The hard bit travelling

We are now in Dubai airport waiting for the flights to Singapore, Melbourne, Adelaide. This is an amazing place – there are people everywhere and it’s 6am. There are 360 gates!

Our last days in Moscow were great even though we were winding down.

We checked out the cathedrals and old churches in the Kremlin.

Then we went to Sergei and Tatyana’s flat – they were the Russian couple we met in Suzdal. Sergei met us at the Metro station and we walked back to the flat. 100m before the flat we entered a forest. That’s right. Right in Moscow, a big area of native forest (see photo). We walked to a spring where we drank and filled our water bottles.

Sergei is understandably very proud of his district. The explained that in winter is is especially beautiful and enjoyable.

We then had a great tea (photo) and a chat.

Next day we packed and went for a last walk around Zoya’s district (photo of her and her building in the reflection). The weather was again really sunny which made it even better.

Getting through the officials at the airport was a breeze. What were we worried about???

See you soon.

Cheers……………Brian and Kathy

More photos

The photos don't do our experiences justice but here are a few more.

You'll have to work out which pictures are which but here they are (this and the last blog)

Peterhof fountains (Petrograd)
Trick fountains at Peterhof
Kathy on the train from St Petersburg
Claire and Kathy in the cafe
Church of the saviour on spilt blood
Tsartosky Palace (Moscow)
Audre and family
Audre and his cattle

Back in Moscow twice

We are back in Moscow after two trips away.

Last Sunday (6th Sept) we caught the sleeper train to St Petersburg. It was pretty comfortable and the people sharing the cabin were nice. One, who works laying gas pipelines through the frozen ground, showed us pictures of a baby mammoth they had dug up!

What can we say about St Petersburg? Brian was there 35 years ago and at the time he thought it was the most beautiful city in the world. He almost expected to be disappointed this time. He was not – in fact it has improved dramatically.

It is a very different place now but the beauty has increased. Many significant buildings have been renovated and many have had a coat of paint. Most importantly the old buildings have not been replaced with skyscrapers as has happened, over the last 100 years, in the other old European cities. Any new buildings built are in keeping with the surrounding architecture.

The city is a unique place and a real pleasure to be in. We also found the people were very friendly. A number stopped and helped us when we looked lost. Others helped when we asked. It was great.

We stayed in a hostel just around the corner from the Hermitage, down the road from St Isaac’s Cathedral and across the road from a great bakery! Everything was close by and walking the streets and along the canals was pleasurable. All I needed was a long dress, a few servants running around and I could have been Catherine the Great herself!

Unfortunately, as in all touristy cites, there are people who make the most of it and some relieved Kathy of her purse. Not a big amount, but an inconvenience.

We visited the significant sights – impossible to describe in words. The best was a 1.5 hour guided tour of The Hermitage. We saw only some of the highlights of the 3 million exhibits but at least have an appreciation of them.

We caught up with Claire Webber from Pt Lincoln for a cup of coffee. It was great to see her and to share stories. She is studying Russian here.

Back to Moscow and Zoya’s flat by midnight Friday night.

Next morning we found our way to Kaluga (200 km south) by 1pm (very proud of ourselves - ie Kathy).

We visited the farm of the leading commercial beef producer in Russia. He showed us around the farm and explained in detail how he farms. Brian found it really interesting. Kathy enjoyed getting off the beaten track and viewing the countryside and imagining life in rural Russia. We were blown away by his generosity.

We met his lovely family and we had dinner. Kathy had a tour of the kitchen and saw all sorts of antiques, including the grandmother’s samovar. With our dinner we drank herbal tea, topped up with water from an electric samovar. We felt very honoured to be included in the family.

We stayed in a great Motel in Kaluga and headed back to Moscow this morning.
Once again it has been fantastic weather – unusual we are told (but called an “old woman summer”).

We fly out for Australia late Tuesday night so I guess we will see some of you soon.

Lots of love……………Kathy and Brian

The Golden Ring

Hi everyone.

We decided to do part of the “Golden Ring” an area north east of Moscow that has many ancient churches, etc.

We caught an electric train to Vladmir and Kathy was chatting most of the way to a Russian couple. They suggested we go straight on to Suzdal. Hence, we arrived at Vladimir and 40 minutes later were on a local bus to Suzdal.

At the bus stop a Russian couple heard us speaking English and spoke to us in English. They were a really interesting couple and so we decided to stay at the same guest house they were. It was a great decision. Besides their company the 72 year old lady running the place was a great host. Kathy chatted to her about recipes etc. It was fantastic.

They had arranged for a guide, with a great knowledge of local history, to show them around the next day and invited us along. The guide was a bell ringer by profession.

Suzdal is an old town (older than Moscow) and has about 36 churches/cathedrals – most with a number of spectacular domes. This is in a town of 12,000 people. Best of all the people are turned on to tourism (mostly Russians) and were really nice.

We had a great time in Suzdal. Being a small town off the railway line made it very pleasant.

Back in Moscow it was the city’s 862 birthday yesterday so there were lots of celebrations – concerts etc.

We have an overnight train tonight to St Petersburg.

We are both thinking of you all lots.

Love………..Brian & Kathy

The photos are;
the bed above the fire place in a museum house(Kathy now understands what her grandmother tried to explain to her), cathedral, the lady at the guest house, a lady selling pyroszki she had cooked (nice!), our Russian friends trying local mead.

We survived

Hi again.

We are now on the train back to Moscow after a trip to the country. People have been fantastic to us and this has definitely made the trip so far.

Last Friday we caught a train to Bryansk. It was a pleasant enough trip.

Kirill met us at the station. He is one of the people Brian met on the work trip last year at the “Red Horn” camp. He took us to Svetlana and Kostya’s place. We had some food then went for a walk. This was 9pm and the parks and streets were really pleasant. Lots of others were walking.

Back at their place we had a BBQ and other food and lots of toasts and fun. Anton joined us (he did the kangaroo act at the party last year). Kirill and Kostya are very good on the guitar. Victor did some juggling and Brian even recited “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle”. It was a lot of fun.

Next day Kirill showed us around Bryansk. It has some nice parks and areas – one park is even under UNESCO protection with many old wooden carvings and a bronze statue of Tolstoy - who came from this region. The amount of reconstruction, of the centre of town, going on is incredible. It would be good to see it in when it’s finished.

Next day we caught a mini-bus to Smolensk. It is only 250km but took 4 hours – an indication of the speed of travel. We had a real good feeling as we headed off on our own – no hotel booked and unsure of how we would cope.

WE SURVIVED!! It was difficult at times, but OK. The hotel ROSSIYA was expensive and very tired (it was built for the Olympians in 1980) but pleasant enough. Although, the bed was as hard as I’ve ever had.

Smolensk is a great city – one of the oldest in Russia and with a Kremlin (city wall and towers) still standing. It has lots of history. A great battle that took place here with Napoleon is immortalised in “War and Peace”.

We spent some time in the cathedral. It was moving for me, Kathy, evoking lots of memories from childhood, mother and grandparents and stirring up emotions. How fortunate I was to be in such a beautiful place and be able to freely engage in religious practices in peace. This is what my family couldn’t do until they came to Australia.
Together we looked at the beautiful icons and ornate ceilings, walls and tapestries and sat reflectively for some time.

When back in Moscow I want to ask Zoya to go with me to her local church so I can light candles before the appropriate icons for my family.

A short visit to a flax museum took me back closer to my roots. Photos and displays reminded me of some things my grandmother had – the coarsely woven fabrics and traditional cross-stitch clothing. There will be a bit of digging around in old boxes at home to find some of the things and photos!

Did we mention that we’ve done our first bit of hitch-hiking in Russia! Before you all panic; it is a quite safe and accepted mode of transport. You are expected to pay the equivalent of a taxi fare. We were with Russians so they did the negotiating. Imagine a 19 year old Russian lad, his 72 year old Russian grandmother and us squeezing into the back seat of a young Russian couples car!

Hope you are all well.

Love………. Kathy and Brian

The Ducha

We are back in Moscow after a fantastic time in the Ducha. It is a traditional cottage near Drezna, about 80 km east of Moscow. It is one of many Dachas in the area – some are very rough and some new ones are very modern.

Zoya was very apologetic for the lack of modern facilities but we loved it. It is like another world. She obviously loves it there too.

The first evening we went to another Ducha and had a magnificent tea (see picture). It included lots of toasts, singing and merriment. A great night. I tried to regulate my drinks but next morning 4 people asked me how my head was !

The next day we walked about 2 km to a forest where all Kathy’s dreams came true. Eg. the birch trees her grandmother loved. There were many sorts of mushrooms – three of which we kept. There were raspberries, bilberries, other berries and a wonderful, damp, mossy environment.

We spent other days working on the garden, etc for Zoya. We really enjoyed helping. Brian even replaced the glass in 4 windows which Zoya really appreciated. We went for lots of walks (Kathy saw lots of flowers that she’d only seen in her childhood garden before) and met friends of Zoya’s.

Back in Moscow it was showers all around, washing and organising. Today we had a great day at the summer house of Katherine the Second’s.

Tomorrow we head to Bryansk.

Love to everyone…………..Brian and Kathy

From Moscow with Love

Hello everyone. We hope you are all well. We are.

This is our first Blog and we’ll be out of contact for a few days. We are going with Zoya (Kira’s sister) to stay at her Dacha (house in the country). Kathy is very excited because she has heard about Duchas from her parents and grand parents. She imagines collecting strawberries, wildflowers and mushrooms in the forest and wandering about the country side. Zoya’s daughter-in-law and husband will be taking us there by car, we will have another feast and they will head home.

Zoya has been spoiling us rotten. We feel very privileged. We are staying in her flat on the edge of Moscow – about 40 minutes by metro to the centre of town. It’s a very small flat but in a lovely area. We all sleep in the lounge room but it’s very cosy.

Kathy is getting by really well with her rusty Russian. I am hopeless as it’s too easy to rely on her. However, I have the alphabet sussed out now.

The pictures are Zoya and Kathy discovering things in the supermarket. Many of the things her parents/grandparents used to make are now available frozen or even in instant packets. We wanted to buy all sorts but Zoya wouldn't let us. Also, family at tea last night.

Love to everyone…………..Brian and Kathy