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