Advertisement
Published: September 22nd 2006
In a nutshell Having been in Russia for ten days, my impression of this country has improved rapidly. For a start, in Moscow we were very lucky to be hosted by a Russian friend and her family. After four action-packed days in the capital, we set off to see two traditional Russian towns - Vladimir and Suzdal. There, we saw stunning churches and attractive streets, before catching an overnight train to St Petersburg, where we have been for the last day.
Meet the Parents - Moscow style On our arrival in Moscow we faced an unexpected obstacle - the city's youth hostels were completely booked up for several days. Luckily, a Russian friend - Maria (one of Rochy's closest friends from Leeds) - came to the rescue. She invited us to stay with her family in a leafy, green suburb of Northern Moscow. Her family were incredibly warm towards us - they recommended tourist attractions for us to see; they arranged a Russian SIM card for Indie's phone; and then there's the food they prepared! Maria, her aunt and her mum cooked an array of Russian specialties for us: plov (a mix of rice, mutton, carrots
How about this for a metro?!? #1
Ornate sculptures at Ploshad Revolutsy stationand spices), blinys (pancakes eaten with smetana, sour cream, or with jam) and excellent cooked liver with potatoes and fresh salad. We've been so impressed by the warmth of Russian hospitality.
Our stay in Maria's house was not without it's 'Meet the Parents' (MtP) moments. You've seen the movie with Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro, right? If not you've missed out, and what I'm about to write will make no sense. On the way to Maria's house for the first time, she warned us about her crazy pet dog and asked if we like dogs. I explained that I do and that I have two golden labradors at home in Scotland, but I then added that "Indie hates dogs!". Cue Ben Stiller-style protests from Indie, who had only just met Maria. No sooner had we set foot in Maria's house when her massive dog set upon Indie in playful aggression. It made a powerful lunge towards him (I think it was aiming for the jugular) and it bit a small gash in his jumper. Seriously, it seemed intent on savaging him before Maria called it away, apologising. The funny thing is that from then on, the dog growled and
Maria and me at sunset
Indie is particularly proud of this one, and rightly so! Since the demise of his beloved camera, he has mastered my 3.2 Megapixels ;o) barked every time it saw Indie, but not at anyone else. We decided it has developed a racist streak.
Then there was the cat. Much like 'Jinksy' in MtP, this cat was 'special'. It had a taste for yoghurt and fine cottage cheese, but not milk. It also ate quality Russian ham. What's more, it slept wherever took it's fancy. I'd been warned about this, so I shut the door when going to sleep. Although cat's "lack the opposable thumbs!" as Jack explains when telling Mr. Jinx can't flush the toilet, Maria's cat could somehow open doors. When I woke up on the first and second day in Maria's house, the cat was sitting contentedly beside my head, looking right at me. It was a bit weird!
Our days in Moscow were quite varied. We visited the impressive Kremlin complex, strolled for hours around the touristy streets of Arbat and saw the visually-striking Red Square. We sorted out our remaining plans for Russia, and stumbled upon a beautiful Orthodox church - Hram Hrista Spasitelya (Cathedral of Jesus Christ the Saviour).
The Kremlin was awesome. Although the place was mobbed with tourists, we discreetly attached ourselves to several
tour groups, tagging along at a slight distance. This was a good idea, because by following groups of Americans, Chinese and Spaniards, we were able to understand what the guides were explaining. In one of the buildings, a crowd of people were shuffling around, moving past one another while gazing at the decorated coffins and Cyrillic calligraphy, when abruptly they all stopped moving. A small choral group of four had started to sing. Three men, dressed in black, stood behind a small woman, dressed in white. The men sung in a range of deep tones, while the woman was the protagonist - she had a powerfully sweet voice. The sound they produced was haunting, and it sent shivers down my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was a moment of real power in a place of real beauty - I won't forget it.
Vodka and beer - not a good mix We've generally not drunk alcohol on this trip. There've been a few random exceptions - we drunk whisky and home brew with some locals in an indigenous Lao village, and we went out for beers with some other backpackers
in Kyrgyzstan. However, we'd not been drunk on the trip. Until Moscow.
We'd arranged to meet Maria for a night out, so after several hours wandering around Moscow during the day, we went for a few drinks late afternoon. After wasting 6 pounds on an atrocious 'Cubanito' cocktail (which turned out to be made from tomato juice - rank!) in a bar full of rich, pretentious young Muscovites, we decided to resort to old-school tactics. In preparation for a night out in the city rated as the world's most expensive, we changed plan. Student-style, we picked up a bottle of cheap (but good quality) Russian vodka in an off-license, and headed to TGI Fridays on New Arbat, which was mobbed. There, we shared some food and ordered cokes, which we regularly topped up with vodka. Under the table, as you do. We thought the waiters might object to our glasses miraculously re-filling themselves every so often, but they didn't bat an eyelid.
We shamelessly plied ourselves with vodka, then wandered around the touristy, artist-filled Old Arbat street. We'd agrees to meet Maria and Ivan, the guy she was seeing, in a popular bar nearby, so we headed there.
Fuelled by vodka, the night just took off! We were immediately handed beers by Ivan, and we started smoking sheesha with him and Maria. As the conversation flowed, so did the beer and vodka. We talked about our travels since Beijing, and about many other topics. There were a couple funny moments - once I was chatting with Maria, when I noticed Indie was speaking to Ivan in Mandarin! Later, Ivan asked Indie and I if we were "best mates", which we thought was hilarious.
In truth I can't remember much after the bar - it's all a haze. We went on to a club where they were not going to let us in until Maria charmed them with some remarks about us being foreign and new to the city. Inside the club, we heard pounding dance music and we continued to drink, but my memory of this part of the night completely fails me.
The next day we nursed our hangovers in sunny Gorky Park, and we were glad to return to the tranquility of Maria's house. Although her parents tried to tempt us with wine, we decided to pass. Instead we sipped green tea, went on
a stroll by a nearby lake at sunset (see the attached photos, which we really like), and we laughed at 'Shrek 2'. Moscow is a wonderful place.
Back to the Future in Suzdal Continuing the movie theme, it felt like we'd stepped back in time when leaving Moscow. We got to the relatively sleepy, traditional towns of Vladimir and Suzdal. There, without the generosity and warm hospitality of Maria's family, we were suddenly on our own once again. At first I felt sad, but soon we began to explore the sun-bathed streets, and we enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Suzdal literally felt like another world. It felt like we'd been transported back in time to a far-flung Soviet town of beautiful churches, green fields and blue rivers. We picked up some souvenirs, walked around a collection of elegant churches, and soon we were back in Vladimir once again. After the buzz and energy of Moscow, the fresh air and blue skies of Suzdal represented something entirely different, but refreshingly so.
We are now in St. Petersburg, where we have been bowled over by a new unexpected twist in our Russian tale. I have
visited many countries in the world and there are several which have a special significance for me - for example: Scotland, Colombia, Spain and Romania. However, I believe that hospitality just doesn't get any better than in Russia. More details on this, and on our adventures in St. Petersburg, coming very soon.
A Change in Plan A few weeks ago I decided that it had been too long since I had been living in Romania. I worked in Bucharest in the summer of 2003 on an AIESEC internship at the Chamber of Commerce there. The experience of living there (more so than the actual internship) was wonderful and I met some incredible people. However, I haven't been back since. When we were in Kyrgyzstan I looked at a map of Europe and it suddenly dawned on me that to visit Romania was possible and practical, as part of this trip. The feeling grew increasingly stronger, and by Kazakhstan I had convinced Indie (who's also been to Bucharest before - last year, in fact) that we could, and should, go to Bucharest as part of our trip back home. So, this weekend we are getting a train
from Moscow to Bucharest. Wild horses couldn't hold me back.
Indie, on Russian hospitality On our travels, we met several other travellers who had come to Asia through Russia.
"How was Russia?" we asked them in eager anticipation.
There has seldom been a favourable response. Some things we have heard include:
1. "People are so unhelpful"
2. "They are so unfriendly"
3. "They are confused"
4. "They don't know what they want, they don't know if they want tourists, they don't know if they want capitalism"
Many people who entered Asia through Russia had intended to spend a lot longer in the former Soviet land but due to their bad experiences they left a lot sooner.
Having spent over ten days here, our experiences have been totally different. Yes, there have been many more people here who have just ignored us when we have needed some help, and people seem harsher, but I think this goes hand in hand with the fast pace of Western life.
Once you get underneath all that, what we have found is real warm-hearted hospitality and kindness from people that we barely know. Some of the
hospitality we have received, I have really felt undeserving of. It has been unbelievably generous.
Maybe we have got lucky; maybe we tried harder to uncover this elusive Russian hospitality.
Maybe I shouldn't search for reason... I am just so glad that we experienced it.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.331s; Tpl: 0.021s; cc: 11; qc: 76; dbt: 0.2391s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
pats
non-member comment
must have been the lovely suzdal churches which solidified your decision to swing by romania? they look so much like the suceava monasteries - or perhaps i'm just inclined to confuse all the onion shaped domes of europe. still enjoying all your missives - say hello to all the wonderful folks in ro for me!