscow however, it's not terribly practical. So a small park sandwiched on all sides by blocks of flats is perfect. The sound of fireworks echoes approximately 20 times before it finally dies down. Multiply that by the number of fireworks we launched and you have the collective decibels of the last Soyuz rocket launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan.

Tomorrow night, we have some more to launch. :) Get ready Muscovites.. We haven't got quite enough to blow the ass out of this country, but we do have enough to deprive you of some sleep. I hope my neighbors suffer the most. Teach them to rearrange their furniture at 2am.
:) :) I'm so bad!!