Sunday, August 30, 2009
update
blogspot is one of the sites blocked by the chinese government, but i have just figured out how to get around the 'great wall'. so i will be updating the site soon. by the way Beijing is frickin awesome!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Yuri and Alya (novosibirsk)
So, in the last post i had just got off the train in Novosibirsk, siberia. My intention was to arrive in Tomsk, about three hours away by bus, to visit some old wooden mansions. But during the train ride, i met Yuri, who got off with me, and lived about a half-hour outside Novosibirsk. He didn't speak more than a few words of english, but with the help of Alex, convinced me to come visit his home town of Birdsk, which he said was just as nice, and he even knew a cheap hotel for me to stay in. Not wanting to think too much, nor arrive in a strange city at midnight, i followed him out of the train station. He kept trying to explain something to me and i kept on not understanding, and we kept on smiling, and so our commmunication progressed in this manner. Then out of nowhere it started to torrentially downpour, a hard cold siberian rain! He ran, I followed, as we reached an underpass he told me stay still, so i stayed still as he ran off somewhere to find a taxi. When he came back, he said to me in english 'go?', and i replied with a shrug, and he smiled and so our communication progressed. The wind had picked up and was blowing the rain sideways into my bags, so i decided to pause a moment to cover up my important articles. At that moment, Yuri turned to the first person he saw and asked if they spoke english. It was a girl named Alya, and just our luck, she did and very well indeed! Infact she was heading home from work to birdsk! So we decided to take the taxi together. After an hour in traffic caused by a fallen tree, and some nice conversation with Alya, we arrived in birdsk, Yuri payed for the taxi (no arguing with siberians!) and invited us to have dinner in a nearby restaurant (his treat again, i as his guest, Alya as his translator).
After dinner, Alya went home, but agreed to meet with us the next day, again to serve as Yuri's translator. Yuri brought me to a hotel, which I paid 22 Euro for a deluxe sweet, complete with bedroom, lounge and private bath. The only catch was that it had to be done in Yuri's name, because the hotel (like many in the area i later found out) refuses to book foreigners who don't use a booking agent. Thank goodness for Yuri!
The next morning Yuri showed up at my room at 8.30, beer in hand...a pattern set for the next 4 hours(for him only, water was my drink of choice), and we began a walking tour of his town. Alya, having to work, couldn't make it, but promised to meet me later in the afternoon in Novosibirsk. Yuri showed me the town center, some old wooden houses typical of siberia, the new orthodox cathedral, an interesting ww2 memorial and the beach (actually on a man made lake that covered the old town of birdsk, the current town was built by the soviets in the 20's). By the end of the morning, our communication had improved, i had learned a bit of russian, and he had remembered, possibly with the help of the beer, the little english that he had learned at school. At noon, he explained that his wife (yes he was married, and even had a newborn baby) needed him at home, and he sent me off on a train back to Novosibirsk.
Upon arrival, i bought my next train ticket, leaving that night at 11pm for a 31 hour ride to Irkutsk, stored my bags, and although it was drizzling in the city and since i had not much else to do, i set off, umbrella in hand, to see the sights. Unfortunately, in Novosibirsk, apart from a beautiful opera house(bigger and more impressive than the bolshoy in Moscow), and a giant statue of Lenin, there are no sights. So I sat down for a cup of tea, and waited for news from Alya.
Finally around 6pm she was free from work and we met for dinner at a nice sushi restaurant. Alya is a really friendly, intelligent and interesting girl. Very easy to communicate with, as we spent hours in frank conversation. After dinner, glad that the rain had subsided, we took a stroll through the city center. We stopped briefly for coffee and desert, her treat. (amazing how generous these siberians are) We took the subway together until out lines split, and said our goodbyes, hoping to keep in touch. I was sorry to have spent such little time with Alya, as i really would have liked more time to get to know her. We exchanged messages for a week or so after, but i haven´t heard from her since...so Alya, if your reading this, make yourself heard!
After dinner, Alya went home, but agreed to meet with us the next day, again to serve as Yuri's translator. Yuri brought me to a hotel, which I paid 22 Euro for a deluxe sweet, complete with bedroom, lounge and private bath. The only catch was that it had to be done in Yuri's name, because the hotel (like many in the area i later found out) refuses to book foreigners who don't use a booking agent. Thank goodness for Yuri!
The next morning Yuri showed up at my room at 8.30, beer in hand...a pattern set for the next 4 hours(for him only, water was my drink of choice), and we began a walking tour of his town. Alya, having to work, couldn't make it, but promised to meet me later in the afternoon in Novosibirsk. Yuri showed me the town center, some old wooden houses typical of siberia, the new orthodox cathedral, an interesting ww2 memorial and the beach (actually on a man made lake that covered the old town of birdsk, the current town was built by the soviets in the 20's). By the end of the morning, our communication had improved, i had learned a bit of russian, and he had remembered, possibly with the help of the beer, the little english that he had learned at school. At noon, he explained that his wife (yes he was married, and even had a newborn baby) needed him at home, and he sent me off on a train back to Novosibirsk.
Upon arrival, i bought my next train ticket, leaving that night at 11pm for a 31 hour ride to Irkutsk, stored my bags, and although it was drizzling in the city and since i had not much else to do, i set off, umbrella in hand, to see the sights. Unfortunately, in Novosibirsk, apart from a beautiful opera house(bigger and more impressive than the bolshoy in Moscow), and a giant statue of Lenin, there are no sights. So I sat down for a cup of tea, and waited for news from Alya.
Finally around 6pm she was free from work and we met for dinner at a nice sushi restaurant. Alya is a really friendly, intelligent and interesting girl. Very easy to communicate with, as we spent hours in frank conversation. After dinner, glad that the rain had subsided, we took a stroll through the city center. We stopped briefly for coffee and desert, her treat. (amazing how generous these siberians are) We took the subway together until out lines split, and said our goodbyes, hoping to keep in touch. I was sorry to have spent such little time with Alya, as i really would have liked more time to get to know her. We exchanged messages for a week or so after, but i haven´t heard from her since...so Alya, if your reading this, make yourself heard!
new poll.
so, i didn´t take your advice on the last poll, and have stayed 26 mostly wonderful days in mongolia (which i'll be blogging about soon enough, if google isn't blocked in china), tomorrow i'm leaving for china (if my visa application is accepted, i´ll find out tomorrow)..so i expect to stay one month in china, visiting beijing, shanghai, xian(terracotta soldiers), and chongqing(where guy's cousin lives) and one other place...what should it be?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
38 hours on the trans-siberian
2.30 am, july 20th....Ravil, being ever helpful, accompanied me all the way to the train platform. My destination would be Novosibirsk, a 38 hour ride past Ekaterinaburg, through the Ural mountains and into the Asian continent. I 'checked in' with the carraige matron, carried my bags on board, then joined ravil outside for a final chat and goodbye. The train was coming from Moscow, and the stop in Kazan was for about 45 minutes, so many of the weary travellers came out onto the platform for their various reasons; to have a smoke, to get some fresh air, to pick up some fresh food or just to stretch their legs. Two of these, upon hearing my english, approached me with a friendly greeting. Their names were Eugene and Alex. They were from eastern Ukraine, and on their way to Siberia with two other friends (sleeping inside the train), to do some extreme hiking. Alex spoke very good english, and Eugene's was sufficient to carry a good conversation. Their beds were in the same carriage as mine, a few compartments down. As the train prepared to leave they invited me to join them for a chat and and a drink, not being very sleepy, I accepted. At around 4am, i headed to my bed assignment and bid them goodnight, agreeing to meet them again for breakfast.
I had had some mental images of the train-siberian railroad, i expected to see alot of old russian men, half drunk on vodka, painstakingly making a 5000 mile journey across a depressing landscape for god knows what reason. What I found, though, could not have been more different. First of all, all beds are assigned, and all passengers ticketed by name and passport numbers. This made it impossible for non ticketed people to board our carriage, as every person was allowed entry only after a screening by the matron. The matron is the (usually) woman who takes care of an individual carriage. She gives the sheets, opens and closes the bathrooms, gives tea mugs, snacks or whatever a passenger needs. She also protects the carriage from intruders (with the help of onboard police, if the situation warrants) and scolds ignorant foreigners when they don't understand what to do. They are often mean looking, and meaner sounding (but as i don´t speak much russian, how would i know what they are saying), unless you`re lucky enough to find a young one. All this makes for an extremely safe, somewhat comfortable setting.
I was travelling 3rd class, which meant each compartment was open (no door-no privacy) and contained 6 beds during the night, room for 6 seats during the day. But the train had a wonderful communal feeiling to it, and was filled mostly with families, older women, and young backpackers. Even the ones who knew no english, attempted to reach out to you, showing at least some interest in your life story, where you came from, and how you ended up sitting next to them. Being from New York helped, as it is a place everyone knows and seems to have great admiration and respect for.
My sleep was comfortable, and i woke up around 11am the next morning. I washed my face in the bathroom sink and went down to find the Ukrainians just preparing breakfast. There i met the others travelling with Eugene and Alex. There was Tatiana, who spoke no english, and Olga, who pretended not to, but i could tell she could understand almost everything i said. The other two people in their compartment were sisters Olga and Olona on their way home from Moscow to Omsk. They didn´t speak english either, but through Eugene I expressed how upset I was that Jaromir Jagr had left the NY Rangers to play hockey in Omsk, and they told me how he had become almost a god there. They shared with me a cucumber and tomato salad, some ukrainian meats and cheeses, and I offered some tatar cookies and fruit. Sharing seems to be an important theme when travelling the trans-siberian.
For the next 12 hours or so we ate, drank, chatted, listened to music (i had my ipod with small speakers to enjoy in the compartment) and they taught me a Russian card game called 'Durak' that helped pass the time. The train would stop at each major city along the way, alowing us to go down to the platform, where old russian ladies were selling fresh homemade delights, such as vereniki, pelmeni, meat cutlets, smoked fish, fruits veggies and drinks.
One of the the stops was Ekaterinaburg, the first big city after the Urals, which marked my arrival in Asia!! You can see a photo of me on the platform in my pics link.
That evening we dined together and passed around the cliche bottle of vodka, toasting things such as Russian cuisine, railroad travel, rain clouds and human beings. Around midnight I settled in to my second night´s sleep.
Early the next morning, we bid goodbye to Olga and Olona at Omsk, and greeted the new compartment mate, Yuri, of whom I will write in the next blog.
The train then passed through the endless green forest that is Siberia, until we stopped at a small siberian town called Barabinsk, where (ukrainian) Olga's grandmother lives. They had a short yet joyous reunion, and Olga was given a huge bag of homemade russian delicacies. We had a hearty lunch of meatballs and bliny (cheese filled crepes).
We played some more cards, shared some more stories, and shortly after 7 pm we arrived in Novosibirsk. We bid eachother goodbye, and because they had to keep the weight of their packs down, Olga packed me a large bag of her grandma's home cooking...lucky me!
I had had some mental images of the train-siberian railroad, i expected to see alot of old russian men, half drunk on vodka, painstakingly making a 5000 mile journey across a depressing landscape for god knows what reason. What I found, though, could not have been more different. First of all, all beds are assigned, and all passengers ticketed by name and passport numbers. This made it impossible for non ticketed people to board our carriage, as every person was allowed entry only after a screening by the matron. The matron is the (usually) woman who takes care of an individual carriage. She gives the sheets, opens and closes the bathrooms, gives tea mugs, snacks or whatever a passenger needs. She also protects the carriage from intruders (with the help of onboard police, if the situation warrants) and scolds ignorant foreigners when they don't understand what to do. They are often mean looking, and meaner sounding (but as i don´t speak much russian, how would i know what they are saying), unless you`re lucky enough to find a young one. All this makes for an extremely safe, somewhat comfortable setting.
I was travelling 3rd class, which meant each compartment was open (no door-no privacy) and contained 6 beds during the night, room for 6 seats during the day. But the train had a wonderful communal feeiling to it, and was filled mostly with families, older women, and young backpackers. Even the ones who knew no english, attempted to reach out to you, showing at least some interest in your life story, where you came from, and how you ended up sitting next to them. Being from New York helped, as it is a place everyone knows and seems to have great admiration and respect for.
My sleep was comfortable, and i woke up around 11am the next morning. I washed my face in the bathroom sink and went down to find the Ukrainians just preparing breakfast. There i met the others travelling with Eugene and Alex. There was Tatiana, who spoke no english, and Olga, who pretended not to, but i could tell she could understand almost everything i said. The other two people in their compartment were sisters Olga and Olona on their way home from Moscow to Omsk. They didn´t speak english either, but through Eugene I expressed how upset I was that Jaromir Jagr had left the NY Rangers to play hockey in Omsk, and they told me how he had become almost a god there. They shared with me a cucumber and tomato salad, some ukrainian meats and cheeses, and I offered some tatar cookies and fruit. Sharing seems to be an important theme when travelling the trans-siberian.
For the next 12 hours or so we ate, drank, chatted, listened to music (i had my ipod with small speakers to enjoy in the compartment) and they taught me a Russian card game called 'Durak' that helped pass the time. The train would stop at each major city along the way, alowing us to go down to the platform, where old russian ladies were selling fresh homemade delights, such as vereniki, pelmeni, meat cutlets, smoked fish, fruits veggies and drinks.
One of the the stops was Ekaterinaburg, the first big city after the Urals, which marked my arrival in Asia!! You can see a photo of me on the platform in my pics link.
That evening we dined together and passed around the cliche bottle of vodka, toasting things such as Russian cuisine, railroad travel, rain clouds and human beings. Around midnight I settled in to my second night´s sleep.
Early the next morning, we bid goodbye to Olga and Olona at Omsk, and greeted the new compartment mate, Yuri, of whom I will write in the next blog.
The train then passed through the endless green forest that is Siberia, until we stopped at a small siberian town called Barabinsk, where (ukrainian) Olga's grandmother lives. They had a short yet joyous reunion, and Olga was given a huge bag of homemade russian delicacies. We had a hearty lunch of meatballs and bliny (cheese filled crepes).
We played some more cards, shared some more stories, and shortly after 7 pm we arrived in Novosibirsk. We bid eachother goodbye, and because they had to keep the weight of their packs down, Olga packed me a large bag of her grandma's home cooking...lucky me!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Kazan
I left Moscow at midnight on Saturday, July 19th, heading for Kazan in the Tatar region of Russia. Tatars are a moderate muslim people. I had contacted a Tatar man named Ravil, through couchsurfing, who had agreed to host me for one night in his city, and met me enthusiastically at the station platform around 1 pm on sunday. Rival was extremely pro-west and anti-russian, probably stemming from the fact that his father served 5 years in a KGB prison for 'unknown' reasons. Ravil had been to America 3 times, and had had such great experiences and received such warm welcomes there, that he tried his best to make my stay the best possible. However it ended up being a short one. I discovered that the train the following night was already sold out, and was forced to take the train to Novosibirsk at 2:30 am, only 13 hours after my arrival. Ravil is an active man, and had planned to go windsurfing in the lake near kazan, i refused the invitation to join him, and he dropped me off outside the Kazan kremlin after a brief stop for a traditional tatar lunch of 'triangles'. Basically, they were pastry dough filled with meat and potatoes and very delicious.
The Kremlin of Kazan has white walls, as opposed to the red ones in Moscow, making it look very beautiful in contrast to the clear blue skies. The highlight of the kremlin is the newly built azzure Mosque. It rose high above the kremlin walls, with it's 4 minarets and large dome. It was the first time i had entered a mosque, i covered my feet with plastic baggies, and had a walk around. Unfortunately, photos are forbidden. I continued on, next visiting the orthodox church, and finally the tower of ...? I guess i can check my guide book for the name. It was built by Ivan the terrible, supposedly, for his future wife, who upon it's completion, leapt from it, choosing death instead of a life with Ivan. After leaving the Kremlin, i walked past the beautiful St. Peter and Paul cathedral, then down the main pedestrian steet where i witnessed a large hari-krishna street celebration. Lots of singing and dancing in traditional krishna garb. At 7 pm, Ravil picked me up, and showed me his home. It was basically a wooden shack built by his great-grand father in the late 19th century. It had an outhouse! He raccounted that the local government had been trying to buy him out in order to use the land for development. But the offer had been to low, and was not equal to the value of the land, let alone the value of his family's history. He also told me that mysterious fires are often set to homes and businesses like his, and even that one of his neighbours had been killed in this fashion.
We then picked up a friend of his, sasha, and took a late night drive to famous monastery 3o km out of town. It was closed at the time, but the night guard was nice enough to let me have a quick look around. Next to the monastery is a beautiful lake and nature preserve. We then drove to a supermarket, so that i could get some supplies for my 38 hour train ride. One of which was a tatar snack called chak-chak, kind of like what cheez-doodles would taste like when the cheese is replaced by honey.
Ravil was nice enough to take me to my train, although it was past 2am, all the time telling me that i must come back someday to spend time hiking, camping and rafting with him. I hope i do.
The Kremlin of Kazan has white walls, as opposed to the red ones in Moscow, making it look very beautiful in contrast to the clear blue skies. The highlight of the kremlin is the newly built azzure Mosque. It rose high above the kremlin walls, with it's 4 minarets and large dome. It was the first time i had entered a mosque, i covered my feet with plastic baggies, and had a walk around. Unfortunately, photos are forbidden. I continued on, next visiting the orthodox church, and finally the tower of ...? I guess i can check my guide book for the name. It was built by Ivan the terrible, supposedly, for his future wife, who upon it's completion, leapt from it, choosing death instead of a life with Ivan. After leaving the Kremlin, i walked past the beautiful St. Peter and Paul cathedral, then down the main pedestrian steet where i witnessed a large hari-krishna street celebration. Lots of singing and dancing in traditional krishna garb. At 7 pm, Ravil picked me up, and showed me his home. It was basically a wooden shack built by his great-grand father in the late 19th century. It had an outhouse! He raccounted that the local government had been trying to buy him out in order to use the land for development. But the offer had been to low, and was not equal to the value of the land, let alone the value of his family's history. He also told me that mysterious fires are often set to homes and businesses like his, and even that one of his neighbours had been killed in this fashion.
We then picked up a friend of his, sasha, and took a late night drive to famous monastery 3o km out of town. It was closed at the time, but the night guard was nice enough to let me have a quick look around. Next to the monastery is a beautiful lake and nature preserve. We then drove to a supermarket, so that i could get some supplies for my 38 hour train ride. One of which was a tatar snack called chak-chak, kind of like what cheez-doodles would taste like when the cheese is replaced by honey.
Ravil was nice enough to take me to my train, although it was past 2am, all the time telling me that i must come back someday to spend time hiking, camping and rafting with him. I hope i do.
moscow!
What can i say about moscow...hmm, seems so long ago that i was there. I stayed a week, which looking back may be too long for somebody not really interested in the city itself. However the stay was quite relaxing because my cousin (from calabria) rocco, is currently living and working there. He let me stay at his apartment, which is about a 20 minute walk to the red square and kremlin. My train pulled into the station at 4:30 am, right on time (get the hint italy!) and rocco was there to greet me after a night of clubbing russian style. He took me back to his pad, where i slept off the train ride. We got up around 1 pm and took a stroll down to red square. I've always loved the iconic picture of st. basil's church and it's onion domes...and to be greeted in the square by it was wonderful. If i recall, it was a cloudy day, and i kept doing 360 turns, st. basil's, the kremlin walls, the history museum, red square gate, GUM shopping center...fantastic sites surrounded me. Later on we took a walk to the main cathedral of moscow and met up on the riverside with natalya, a russian friend of rocco's who speaks italian. She was a really nice girl, who proposed an hour and a half cruise down the moscow river, a wonderful introduction to the city. The clouds broke and the trip was very relaxing as we went past the famous monuments. One of the more interesting was a tall monument of Peter the great standing over the river on 4 caravels. This made little sense as he was not a sailor, but the reason ws explained to me by natalya. It seems the original structure was to be topped by Columbus, not Peter, and was meant as a gift to the city of New York! The city however refused the gift, as they could not find a 'suitable' location for it. At the end of the trip we stopped to have some dinner at 'MuMu, and i was able to have my favorite Ukrainian dish...Vareniki! YUMM YUMM.
The next day was monday July 13 and Rocco was working, so i ventured alone to visit the kremlin. The cost to enter and visit the churches inside is about $10, but if you want to include a visit to the armoury, it came to $30!! Would it be worth it, i asked myself. After consulting the book, i decided yes, then kicked myself for not getting a 'student card', which i believe would have been possible even if i was no longer one, and would have given me a 50% discount. Upon entering the armoury, i hapily discovered that an audio guide came free with the entry ticket! It gave a 'quick' 90 minute explanation of the most beautiful objects in th museum. I should use a stronger adjective than beautiful however. This place was frickin' amazing! The crown jewels of england would gather dust here, i have never seen so many jewels in my life, infact i hadn't even believed this many jewels existed in the world. As i passed object after object, the audio guide kept informing me about ' the only...remaining in the world' or ' the only...ever made'. Crowns, clothing, thrones, etc. completely covered in diamonds, rubies, eneralds, etc. The most elaborate and gorgeous Faberge eggs ever made. Silver dining sets with elaborate designs of dragons, lions, etc. Original 17th century royal carriages of every design. My favorite piece was an silver incense burner in the form of a castle in a mountain, with the smoke from delicious oil emanating from towers and caves that would be used a centerpiece before and after dinner. Let's just say that I quickly felt the $20 fee was worth it! After 2 hours in the armoury, i stepped into the Kremlin 'courtyard' and a powerful sun shining down on me. I hopped from church to church, there are seven in all, admiring the iconostasis and frescoe paintings covering the inside walls. Although they had stopped functioning as churches during the communist period, and used for other purposes, they had retained their beauty.
The rest of my days were spent walking different areas of Moscow. Before arriving, i had written on the Moscow couchsurfing forum about my visit, asking if anyone was free to show me around. I happily got seven responses within 2 days, so was often in the company of a private city 'guide'. A few evenings i had the pleasure of a girl named diana, who not only brought me on beautiful evening walks, but also gave me interesting conversation, and invited me along to a couple of couchsurfing meetings. Rocco also came along to these meetings and was able to find some italian speakers, as he is reluclant (without a few beers) to use his english. Here i met many other people, mostly russians, but also a few Americans teaching english in moscow. They told me how easy it would be to find good employment there, which has not left my mind as a possible next phase to my life. :)
All in all, i enjoyed my week in Moscow, and left hoping to return one day
Extra anecdote: One afternoon, diana, her friend ilya, rocco and i had a picnic in the park below the kremlin walls, and just a bit of advice for sarah palin....if you really want to see Putin rear his head, you have a much better chance of doing it from there!
The next day was monday July 13 and Rocco was working, so i ventured alone to visit the kremlin. The cost to enter and visit the churches inside is about $10, but if you want to include a visit to the armoury, it came to $30!! Would it be worth it, i asked myself. After consulting the book, i decided yes, then kicked myself for not getting a 'student card', which i believe would have been possible even if i was no longer one, and would have given me a 50% discount. Upon entering the armoury, i hapily discovered that an audio guide came free with the entry ticket! It gave a 'quick' 90 minute explanation of the most beautiful objects in th museum. I should use a stronger adjective than beautiful however. This place was frickin' amazing! The crown jewels of england would gather dust here, i have never seen so many jewels in my life, infact i hadn't even believed this many jewels existed in the world. As i passed object after object, the audio guide kept informing me about ' the only...remaining in the world' or ' the only...ever made'. Crowns, clothing, thrones, etc. completely covered in diamonds, rubies, eneralds, etc. The most elaborate and gorgeous Faberge eggs ever made. Silver dining sets with elaborate designs of dragons, lions, etc. Original 17th century royal carriages of every design. My favorite piece was an silver incense burner in the form of a castle in a mountain, with the smoke from delicious oil emanating from towers and caves that would be used a centerpiece before and after dinner. Let's just say that I quickly felt the $20 fee was worth it! After 2 hours in the armoury, i stepped into the Kremlin 'courtyard' and a powerful sun shining down on me. I hopped from church to church, there are seven in all, admiring the iconostasis and frescoe paintings covering the inside walls. Although they had stopped functioning as churches during the communist period, and used for other purposes, they had retained their beauty.
The rest of my days were spent walking different areas of Moscow. Before arriving, i had written on the Moscow couchsurfing forum about my visit, asking if anyone was free to show me around. I happily got seven responses within 2 days, so was often in the company of a private city 'guide'. A few evenings i had the pleasure of a girl named diana, who not only brought me on beautiful evening walks, but also gave me interesting conversation, and invited me along to a couple of couchsurfing meetings. Rocco also came along to these meetings and was able to find some italian speakers, as he is reluclant (without a few beers) to use his english. Here i met many other people, mostly russians, but also a few Americans teaching english in moscow. They told me how easy it would be to find good employment there, which has not left my mind as a possible next phase to my life. :)
All in all, i enjoyed my week in Moscow, and left hoping to return one day
Extra anecdote: One afternoon, diana, her friend ilya, rocco and i had a picnic in the park below the kremlin walls, and just a bit of advice for sarah palin....if you really want to see Putin rear his head, you have a much better chance of doing it from there!
Friday, July 31, 2009
new photos..
Actually got the photos up...more from moscow, kazan, the train rides, and novosibirsk...enjoy!
click the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattdeleo76
click the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattdeleo76
Quick update...
Hi! I wanted to put up new photos, but the hostel computer can't support my flash. I can't stay on long, so i'm not writing any more details, only wanted to tell you that for the next 10 days i will be going on a jeep tour in northern mongolia. Jeep rental and gas, driver, sleeping in ger tent and eating with nomadic families, horse and camel riding, lake fishing, visiting mountain, desert, archaelogial sites and beautiful nature...all for 250 dollars(180 euro)!!!! I'll write again soon!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Train ride, St. Petersburg-Moscow
On July 11th, I boarded an over night train for Moscow...Because of the lack of darkness, it was difficult to sleep, so i put pearl jam on the ipod, and stared out the window from my bed...the others in the compartment didn't sleep either, but seemed not to speak a conversationable english...so i kept to myself. From the window, throughout the trip, I saw trees. Trees, trees and trees. But every so often the trees broke to reveal tiny villages hugging the rail lines. An isolated group of 5 to 20 small wooden homes, led to by faded dirt roads. I wondered, what do these people do?...I saw very few cars, so they probably don't get out of town often...I saw neither animals nor fields, so they weren't farmers...only small gardens beside the house. Hmmm? I wanted to get off the train to ask them, but there were no stations...
Later on, as I dozed in and out of a light sleep, I felt a tap on my arm. Waking to find my ipod had long since stopped playing, I looked down from my top bunk at my Asian-looking 'room mate', probably Siberian, holding out an ice-cream cone. Welcome relief for the overly-warm train car..I gave him my best 'spasibo' (thank you in Russian), chomped it down, and returned to 'Benaroya hall' and the acoustic ballads of vedder....
Later on, as I dozed in and out of a light sleep, I felt a tap on my arm. Waking to find my ipod had long since stopped playing, I looked down from my top bunk at my Asian-looking 'room mate', probably Siberian, holding out an ice-cream cone. Welcome relief for the overly-warm train car..I gave him my best 'spasibo' (thank you in Russian), chomped it down, and returned to 'Benaroya hall' and the acoustic ballads of vedder....
Map update
I've updated my map! Check it out here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110087376724794924774.00046d83e27421193854b
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110087376724794924774.00046d83e27421193854b
St. Petersburg
As far as i can understand, sitting here in an internet cafe in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia (Eastern Siberia), I've just paid $3 for unlimited time. So, although I'm a bit tired and hungry, I'm taking the opportunity to write as much as possible. Just a reminder: If you don't visit the site frequently (kind of like me recently), don't read from the top down as the posts are chronological from the bottom up!!
The center of St. Petersburg used to be filled with what we might call townhouse apartments, some of which were grand penthouses with multiple bedrooms. Obviously, living conditions for the rich; aristocrats and others belonging to the elite classes of European Russia...Then along comes a revolution! Under communism, being rich, (overly) educated and cultured didn't exactly fit in the big picture. So what happens? Many of these people are sent packing, ironically to Siberia, where I currently sit. Beautiful in July 2009, probably less so sitting in prison, or in work camps in winter (temperatures can reach -40). With these people gone, what becomes of these luxury apartments? Communal housing! Each family (of the working class) was given a room, with as many as 5 families in 1 apartment, sharing a bathroom, kitchen and entrance. As nuvou rich Russians have been popping up at fast rate (a bit less so in the current crisis), many of these apartments are being refurbished and built back again to their original granduer and purpose. Some however have yet to be 'saved'. Anatoly lives in one such apartment. Anatoly is a friend of Elena and Oleg, and currently working as an english teacher, after working for 3 years in english call center, which has given him a bit of an interesting british accent. The building entrance is like any other Soviet style block building, big heavy door with a mechanical button code. Making your way up the delapidated stairway and into the hallway, you can see that this was (many years ago) a place of elegance. Intricate carvings on the door frames and ceiling, now with faded or cracking paint. Beautiful light fixtures, hanging by rusty chains. Hard wood floors, ravaged by time and the elements, now resembling the inside of a fun house...bumpy, wavy, cracked and creaky. It was late and the other tenants were alseep as far as we could figure, we tip-toed into the communal kitchen where Oleg and Anatoly made a wonderful dish of cooked buckwheat (a staple grain in Russia, and really quite delicious!), mixed with beans and tomato sauce, then topped with a cold sour cream and herb (similar to parsley, but stronger) mixture. We gobbled it down between sips of Baltika 7 (a St. Petersburg local beer, there are 9 varieties) and chatted untyil 4am)
Other Highlights of St. Petersburg:
The Hermitage museum, 2 hour wait to get in, but filled with more picasso's, monet's and matisse's than you could imagine. But for me the highlights were the rooms themselves. The Hermitage is located in the tsar's old winter palace(look at the photo link). And a globe from 1733!
The Church on spilled blood (see photo)
An Expressive dance performance, an invitation by couchsurfer Katherine. A really nice girl, who along with her friend, brought me to see an interesting performance by an American dance troupe...lots of eggs! hmm?
A walk in Yeragin Park, a small island north of the center, where there are no cars, and from the western edge, you can look out on the Gulf of Finland.
The Potato Joint! After being advised to try them for the first several nights, finally on the 5th, we stopped at this fast food place, specializing in baked potatoes. They open it up and mash up the potato with cheese, and then give you a choice of topping. I got Mushroom in a sour cream sauce...Delicious!!!!
Next Update: Moscow!!!!
The center of St. Petersburg used to be filled with what we might call townhouse apartments, some of which were grand penthouses with multiple bedrooms. Obviously, living conditions for the rich; aristocrats and others belonging to the elite classes of European Russia...Then along comes a revolution! Under communism, being rich, (overly) educated and cultured didn't exactly fit in the big picture. So what happens? Many of these people are sent packing, ironically to Siberia, where I currently sit. Beautiful in July 2009, probably less so sitting in prison, or in work camps in winter (temperatures can reach -40). With these people gone, what becomes of these luxury apartments? Communal housing! Each family (of the working class) was given a room, with as many as 5 families in 1 apartment, sharing a bathroom, kitchen and entrance. As nuvou rich Russians have been popping up at fast rate (a bit less so in the current crisis), many of these apartments are being refurbished and built back again to their original granduer and purpose. Some however have yet to be 'saved'. Anatoly lives in one such apartment. Anatoly is a friend of Elena and Oleg, and currently working as an english teacher, after working for 3 years in english call center, which has given him a bit of an interesting british accent. The building entrance is like any other Soviet style block building, big heavy door with a mechanical button code. Making your way up the delapidated stairway and into the hallway, you can see that this was (many years ago) a place of elegance. Intricate carvings on the door frames and ceiling, now with faded or cracking paint. Beautiful light fixtures, hanging by rusty chains. Hard wood floors, ravaged by time and the elements, now resembling the inside of a fun house...bumpy, wavy, cracked and creaky. It was late and the other tenants were alseep as far as we could figure, we tip-toed into the communal kitchen where Oleg and Anatoly made a wonderful dish of cooked buckwheat (a staple grain in Russia, and really quite delicious!), mixed with beans and tomato sauce, then topped with a cold sour cream and herb (similar to parsley, but stronger) mixture. We gobbled it down between sips of Baltika 7 (a St. Petersburg local beer, there are 9 varieties) and chatted untyil 4am)
Other Highlights of St. Petersburg:
The Hermitage museum, 2 hour wait to get in, but filled with more picasso's, monet's and matisse's than you could imagine. But for me the highlights were the rooms themselves. The Hermitage is located in the tsar's old winter palace(look at the photo link). And a globe from 1733!
The Church on spilled blood (see photo)
An Expressive dance performance, an invitation by couchsurfer Katherine. A really nice girl, who along with her friend, brought me to see an interesting performance by an American dance troupe...lots of eggs! hmm?
A walk in Yeragin Park, a small island north of the center, where there are no cars, and from the western edge, you can look out on the Gulf of Finland.
The Potato Joint! After being advised to try them for the first several nights, finally on the 5th, we stopped at this fast food place, specializing in baked potatoes. They open it up and mash up the potato with cheese, and then give you a choice of topping. I got Mushroom in a sour cream sauce...Delicious!!!!
Next Update: Moscow!!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
No rest for the weary!
After a rather enjoyable 38 hours on the train (spent mostly eating and playing cards with a group of Ukrainians), i finally settled for a hotel last night.....warm shower and real bed! However, my comfort is short lived as tonight i will agian board a train, this time for the lake baikal region and the city of Irkutsk (if you've played RISK, you know this place). The ride is only 31 hours....My days in Siberia have really been adventurous...but being that i haven't even written about days 2-16, I'll continue to keep you waiting. In Irkutsk, i'll be staying in a hostel that has free internet, and i PROMISE to at least finish the stories from St. Petersburg! Take it easy----Matt
Sunday, July 19, 2009
short update
So now i'm in Kazan, Tatarstan Republic....I'm using a public computer and have limited time...Tonite i'm getting on a train to Siberia, it will take 38 hours, so don't expect any news in the next 2-3 days. As soon as I settle down somewhere, I'm gonna write about my days in St. Petersburg and eventually about Moscow too. Please have patience, and in the meantime check out the pics. Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)