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Published: November 7th 2008
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Victory Park 11/08/08
To victory and beyond???I got picked up at the Moscow train station by grandpa on the 9th of August, 2008. We went back and met grandma back at home and I gave her the present from Aunty Olga and Alena.
The next day grandma was dying to take me shopping so we set off. We ended up going to the markets maybe a 10 minute bus ride from where she was living. At the markets grandma took the opportunity to try and purchase everything for me in sight. We finally made a compromise - she brought me a new pair of shoes and a blouse for working in. She flatly refused to not buy me a pair of shoes and threatened that we wouldn't leave the markets without them. I brought some cucumbers from the market also. Oh goodness good gracious yum!
Then we got to the bus stop. The stupid bus took forever to come. So long that grandma even got me to put my shoes in the bin and put on my new ones. She was scared that I would at some point try and wear the old ones again (and to tell you the truth she was probably right).
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Grandad at Mindelavoskaya train station. I could see there was some wear still in them so I suggested we leave the shoes by the bin for some potential poor bum to take. She agreed. I think she was just happy I wasn't wearing the disastrous things anymore. I had another sad nostaligic moment there for my shoes - I had grown so attached to them and they had been through so much with me. Nadia and Viktor came to Gran and gramps place after me and gran got back and Nadia offered her congratulations that I had finally been able to part with the shoes. No one else seemed to share my sense of loss and mourning so I grieved in silence. In the evening, back at the Vasilkova residence I watched Russian classical movies.
On the 11th of August 2008, I met up with Viktor after work and we went to Victory Park. We didn't go to the museum there but did walk around the park and check out the statues and all the war artillery. Took some photos on top of them. There were also these crazy dudes on skis but like roller blades?!? Shooting past I was like I need me
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Viktor and Nadia at the celebrating table. some of that! We have nothing like that in Ozzie. Unfortunately Nadia couldn't join us for the day as she was working. At the end of the day we checked out the fountains then headed home. We watched some episodes of FRIENDS dubbed in Russian.
The next morning, the 12th of August, I got in contact with grandma and we met a the Tretikovskaya metro. From there we went to the State Tretyakovo Gallery. This gallery holds the worlds best collection of Russian icons (well according to my 2006 version of the trans - Siberian Lonely Planet) and an outstanding collection of other prerevolutionary Russian art, particularly the 19th century Peredvizhniki. We spent no joke about 4 hours walking around this gallery! My favorite piece of art was Ivan Tsarevich riding the Gray Wolf by Viktor Vasnetsov see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wiktor_Michajlowitsch_Wassnezow_004.jpg. Within the museum grounds, the Church of St Nicholas in TOlmachi is the church where Pavel Tretyakov regualrly attended services. The centrepiece is the revered 12th century icon Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, protector of all of Russia.
We had lunch at the cafe in the gallery and it was alittle pricey 400R for the two of
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Nadia and Viktor at - Mike will really appreciate this - Viktor's Skoda. us $20AUD. After the gallery we walked through the park to the main square. Saw some street performers practising in the park. After that we headed across the bridge and saw the Kremlin in the distance. Had some ice cream on the outskirts of red square and chatted in the park. Then caught the metro back to grandmas and Biblioteka Imeni Lenina.
On the 13th of August, I got a call that I had been waiting for from Unlce Yura. He asked me if I was up for visiting the Meeheva cemetery today. Of course I was so I got to the bus then the metro to Vkhino and then the trolleybus to the park that was near Uncle Yura's house or the Meeheva residence. We got a taxi to the cemetery. By the way a taxi in Moscow is usually any car that's willing to pull over when you hail it down. The cemetery was Nikolaivkso Archangel. To get to the respective graves we followed the path to the left before turning right at the brown grave. My grandma Duca and grandad Ivan are buried here.
Its a perfect resting place really just a place where I
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The park near Nadia's house after heavy rain and thunder. imagined two peaceful souls to be buried in a part of the forest. We cleaned up around their graves and lit a candle each and had a few shots of whiskey in remembrance. We talked about them alot and had some beer and talked about their lives some more. After this we headed back to town. We got a marshrutka back. Apparently it was also possible to get bus 706 back.
At Vkhino station we went to the markets there. Uncle George brought some meat, fish and veges and I brought some cucumbers and tomatoes. Quite cheaply too. I think the cucumbers were about 10R a kilo and the tomatoes were about 15 or 20R a kilo. Afterwards I bid Uncle George aideu and headed back to Nadia's house.
The 15th of August I was joined by grandad to go finally inside the Cathedral of Christ our Saviour. It sits on the site of an earlier and similar church of the same name, built from 1839 to 1883 to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon. The original was destroyed during Stalin's orgy of secularism. Stalin planned to replace the church with a 315m high 'Palace of Soviets' (including a
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Park Pobedy (Victory park). I think:) 100m high statue of Lenin) but the project never got off the ground. Literally.
Instead, for 50 years the site served an important purpose as the world's largest swimming pool. My Aunty Natasha and my dad used to go swimming there. Inside the church is very beautiful but you cant take photos inside. Maybe its like the Vatican of Orthodox churches? Anyways after this me and grandad headed to a store where you can buy pretty much everything orthodoxy from icons to prayer books and bibles, to the gear that the priests wear and the special icons that are carried during special processions ie during Easter. Afterwards we headed to the Tretyakov modern gallery or the New Tretyakov. Its the premier venue for 20th century Russian art. Besides the plethora of socialist realism, the exhibits showcase avant-garde artists like Kasimir Malevich, Vasily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Natalia Goncharova and Lyubov Popova. Theres a statuette of Pushkin too. Behind the complex we also checked out the pretty cool sculpture park.
Afterwards we headed to Gorky Park. It was just close by and grandad told me he used to go there all the time in his youth with grandma or on
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Viktor near Victory Park. double dates with Igor and his then wife Allie. When we got to the gates however they asked to see our tickets.
Our tickets?!?! Grandad exclaimed. He said he had been coming to the park for 30+ years and it had never been a paid park prior. The guy at the gates, with a pretty bored expression said to take it up with administration at the ticketing desk, he was just the messenger.
Thanks to granddad's excellent persuasion we still had to pay but I got a ticket at the pensioner price of 20R not 100R. The park was a great choice for a day out when the weather was nice - like it was. We got something to drink and I got some fairy floss and me and grandad talked about his youth. That was pretty interesting - he told me how he grew up in a communal apartment where he shared his room with his brothers (2) and his mum and how there were many other families growing up in the same way. This meant it was not strange to have some 30 people in the kitchen at any one point. He said it was definitely
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One of the statues on the bridge - it wasnt really that small... fun especially as a kid he always had someone to talk to. As an adult he told me his version of the story of how he met grandma and how he had worked in various levels as a public servant how he got to travel through the position also.
Park Gorky is named after Maxim Gorky, and stretches almost 3km along the river upstream of Krymsky most. We walked around the Park Gorky and saw the singing fountains which were quite neat. Grandad tried to convince me to go on an amusement park ride and I said I didn't want to go on one by myself. I ended up on the swings. They were quite fun but I was surprised that the prices were similar to that of an Easter show type price 140R ($7AUD). After the ride we continued to walk around the park, past the rockets and the funny mirrors. Saw some people smoking Argiley (they call this Kalyan here) and thought of Nads and camping memories. Eventually we dragged ourselves back to home and grandma. Whew what a day.
The 16th of August, 2008 marked the anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa. They had decided to
celebrate by having a few friends over after my coaxing. So I helped prepare the table. Igor was the first guest to arrive. He was great, he had been friends with grandma and grandpa since 1956! He told me stories about his first wife Allie and his new wife Irina. A real great guy to be around! By the way it was Igor's house that grandma and grandpa were living in, during the 2 month holiday they were in Moscow.
Afterwards Nadia, Viktor and Alosha came. We talked about how grandma and grandpa met and we had a few toasts. Nadia and Viktor went home and I spent the rest of the day walking around a park nearby the house with Alosha and grandad. Afterwards, Alosha went home and me and grandad did also. I talked to Uncle George that night about visiting the Dachya in a few days.
On the 17th of August 2008 I caught the bus and the metro from where my grandparents were staying near Altyhevo metro station to Teatralnaya. From there I had a walk through some historical parts of Moscow, past the monument of the guy who produced Russia's first book through
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Victory Park also gets rights to a phalliac like statue. Kitay Gorod, settled in the 13th century and one of the oldest parts of Moscow. It translates literally as China town but the name actually derives from Kita meaning wattle. It refers to the palisades that reinforced the eastern ramp erected around this early Kremlin suburb. Up until the early 19th century Kitay-Gorod was something of a printing centre, home to 26 of Moscow's then 31 bookshops.
Walking past some beautiful churches I eventually made my way into the All Saints Cathedral on the Kulishka which was built in 1687. After putting up a candle there I sat in the park before boarding the metro at Kitay Gorod and making my way to Nadia's house or the Vasilkova residence.
The next day (the 18th of August 2008) I set out bright and early to Vkhino metro. Met Unlce George in the park and we were picked up by Andrei in his truck. Andrei was taking us to the Dachya - partly because he was also interested in it. On the way to the Dachya Andrei dropped us off at the forest on the side of the road so I could see a real Russian forest.
My grandma
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A church in the distance. and uncle once walked around here, when my grandma Duca was still alive. You only had to walk a short distance away from the free way and you were totally encompassed by forest, birch trees, mosquitoes and forest berries. We sat in a clearing and had some beer and chatted. Then we slowly made our way to the Dachya. As we walked past the Daycha, Uncle Yura pointed out the rosehip that grew there. He said initally grandma Duca had gone to great pains to make it grow there but now that it had grown there, it had grown there! And everywhere. He said just try and kill it now.
We made our way to Lucy's house to pay our respects and also to grab an axe as the lock on the fence to the Dachya was pretty rusty and there was no way to get in. Lucy was our neighbour - well the neighbour 2 doors up. When she saw me she was so surprised she couldn't believe it was me. She told me to tell my mum I said hello! She made us this cold beetroot soup whilst her and my uncle caught up on life. Afterwards
we checked out the shed - this is where Andrei and his wife were living temporarily and they said I could use the shower there if I liked.
Me and Uncle George headed back to the Dachya. We axed through the gate and got inside. The grass was overgrown and it was a much smaller house then I expected. There was no grapes like I thought, and no baby cucumbers to eat then get told off for eating them when they were too small. I remember the shed out the back being bigger as well. We made our way inside the Dachya.
I remembered so many parts of it in a totally different way. I don't remember spending much time inside but I remember I used to always look forward to climbing to the top of the Dachya which was like a stairwell into an attic (which I can see now why I wanted to live in the attic of the house on Amundsen street). Uncle George actually told me it was the second storey were me, my brother and my mum used to sleep when we were little. I ended up sleeping there that night.
Finally
I had seen the main things I had wanted to see in coming to Russia. The Dachya was way different to how I remembered it - it was smaller and missing alot of people like my mum and my grandma. It was also missing Teddy (my godbrother) with the blonde curly hair (my mum says its brown now). Me, him and my brother used to run and play in the river together.
The next morning I nearly missed my ride with Andrei as I woke up at 7:30am and he was picking me up at 7:40 to drive me to the station. Uncle George had packed me a breakfast and he came with me to drop me off the the station. Lucy was also in the car and came with us. At the station she got me a free pensioner ticket. Apparently the fine was cheaper than the fare (100R for a fine and 126R for a train ticket from Frasivo to Moscow). But they told me if a conductor came on I should watch what other people do. If they skip carriages I follow them if they bribe the conductor I do so.
Well no conductor came
on so I ended up getting a free ride to Moscow. That evening the 19th of July, 2008 I visited a Hospital or a Ballinicha. They were pretty different to the ones back home, there was no receptionist and people seemed free to roam (and patients free to leave) as they pleased. There seemed to be no curtain separating the patients either. It was interesting the contrast to the hospital standards here and in comparison to aussie land.
On the 20th of July, 2008 I said good bye to my Aunty Natasha, my cousin Alosha, Nadia, Simon, Sonia, Uncle Roman and Viktor. Then in the evening me grandma, Irina (Igor's wife) and Olga (Irina's daughter) went to this Armenian restaurant. The food was great, the waiter who served us was great and they played this perfect song Black Eyes - which you can see here:
&feature=related or at the end of this entry.
On the 21st of July I went to Uncle George's place and we went to the Kuskovo estate of P Sheremetyev - the count's summer estate. It was really nice to walk around and in and so was the park. The time flew and before
we knew it was time to go. We got back to Uncle Yura's and I had a quite goodbye drink and a bite to eat and it was 7pm before I knew it. I left Uncle George's and made my way to Vkhino. The bus to the metro took forever. I looked at my watch I still had time to pick up my stuff for St Petesburgh and then go to the train station. I got to the metro. The metro wasnt running. I started to get worried so I quickly ran to the station picked up a ticket and waited for the train to come to the station. It finally did. I met a lady on the train that was going on the Altyhivo line (where I needed to go to pick up my baggage). We talked most of the way the train ride. Then we got to the centre of Moscow and switched to the Metro. We had to switch from the red line to the grey line after 4 stops. I was starting to get nervous that I was going to be late to say goodbye to gran and gramps. Finally made it to Altyhivo. The bus
took forever to come. I had no phone to call grandma and grandpa to let them know what was going on. 40 minutes later and I was stressing big time and the bus finally came. It was raining hard. The bus got to the markets - half way to gran and gramps - AND BROKE DOWN!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I RAN TO THE BUS STATION.
PLEASE CAN I USE YOUR PHONE?? I HAVE TO CALL MY GRANDPARENTS TO THIS GIRL AT THE STATION? ILL GIVE YOU MONEY??!??!!!!!
I could see she didnt fully trust me but she let me use her phone. I called grandma and grandpa to let them know I was alive and what had happened. They told me another bus I could catch from there.
I thanked the girl and asked her how much. She said 100R (which was like 5AUD and a total rip off) but I didn't care I didn't want to argue I just wanted to make it back in time.
It was 11:30pm when I finally got to the bus stop near gran and gramps house. They were waiting for me in the rain. They helped me grab my stuff
Victory Park 11/08/08
Similar to Victory Park in Kiev, there was the stock standard range of artillary from the war. then grandad took me to the Moscow - Leningradsky vaksal. I made it on time to my 2am train and waved goodbye to grandad as the train pulled away from Moscow....
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Mikhail
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page 7
Perhaps Ivan Fyodorov produced that book in 1593 ;) (17th photo), and in 11th photo it's subway between Pushkinsraya and Tverskaya ;) I go almost every day there. Generally, your posts so nice!