Hello from Russia

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Yellow_13
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Hello from Russia

Post by Yellow_13 »

Hello everyone!

I am Olivier, originally from Belgium, although I live in Russia now.
I'm 43, and have found myself more and more attracted to Buddhism these days, because of the harmony and inner peace I could witness among Buddhists though my travels in India, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Japan. I don't know enough about it yet to fully involve myself, but well, that's why I'm here! I'd like to discuss Buddhism with practicants from Asia and abroad, to see if I just got a positive impression or if it is the right way of life for me.

I hope that you will be able to convince me!

Have a nice day.
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Admin_PC »

Welcome to DharmaWheel!
:anjali:
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Grigoris
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Re: Hello from Russia

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Welcome Oliver! Where are you in Russia? I visited Moscow and St Petersburg this year and was seriously impressed!
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Yellow_13
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Yellow_13 »

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I move a lot around Russia (it's fun to organise!) but I've been spending the last couple months in Saratov, on the Volga, in the south of the country.
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Grigoris
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Re: Hello from Russia

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Yellow_13 wrote: Fri Nov 23, 2018 2:16 pm Thanks for the warm welcome!

I move a lot around Russia (it's fun to organise!) but I've been spending the last couple months in Saratov, on the Volga, in the south of the country.
Doesn't look like it has much a historical center. I imagine it would be preferable to be down south at this time of the year though.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by DNS »

Welcome to DW!

Tenma
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Tenma »

Приветствую, товарищ!
Yellow_13
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Yellow_13 »

Grigoris wrote: Fri Nov 23, 2018 3:08 pm Doesn't look like it has much a historical center. I imagine it would be preferable to be down south at this time of the year though.
Oh, the weather doesn't change much when compared to Moscow, you really have to go to Siberia or far up north (Saint Petersburg and further) to really get something cold.
There is a historical center with a Neo-Gothic conservatory, an opera, a couple museums etc, but it sure isn't as developed as what you can see in different cities or countries; on top of that, there are lots of Art Nouveau/Art Déco buildings scattered all over the city, but that's pretty much it and some of them are run down. I guess that in comparison to Greece, everything (apart from some cases like Rome, Kyoto or Vienna) would pale in terms of history-rich cities!
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Grigoris
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Re: Hello from Russia

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Yellow_13 wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:43 amOh, the weather doesn't change much when compared to Moscow, you really have to go to Siberia or far up north (Saint Petersburg and further) to really get something cold.
There is a historical center with a Neo-Gothic conservatory, an opera, a couple museums etc, but it sure isn't as developed as what you can see in different cities or countries; on top of that, there are lots of Art Nouveau/Art Déco buildings scattered all over the city, but that's pretty much it and some of them are run down. I guess that in comparison to Greece, everything (apart from some cases like Rome, Kyoto or Vienna) would pale in terms of history-rich cities!
Athens does not have much of a historical center. Apart from the area surrounding the Acropolis, the rest of Athens is a dirty and chaotic maelstrom of concrete and cars.

Athens had faded into insignificance and was little more than a village, before the influx of refugees from Asia Minor turned it into a city again. Due to the fact that it had to grow rapidly to accommodate all the people, there was no city planning, and now...
panorama from lykavittos hill 2000.jpg
panorama from lykavittos hill 2000.jpg (474.17 KiB) Viewed 2173 times
I actually dislike Athens as a city. I can't spend more than five days there. I've gotten used to the idyllic country life of the island of Lesbos.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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Yavana
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Yavana »

Grigoris wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 8:23 am I actually dislike Athens as a city. I can't spend more than five days there. I've gotten used to the idyllic country life of the island of Lesbos.
Sounds idyllic. How's the cuisine?
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Tenma »

Grigoris wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 8:23 am
Yellow_13 wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:43 amOh, the weather doesn't change much when compared to Moscow, you really have to go to Siberia or far up north (Saint Petersburg and further) to really get something cold.
There is a historical center with a Neo-Gothic conservatory, an opera, a couple museums etc, but it sure isn't as developed as what you can see in different cities or countries; on top of that, there are lots of Art Nouveau/Art Déco buildings scattered all over the city, but that's pretty much it and some of them are run down. I guess that in comparison to Greece, everything (apart from some cases like Rome, Kyoto or Vienna) would pale in terms of history-rich cities!
Athens does not have much of a historical center. Apart from the area surrounding the Acropolis, the rest of Athens is a dirty and chaotic maelstrom of concrete and cars.

Athens had faded into insignificance and was little more than a village, before the influx of refugees from Asia Minor turned it into a city again. Due to the fact that it had to grow rapidly to accommodate all the people, there was no city planning, and now...

panorama from lykavittos hill 2000.jpg

I actually dislike Athens as a city. I can't spend more than five days there. I've gotten used to the idyllic country life of the island of Lesbos.
Oof. I was actually expecting it a city with mostly ancient ruins here and there, not this.

Oh well. Got any suggestions for future sightings for visits?
Yellow_13
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Yellow_13 »

Grigoris wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 8:23 am
Athens does not have much of a historical center. Apart from the area surrounding the Acropolis, the rest of Athens is a dirty and chaotic maelstrom of concrete and cars.

Athens had faded into insignificance and was little more than a village, before the influx of refugees from Asia Minor turned it into a city again. Due to the fact that it had to grow rapidly to accommodate all the people, there was no city planning, and now...
[/quote]

Oh, it's a sad thing to hear, I didn't know that, since I never went to Greece. Although some districts of most modern cities can be described as a "dirty and chaotic maelstrom of concrete and cars", even Paris or Prague, some of them manage to keep beautiful historical centers. Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by Belgrade, which looks at first like a city you'd fly over with a very globalised main street (Knez Mihailova), but the more you dig in, the more pleasant, original places you find. To stay on the topic of Serbia, the northern city of Novi Sad has adopted a very different path of development: you have four very, VERY clearly delimited districts!
Upon arriving at the train station, you'll see the try-hard "modern" district with a couple glass-and-steel buildings, then you'll walk towards the center, cross a road, and boom! You're in a small Austrian-Hungarian town straight out of the late 18th century, something you could see in Vienna or Prague. Cross the Danube, and you're in a small European village, that felt exactly like the villages I grew up in in Belgium and Northern France. Then there's the Socialist concrete block district where most people live, but this one's already further from the train station and center, and you don't need to see it to visit the historical center.

I may have drifted off a little, but that's one of the places where I felt the closest thing to inner peace I've ever experienced, Novi Sad had a relaxing, stressless atmosphere I haven't seen anywhere else but in a small village.
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Grigoris
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Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Grigoris »

Yellow_13 wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:25 amOh, it's a sad thing to hear, I didn't know that, since I never went to Greece. Although some districts of most modern cities can be described as a "dirty and chaotic maelstrom of concrete and cars", even Paris or Prague, some of them manage to keep beautiful historical centers. Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by Belgrade, which looks at first like a city you'd fly over with a very globalised main street (Knez Mihailova), but the more you dig in, the more pleasant, original places you find. To stay on the topic of Serbia, the northern city of Novi Sad has adopted a very different path of development: you have four very, VERY clearly delimited districts!
Upon arriving at the train station, you'll see the try-hard "modern" district with a couple glass-and-steel buildings, then you'll walk towards the center, cross a road, and boom! You're in a small Austrian-Hungarian town straight out of the late 18th century, something you could see in Vienna or Prague. Cross the Danube, and you're in a small European village, that felt exactly like the villages I grew up in in Belgium and Northern France. Then there's the Socialist concrete block district where most people live, but this one's already further from the train station and center, and you don't need to see it to visit the historical center.

I may have drifted off a little, but that's one of the places where I felt the closest thing to inner peace I've ever experienced, Novi Sad had a relaxing, stressless atmosphere I haven't seen anywhere else but in a small village.
Don't get me wrong, Athens is worth a three day visit before you make your way towards one of the up to 6,000 islands, or some amazing nearby mainland locations (like Delphi, for example).

The ancient ruins are quite astounding. The brand new Acropolis museum is ranked among the best in the world and the old National Archaeological museum has some fantastic finds.

But the historical center is small.

Athens also has a really lively public/outdoor culture with entire districts of outdoor cafes, bars, restaurants, street food, etc...
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Yellow_13
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Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:10 pm

Re: Hello from Russia

Post by Yellow_13 »

Grigoris wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 11:22 amDon't get me wrong, Athens is worth a three day visit before you make your way towards one of the up to 6,000 islands, or some amazing nearby mainland locations (like Delphi, for example).

The ancient ruins are quite astounding. The brand new Acropolis museum is ranked among the best in the world and the old National Archaeological museum has some fantastic finds.

But the historical center is small.

Athens also has a really lively public/outdoor culture with entire districts of outdoor cafes, bars, restaurants, street food, etc...
Oh, sorry if it came out like that; I don't doubt that there are beautiful things to see in Athens! It's just that I had this naive image of a city completely infused in its history, but well, you can't escape the 21st century, demographic booms and other things that create a need for standardised, quickly made buildings that don't really need aesthetics.
At least, from what I can't see, it doesn't look as strange as in Moscow: this city has a lot of beautiful historical landmarks, but they're all scattered in the city, and you can perfectly see a modern mall, a 15th century church and a Soviet beton plate apartment block on 200 meters of the same street.
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