Russian reminiscing

October 10, 2019 at 11:56 · Filed under Russia 2019 and tagged: holidays, travel

…so my thoughts on Russia…

Firstly, I must state that I know I experienced Moscow and St Petersburg, which I know is not the ‘real’ Russia, however, I do think we had an incredible taste of this vast country.

Russia is big, and Russians are proud, so expect things to be bigger and better and glitzier. The grand rooms are grander than elsewhere, the thrones more throney and the gold shinier than in other palaces. I loved learning some of the history, a history that I think they really neglected teaching us as schoolchildren – while the Bolsheviks were revolting, World War 1 was underway; Russia’s involvement in Wold War 2 was cold and miserable, outranked by the ‘sexy’ nuclear war unfolding between Japan and the USA; and don’t forget that here in South Africa when I was a kid, communist was one of the worst insults you could throw at someone, the apartheid government were very concerned about ‘Die Rooi Gevaar’, so learning anything about them was verboten! I was fascinated by the stories of the tsars and tsarinas, especially Elizabeth who emptied the coffers redecorating the palaces!

We were dumbstruck by the natural beauty we saw. I think I was expecting things to be a lot grimmer, but, arriving in autumn, when the gardens have yet to be bitten by Father Frost and blanketed by snow, things were gorgeous. The number of parks and gardens surprised me. It seems that even though the communists expected everyone to live in dull high rise apartments, they did try to have sufficient outdoor areas to allow the citizens some greenery and sunlight.

Unemployment cannot be an issue in Russia, there are so many people employed doing menial tasks from sweeping litter, to gardening in the incredible parks, to handing out the free newspaper at the metro to the guy in the booth at the base of the escalators in the metro (What was he actually doing? A model scout, we decided!) Security is next level in Moscow. At every building, church, museum, restaurant one passes through metal detectors which are manned by at least 3 security guards. The machines all bleep, but one gets waved through anyway, very confusing! Except at the Kremlin, there I was anxious a strip search might have been coming my way. Also there are CCTV cameras everywhere, really everywhere, and those are obviously being monitored by police and security. There are also constant renovation and construction works going on, like most big cities I have explored.

Moscow was the glitzy cosmopolitan capital, ST Petersburg the slightly slower paced cultural capital. We loved them both and would recommend a visit. For my South African readers, travelling on a green mamba, no visa is required (BONUS!), and flights came in relatively cheaply – under R10000 for a return ticket is a steal. Costs of goods there was comparable, however imports are expensive, as clearly there are significant import taxes on foreign goods. Food is delicious, and while eating out in high end restaurants is expensive, one can really enjoy a taste of Russia on a reasonable budget.

If I had the chance, would I go there again – absolutely yes! Just do it!

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Russia, part 4

October 8, 2019 at 19:05 · Filed under Russia 2019 and tagged: holidays, travel

Thursday, 26 September

This was arguably the day we had the finest weather during our holiday; clear skies, no wind. We climbed on the metro and headed off to the Cosmonaut Museum, such an impressive testament to the human spirit. Looking at the small pods and seemingly simple co outer systems which drove this space shuttles, one realises just how brave the men and women were. Interestingly, the 4th Russian into space was a women, quite progressive, if you think about it. In that museum we saw Belka and Strelka the first dogs who were flown into space and returned! Laika, another dog predated them but she never returned to earth; and the first South African space tourist, Mark Shuttleworth, flew with the Russians, and his suit is held there. After getting our fill of space exploration, we moved into a very grand park – VDNH. This was a park developed to commemorate Russia’s trade within the various states. It is loud, proud, with grand status, arcs and fountains. Quite something to see.

 an impressive statue representing the shuttle hurtling into spaceBelka, Thandi and Strelka!

VDNH

As my daughter’s tolerance for parks and fountains and churches was beginning to flag, so amusement was sought in a hall of illusions! What a hoot! From turning us upside down, to shrinking us, and inserting us into dramatic scenes, we had fun!

The evening was spent watching the International School of Moscow’s Big Sing, with some massed choir numbers and some incredible individual performances as well. Wow!

Friday, 27 September

The day dawned crisp and clear too, as we headed off to the Kremlin. We had scored a spot on a tour of the Kremlin Grand Palace, a tour that only comes up every other month or so, a tour of the official ‘residence’ of the president. He doesn’t actually live here, but it counts as his. Its an impressive palace, an amalgamation of various centuries of residences and now hold the grand anterooms and halls where the tsars were crowned and where the president is inaugurated. Wow! We were escorted along by a Russian guide who had some delightful peculiarities of speech, most notably that she invited us to view the room, or the chandelier, or the painting, or to take photos. We were all invited out by the end of the tour. We also had a rather intimidating security detail who followed us around making sure we stayed on the carpet and did not step on the beautiful parquet floors and did not sit down on any priceless chairs. It was quite a tour!

the floors – so beautiful! the inauguration hall! Vlad’s helipad!

After another wonder around St Basil’s and Red Square we treated Thandi to another GUM ice cream and then we had ourselves another traditional Pelmeni luncheon. Yum.

Then it was back to Rosinka where we relaxed for an afternoon and evening. Phew! Much needed after a busy few days.

Saturday, 28 September

Saturday looked like a great day for a park run! We had a look at the website, there was a run about 10 minutes from where we were, so MB and I headed off nice and early. I was thrilled to see so many people out and heading to the park. And, as we made our way in, we realised there was a race on, and clearly little old park run was cancelled! Damnit! Oh, well, we had a run anyway, around this beautiful park, in glorious sunshine as the crowds filtered in for the adventure race on the go.

Mitino park is really beautiful, lots of wooded areas, open spaces, jungle gyms and beautifully curated paths. This was one thing that really struck me about Russia, while people were living in high rise apartment buildings, there were lots of green spaces, parks and playgrounds that are well maintained and well utilised.

After a quick shower, we off back to the Bolshoi. What a day! The theatre is beautiful and very grand, they invite you to view the small museum and anterooms there…before we knew it the bell was ringing and it was time to head to our stall from where we had a magnificent view of the stage, and a beautiful ballet unfolded before us. The Winters Tale is a Shakespeare which has recently been choreographed into a contemporary ballet. So, while its not your classical ballet of old, it was a beautifully and sensitively told story of a jealous king, a lost daughter and a resurrected queen. We were entranced. All too soon, 3 hours had passed and the crowd was clapping and cheering. A beautiful afternoon indeed.

Our friends met us outside and I wandered along in a bubble of happy music… We had planned a. Isis to an ice cave, so that Thandi could experience some super cold temperatures – 9 degrees below! It certainly got us shivering! And then we wondered through red square, admiring our last views of the iconic Kremlin towers, St Basil’s as we headed to Cafe Pushkin for dinner – a rather fabulous experience too! An old Moscow mansion has been gutted and revamped as this lovely restaurant  serving traditional Russian delights. We did pass on the caviar (rather pricey!) and I enjoyed borsch and beef stroganoff. Yum!

Sunday, 29 September

Sundays weather took a turn for the worse, it was as gloomy as our mood, as we began to prepare for our trip home. We needed to stop up on souvenirs and we headed to the dodgy market to end all markets, Izmaylovo. Actually, it’s not dodgy, just cheesy! A fake Kremlin, a flea market and then the souvenir aisles. Some amazingly crafted matroyshkas and wooden crafts, some hysterical Putin souvenirs, scarves, paintings and photographs. Quite overwhelming when trying to choose the best moments of your holiday! Anyway, we left heavy laden and then heagdedoff to a nearby food market, Depo, so-called because it is in an old bus depot. Different stalls selling fresh produce, meat, fish, you name it; and then different little ‘food trucks’ selling food – Russian food, pizzas, burgers, you name it! We had some delicious Georgian food again (because as Nyamazela says, it is the best!) paired with a martini. I felt quite sophisticated!

Before we knew it, we were heading home to do our final packs and get ourselves ready for the long haul home…

Monday 30 September

And so our holiday had drawn to its close. Bags were packed, the last few things were stuffed in and we had a few hours to kill, so back to the ice rink for Thandigirl to have another hour or so of skating before it was time to head to the airport. best decision we made, she loved her time on the ice; carefully watching the other children on the ice getting lessons, she learnt a few tricks and was quite. ice and confident towards the end. I was too nervous to try, I have previously tried and been left with bruises such that I looked abused! Charlie and I had a coffee and quietly contemplated our time in Russia. Tomorrow I will share some of thoughts and impressions I have, they need their own post.

We taxi’ed to the airport, got through emigration with no hassles and our flights were fine, uncomfortable, as they are in cattle class, but fine. One day when I am grown up I will fly business and smile getting off the plane. The worst part of the entire trip home was the wait in ORTambo as we waited for our connecting flight home. 7 hours in the airport hen you are tired, sweaty, grumpy and anxious isn’t pleasant. Ugh.

sad faces!

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Russia, part 3

October 7, 2019 at 09:57 · Filed under Russia 2019 and tagged: holidays, travel

Monday, 23 September

Crack of dawn we were up and dropped at the train station, so we could catch the high speed train, the Sapsan, to St Petersburg. A 800km journey completed in 3 and a half hours! We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the train, watching the countryside go by. We were met by our guide for next 2 days, Larissa and we were off.

We headed into St Petersburg and we were dropped along the Nevsky Prospect, the bustling busy main rd of StP. We had a chance to look at the Eliseyev Emporium, one of the oldest trading stores in Russia. A beautiful art nouveau building, and I regret that I didn’t take a photo, or buy a delicious looking treat. we then headed on and stretched our legs as we wondered around, admiring statues of Catherine the great, Peter the Great and Pushkin. St Petersburg is a city of squares and statues!

After a good walk around, we headed off to The church of the Spilt Blood. It was built to commemorate the life of Tsar Alexander the 2nd, who was assassinated in a bombing. The cobblestones on which his blood was spilt were preserved, and the church is a marvel! Beautiful mosaics which must have taken years to perfect.

the cobblestones are preserved here.

Next stop was Peterhof, a short drive out of St Petersburg itself. Peterhof was Peter the Great’s Summer Palace, there are some very grand buildings, a very simple building and 150 fountains. The fountains are all powered by gravity, there are no pumps, no electricity. Some very clever scientists worked out water pressures, pipe diameters and volumes of water required. Every day the fountains run, and then in the evenings the fountains are switched off to allow the reservoirs to refill. In winter the statues are covered up to protect them against the elements and the fountains are switched off.

this fountain shoots up 21 meters in the air, sans pump or electricity! Gulf of Finland in the background. It was freezing!

From there we headed to the small town of Pushkin to explore Catherine’s Palace. This was her summer palace, and it has been reconstructed after World War 2. During the war it was occupied by the Nazi’s and stripped of all its valuables. Valuable paintings were lost, amber panels ripped out and now lost, magnificent parquet flooring destroyed. We were stunned by the asian invasion – amber is considered a very fortuitous stone in China, so there were a lot of tourists who were determined to see a particular room with walls panelled in amber. A walk around the gardens completed our day, before we finally headed off to our apartment and collapsed in a heap, awaiting our dinner reservation at Cococo. This is an award winning restaurant and was a real treat, traditional Russian cuisine with a twist, definitely recommended if you ever find yourself in StP.

Tuesday, 24 September

Our second day in StP was just as busy, we started with exploring the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island (Basil Spit). This is an island in the Neva river, and was where boats used to dock in years gone by. It also housed the market halls and stock exchange! From there we headed onto the Peter and Paul’s Fortress and explored the cathedral there. The cathedral is also the resting place of the Romanov family, and it was quite something walking amongst their tombs…

From there we headed to St Isaac’s Cathedral, apparently the wealthiest cathedral in Russia, we climbed up the the concourse and were able to view the city from high, getting a good idea of its layout and see just how closely it resembled Paris in terms of its layout. Also to see the geography of the river from high was a pleasure.

After a rather chilly boat trip on the river and a hearty lunch of borscht, we headed to the Hermitage. The Hermitage is part of the old Winter Palace on the banks of the Neva river and houses an impressive collection of art and artefacts, from da Vinci to Rembrandt, Michelangelo to Carvaggio, from mummies too cats, every room had a story to tell. The story of the cats of the hermitage was just fascinating. Having developed a rodent issue, who were threatening the art works, the city fathers brought in a troop of cats (what is the collective noun for a group of cats? A chorus?) who solved the infestation, but what to do with them afterwards? Well, they were summarily given the status of curators and officially employed, each with their own ID card. To this day the cats are still a very special part of the hermitage, but aside from some in pictures and postcards, we did not see any roaming the halls, I think the crowds make them retreat!

Dinner than night was at Mansarda restaurant. An impressive site, on the 6th floor, looking onto St Isaacs, but compared to our experience at Cococo, definitely a place to be seen, I felt a bit out of place in my old jeans and ‘scruffy’ boots, when I saw women in little black numbers, stilettos and full make up! Anyway, another good night out.

Wednesday, 25 September

Back to the station we went, back onto the Sapsan to Moscow, so we could be home timeously, for we were booked to have dinner at the Bolshoi restaurant, before our evening in the theatre, watching Swan Lake. The train trip was, once again, a pleasure and then we caught the taxi back ‘home’. we cleaned up and prepared for our evening out. Dinner was superb, a very special evening out, and one I will always remember. Then it was time, we found our entrance and headed into the Bolshoi Theatre, my heart was singing, I was ticking off a bucket list item! Until… the ticket lady scanned our tickets and shaking her head, pointed out that our tickets were for ’24, today 25!’ My heart sank. Somehow in all the organisational chaos, we had gotten our dates confused and we left the theatre with very sore hearts. We retreated home, licking wounds, until we were able to go online and saw, that although the Swan Lake run was now done, we could still get ticket for a matinee performance of The Winter’s Tale on Saturday, which we grabbed with both hands. Not Swan lake, but at least we would be watching a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. I still struggle to believe that I did!

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