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