Tugendhat Villa, the Czech Republic's Mies van der Rohe masterpiece of architecture, will be undergoing renovations. Located in Brno, the modern building with its clean lines and sense of space, is a popular tourist destination and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reconstruction will take place in the next two years, during which time Tugendhat Villa will be closed.

Though visiting Tugendhat Villa won't be an options for travelers for a period, there are many other Czech World Heritage Sites to visit, including Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov, both with make excellent day trips from Prague.

• Photos of Czech World Heritage Sites

Muscovites, who deal with months of freezing temperatures, have learned to make the best of their long winters. Travelers to Moscow can share their enthusiasm for snow and ice by participating in activities that are specific to the winter season. A Moscow River icebreaker cruise can show you the city from the river despite centimeters-thick ice that forms a crust on the water. Moscow winter festivals and ice skating rinks can be enjoyed in various locations throughout the city.

Russian ice sculpture, discussed last week, starts appearing as temperatures drop significantly enough to preserve delicately carved crystalline structures that showcase artists' skill. This year, the Vyugovei International Festival of Ice Sculpture takes place near Moscow's Cosmonaut Museum and has a space exploration theme in honor of the 50th anniversary of Russian space exploration. The Kremlin-Art ice sculpting festival taking place on Poklonnaya Hill features fanciful and glittering architectural structures (photo gallery of the ice sculpting festival).

Snow is also used as an artistic medium for artists and amateurs alike, and travelers may seek out or encounter snow creations. In the past, parades of snowmen have crowded Arbat Street or snowmen armies have been created by students to invade parks. The annual "Art on Snow" competition in Sokolniki Park has families compete to create the best painting on the cold, white canvas snow creates on the ground.

Though the rest of the world is ready to move on from the winter holidays and get to work, the time between the Russian New Year and Christmas in Russia is one of relaxation and celebration. New Year's trees remain standing in historic squares as Russians gear up for Orthodox Christmas.

Winter is a dynamic time in Moscow, offering unique possibilities for travelers to experience Russian culture.

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  Moscow Winter Activities

More Russian Culture Monday

• Russian Ice Sculpture
• Russian Winter Weather
• Russian New Year
• Russian Culture Monday Archive

Woman in Russian Traditional Dress Ice Sculpture photo credit: CC by nd Sputnik Mania

The New Year is working its way west across Russia to all of the nations in East and East Central Europe. Celebrants waiting to ring in 2010 brave the cold in historic squares and observe local traditions. The countries of Eastern Europe have different ways of wishing others a happy New Year, but the sentiment is the same:

• Gezuar Vitin e Ri (Albanian)
• З Новым годам (Belorussian)
• Sretna nova godina (Bosnian)
• Щастлива Нова Година (Bulgarian)
• Sretna Nova godina! (Croatian)
• Šťastný Nový rok (Czech)
• Head uut aastat (Estonian)
• Boldog új évet (Hungarian)
• Laimīgo Jauno Gadu (Latvian)
• Laimingų Naujųjų Metų (Lithuanian)
• Srekjna Nova Godina (Macedonian)
• Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku (Polish)
• An Nou Fericit (Romanian)
• С Новым годом (Russian)
• Срећна Нова Година (Serbian)
• Štastný nový rok (Slovak)
• Srečno novo leto (Slovenianian)
• З Новим Роком (Ukrainian)

Wishing you the best for the coming year!

Fireworks over Moscow photo credit: iStockphoto/Dontsov