Our Last Night in Gruz

Our last night in the apartment, and it did not fail to confirm that we shall not miss it.  The noise level was amazing with garbage seeming to be taken every hour.  I’m sure we are hearing more since we have all the windows wide open for any breezes that might be available to visit our bedroom.  This morning at six, we thought all was quiet and we could sleep a bit more but no, the local workers here were having a Spike Jones session with the garbage bins that was truly annoying.

We finally gave up and got up and started the very last minute preparations for our two pm departure to the airport hotel.  The apartment looks much better than it did when we got here and it truly is spic and span; even the little balconies have been swept and washed.  Of course by the time the new tenants arrive, things will be covered with dust and soot but for now it is spotless.

We had a lovely dinner with one of the remaining teachers whom we have sort of adopted.  She is from Minnesota and a lovely young lady who is fluent in Russian.  We had my last bottle of Champagne at her apartment and it was wonderful.  Then off to Torro Grill where Cindy and Lindsey had the Bird Burger and I had grilled lamb sausage.  It was all delicious, especially with the crisp dry wine from Chile.  We were talking about Minnesota and the Minnesota State Fair where she had once worked in the transportation department and Cindy and I agreed that we needed to go back to the fair some time, if for no other reason than the great grilled corn.  Somehow we got on the subject of the Russian Museum that is in the Twin Cities and it turned out that Lindsey had been an intern there and had worked with Cindy’s cousin Lynda who was the intern coordinator at the time.  What a small world we live in!

It is a lovely day to depart the apartment.  It is hot and humid and the air is filled with the fragrance of hot asphalt that is being used to redo our sidewalks and parking area.  We are hoping that the driver will be able to come right to the door since we have four large and heavy suitcases for our trip home.  I don’t want to be lugging those things around in my sports jacket and dancing shoes, especially since everything is all torn up and filthy.

Cindy and I were talking about what we would miss about our time here in Moscow.  We both agreed that we very much enjoyed living in the middle of a vibrant city and we have vowed to spend lots more time in Washington so that we can continue to enjoy museums, ballet, theater, opera and other luxuries available in urban settings.  We shall also miss the Moscow Metro, a gem of a public transportation network that is as beautiful as it is efficient.  We both know that we would come back if we were paid to come back but we would never use our own money or miles to return to Moscow.  We do want to go to St. Petersburg, but we can do that on a cruise where you don’t need to go through the horrible visa experience.  Moscow and the USA supposedly have signed a new treaty, which will allow for three year multiple entry visas, but there has been no date established for implementation and the talk is that it will only be for business travelers, not tourists.

From CC:  I am mostly very sad to be leaving, and still feeling extremely frustrated about the situation at the school where there was so much confusion and lack of purpose.  But that was beyond fixing so there is no point looking back; I certainly made the right decision to stick to a one-year contract.  Learning Russian has been difficult and slow, and now that it’s too late I feel like I’m finally making progress.  We made such good friends here but we all know that crossing paths again is very unlikely – but of course that’s a given when you move around as much as we have.  I’m looking forward the most to the clean air in WV, even if cultural events are far away and we can’t go anywhere without a car!  Life is full of choices and I like to think we’ve chosen well over the last 28 years. 

I’ll make this the early edition of Moscow Musings and post it now, two hours before our driver arrives.  We have no idea what is available at the hotel in terms of high-speed access so off this goes.  With luck we’ll have time at the airport to post a quickie before I flight back to Dulles.  If not, I’ll post the last musing on Thursday.  Best to all, Cindy and Wm.

Tallinn, Riga and Moscow

We returned from our trip to Tallinn and Riga yesterday afternoon.  Everything went according to plan and we had a marvelous, relaxing, and fun-filled five days of adventure.  The train and flights were all on time and we arrived in Tallinn at mid-afternoon, plenty of time to unpack and get our bearings in the compact city.  Our hotel was great and only steps from the Old Town, which is where all the action takes place.  The Old Town is very lovely but ever so touristy, with lots of young kids dressed in medieval garb luring the tourists into the various restaurants and cafes that are packed around the central square.  Personally, I’ve never been attracted to Medieval Fairs or banquets or themed events.  From what I’ve read about medieval times, there wasn’t much that was cute or appealing and I have never been a big fan of Hildegard von Bingen.

We had a quick flight on Friday to Riga and our experience there didn’t get off on the right foot.  We had a taxi driver that was Russian and didn’t even speak Latvian, which should have been our first tip off.  He charged us twenty-two Lats for the trip and I had thought that it was only about ten, but he insisted that was the fare.  Of course when we checked into the hotel and asked about the fare, they told us that yes it was only ten Lats and asked if it was a black “Mercedes from Riga” Taxi.  We told them it was and they said that everyone who works in the travel industry knows that they are Russian cheats and yet no one in the government does anything about it since they are all paid off.  Riga is very Russian; fifty per cent of the people that live in Riga are Russian.  While Latvian is the official language, children can still go to Russian schools and be taught in Russian.

Riga doesn’t have the charm of Tallinn but it is a very interesting city filled with lovely parks, a magnificent river, and tons of Art Nouveau buildings from the late 1890s to 1910.  The Old Town isn’t as old as Tallinn but it is filled with charm and churches.  In both cities Cindy got me on Hop On / Hop Off buses that took us on tours of the cities.  Both times it rained so hard that it was hard to see anything but the narration was good and very informative and it gave us a sense of where we might want to visit in the future, if there is a future visit for us in either Tallinn or Riga.

One of the highlights of Riga was our visit to the Occupation Museum.  This is a marvelous exhibit that really shows you how difficult it was to have lived under the German Occupation for six years and the Russians for another fifty.  Cruel and unusual take on a whole different meaning when you see these exhibits.

Today was supposed to be a relaxing day but it appears we had a lot more to do before we were ready to depart.  We worked like crazy this morning doing last minute laundry, defrosting and cleaning the freezer, packing up things we want and tossing things we don’t want and giving away everything else.  Finally at one this afternoon we felt like we had done enough to head out on our last excursion in Moscow. Our first stop was at the Moscow Monument to Space Flight.  It is truly a grand monument, as are all the monuments in Moscow.

From there we walked over to the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, which was first opened in 1939, four years late, and was to be a monument to all of the countries that were a part of the USSR.  This place is really filled with monuments and has one of the largest and most beautiful fountains in all of Moscow.  It was very hot today and there was precious little shade so our walk was more of a forced march, which provoked a great deal of perspiration. We decided to take an alternative way home, one that would take us though the botanical gardens directly to another Metro stop.  That was the plan and it didn’t work at all!  We ended up walking and walking and walking through this forest with lakes, all of which was very pretty but for the first time in Moscow I really wanted to hear the sound of traffic instead of birds.  We finally got out of the forest and had no idea where we were.  Cindy found a woman who spoke English and she told us we needed to take a bus to the Metro, which is what we did, but we didn’t see any Metro.  Turns out you have to walk though a neighborhood to get to the Metro and we finally got back here about four thirty and stopped for a much needed ice cold beer.  (From CC: actually I first found a very nice woman who explained all about the bus and Metro to me in Russian, and while I got the general gist - gestures were helpful - I couldn’t quite believe my ears.  It just doesn’t seem fair that the Metro stop called Botanical Garden is nowhere near the actual botanical gardens, which is what I’d been banking during that long walk through the forest!)

So now the house is immaculate, we are pretty much packed, we’ll go out to dinner tonight, and tomorrow a driver will deliver us to a hotel near the airport in advance of our flight on Wednesday.  Until tomorrow, best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

Moscow's Day of Aggravation

Happy Solstice

While we enjoy the longest day, Colin et al. in Wellington will enjoy the early evening as they try to catch up on sleep.  They arrived save and sound and are having a grand adventure.

Cindy and I are having our own little adventure today.  We had thought this would be a very relaxed day to prepare for our trip to Tallinn and Riga.  We went to the embassy to pick up our passports and lo and behold, they had not done anything right.  We had asked for a double entry visa plus the exit visa, instead they only issued the exit visa, which means if we were to go to Tallinn tomorrow; we would not be allowed to reenter Russia!  We have already prepaid 1200 non-refundable dollars for this trip and now we are not at all sure if we can go.  The two people at the embassy that handle visas are both Russian and their first reaction was that it was our fault that they didn’t do what we wanted done.  Cindy insisted, in the nicest possible way, that she had filled out the forms correctly.  This drove the clerk to the file cabinet and she got out the forms Cindy had filled in and guess what, Cindy was CORRECT and there it was in writing and the clerk had to admit it was her fault.

I have to return to the embassy at five to see if they have been able to correct their errors, if not, we are stuck in Moscow with no way to cook for the remaining eight days before our flight to Dulles.  This must be the Day of Aggravation in Moscow because we have been in a constant state of aggravation since our trip to the embassy.  We decided to do something to get our minds off this mess so we walked over to Red Square and I got in line to buy tickets for entry to the Kremlin.  We had never been inside the gates of the Kremlin before and didn’t want to depart Russia without having seen all the cathedrals, official buildings, and magnificent gardens.  The line to purchase tickets was typically Russian, one way to get in the door and the same door for people to get out so it was always a bottleneck.  I stood there waiting my turn and knew that the woman behind me was jockeying for position to jump in front of me.  Just as the man ahead of me was about to leave, I gave the woman a wonderful head fake and then a hip check and she never knew what hit her as I got my ticket.

We then had to get in a line to go through security and if I hadn’t purchased the tickets I might have rethought this whole thing.  We finally get through and then the guard tells me my bag is too big and I have to go outside the gates, down two flights of stairs and over to the baggage check place to pay to store my little SDSU bag, more aggravation!  I finally got back to the security lines and got though to the gateway to the Kremlin, where I noticed that about 80% of the women tourist all had bags much larger than mine.  More aggravation.

The hassles were well worth enduring since it truly is one of the most beautiful places in all of Moscow.  Six cathedrals, one more grand than the other all around this lovely square that is guarded by the Tsar’s Cannon, which is right next to the Tsar’s Bell. Everything about the Kremlin is on such a grand scale that it is hard to imagine all the work that must have gone into the establishment of this place.  We also visited a museum which had a special show of the work of Fabregé eggs and other examples of his jewelry.  We had a pleasant stroll in the lovely gardens before heading back towards the apartment.

Just back from the embassy.  We raced over there to catch them and when we finally got to the elevators they were not working so we had to figure out how to find the stairs to the third floor.  More aggravation.  They fixed everything because it was their fault and they didn’t want to live with that mistake and they assure us that we’ll be allowed back into Russia on Sunday!

So, it looks like we’ll be on our way to Tallinn in the morning, which means no blogs until next Monday.  Enjoy the rest.  Cindy and Wm.

Embassy Errands

Cindy left for her last day at work at 7:15.  The water man came and picked up the empty bottles of water at 7:55.  At 8:30 they started to jackhammer outside my window and now they have heavy machines chewing up the parking area.  The place is filled with trucks, equipment, people, and more noise than you can imagine.  It reminded me, in not a pleasant fashion, of those summers I spent working heavy/highway laying asphalt in hot humid weather.  What a lovely way to send us off!

Yesterday we ‘discovered’ a marvelous little museum right near our house.  In fact, Cindy has run by it almost every day since we arrived but we never knew what it was.  Since it was raining we decided to stay close to home so we went over to investigate it.  It is stunning!  Here is a note that Cindy wrote to the folks who live here: For those you still here and/ or returning in August, you might like to know about a fabulous museum right in the neighborhood.  It's now part of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (5 locations including this one) - and it's on the road to the zoo alongside that cute little park on the right hand side of the street.  You've no doubt seen the clowns and other marvelous sculptures outside the building.

http://www.tsereteli.ru/eng/mmzts.php

The above is the best website I found but parts of it are under construction; I think the museum was a studio and is only recently open as a museum.  In any case, it's the work of Zurab Tsereteli, a prolific sculptor originally from Georgia (did you know that Gruzinski means Georgia - or maybe Georgian?).  He has done many famous sculptures around Moscow including the Georgian monument just up the street, the holocaust memorial sculpture in Victory Park, the Peter the Great that's supposedly Christopher Columbus, many many St. George the Dragon Slayer, etc.

The building has 4 floors of art, some sculptures, and some oils and ceramics - all cool.  Then the docents allow you to go outside and there is a jaw-dropping array of HUGE sculptures, bas-reliefs, mosaics, and other impressive art.  It costs 150 Rubles for foreigners (maybe a kartochka will get you in for less).

Have fun - it's well worth it –

I had a lot of errands to do today in preparation for getting out of here.  I had to go to the embassy and return our cable box and connections and then had to check out of the Embassy Association, which handles the commissary and other nice things.  It is a membership organization and by checking out I made sure we would get our deposit of 300 dollars returned within the next month or so.  These were easy things to do, but rather time consuming.

I took the long way home so that I could walk again along the banks of the Moscow River.  All the wildflowers are in full bloom and the banks are a profusion of color.  There were lots of ducks with their ducklings paddling among the water lilies, which are just starting to flower.  Even the fish were jumping and I almost had to bust out in song.

I cooked my last meal in Moscow.  It was a pasta dish with pan-seared scallops, garlic, bacon, chives, hot chili flakes, pepper, basil and a bit of salt.  It was a very nice way to cap eleven months of meals in Moscow.  The kitchen is now officially closed, except for coffee and tea.  We have to clean the fridge tomorrow and then we’ll just eat out for our remaining week or so, most of which will be in Tallinn and Riga.  That is, assuming we get to go to these places.  Right now we still don’t have our passports and if we don’t get them by tomorrow, we may be plumb out of luck.

Keep your fingers crossed, Cindy and Wm.

Making Deliveries in Moscow

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father’s Day to all who qualify!

It has been a rainy, cool Sunday.  We were up early and Cindy was able to run before the rain started for serious.  While she was running, I was packing up the TV that we were to deliver this morning.  I did a fine job of wrapping it in bubble paper and securing it in the box that the movers left.  We sold it to one of the teachers who we call ‘Swifter’ since she, like me, adores the cleaning aid (some of us call her Swiffer, since that is actually the name of the product).  I had a brand new swiffer kit that she wanted, complete with refills as well as a swiffer dust buster.  We packed everything up, lugged it all to the car, and were ready to go on our big adventure.

As we were loading things another teacher came out to dump the trash and we told her we were going to Kutz, the housing area where Swiffer lives.  She was going to walk over there in the rain, so we told her to hop in.  We had maps and we knew what to do, but I stayed on a surface road too long and missed the underpass that would have taken us where we wanted to be.  Instead we were on the right road but the wrong side, and in Moscow you can’t make left turns.  We had to go about four miles pass the housing area before we found a way to loop around and under the road and come up on the correct side.  What an ordeal.

We got all the stuff delivered and as we were leaving we spied another friend who lives in our housing area so we were able to give her a ride home in what had now become very heavy rain.  Again, there was no easy way to get home since it would have involved a left turn, which wasn’t an option.  Instead we just drove over and around twice, before getting to the right road towards home.  Always an adventure when you take to the streets of Moscow.  When we were back in the apartment I realized that my reading glasses must have fallen out of my pocket while I was trying to lug the big box into the apartment.  Of course I sent all my spares back, so now I have just my emergency Ben Franklin glasses.  I think I’ll go shopping tomorrow. 

Hannah In Biz

Colin, Meagan, and Hannah are finally on their way to Auckland and according to my Flight Track, they have been airborne for a few hours and are most likely sleeping like babies since they are in Business Class with flat beds.  Colin sent me a picture of Hannah in her seat just before they closed the doors on the flight.  She looks so small in such a big seat.

The pasta last night was just wonderful, as were the guests.  Cindy is finding it hard to say goodbye to some people that she has become very friendly with at AAS.  I have no such difficulties with the double-edged sword of friendship here in Moscow.  I ain’t got any problems leaving!!

Cindy found this great Mockumentary on the National Bird of Bahrain, the Plastic Bag.  It is very wonderfully done and very sad that it needed to be done.  Happy Sunday,  Cindy and Wm.

Parties, Pasta and People

We were invited to the Middle School party last night at a restaurant called Scandinavia.  It was a lovely BBQ burger fest with great beer and wine and lots of energy.  Lots of funny speeches about people moving on and nothing boring or overly sentimental.  They are all wonderful people who are really devoted to teaching.  The principal made a point of saying how much everyone will miss Cindy and how much she has done in one year to improve technology.

Cindy had a half-day today so I used my time to do some laundry and make a big, really big, pot of sausage and vegetable pasta sauce.  The house smells great and so far the sauce tastes great, but will improve with simmering.  It was quite the trick cooking the sauce with only one big pot.  I’ll have to transfer the sauce to some smaller vessels so that I have something to cook the pasta in.  At least it is better than camping.  Some of our friends in the building are coming down for dinner tonight.  They have to bring their own wine glasses and flatware!

Heard from Colin, Meagan, and Hannah that they were caught up in the United computer meltdown and were delayed for five and a half hours at Dulles.  Needless to say they missed their connection to Auckland and have to spend the day in a hotel near LAX.  They are now scheduled out at 2100 tonight.  Luckily they are all so excited about the move that their spirits still seem high.  At least they weren’t shot at like the Asiana Flight

People have been coming over today to pick up the stuff we sold.  We are down to two little bags that still have to go.  Tomorrow we pack up the TV and transport it to a friend who lives in the other housing area.  The apartment will look even more barren once the TV and cable box are out of here so we shall entertain ourselves by observing how long the days are becoming.  We have 17.5 hours of daylight today and St. Petersburg has 19.  Now isn’t that exciting.

Obviously I’ve run out of things to report so I’ll sign off.  Best to all,  Cindy and Wm. 

Down To The Bare Essentials

Well the movers came and have gone and we are here in Moscow the way we started in August, a few suitcases, two pans, two glasses, a bit of flatware and still happy as clams.  They arrived exactly on time, walked around the house, were impressed with all the prelim work we did and began to pack.  Just two of them and they were done less than three hours later.  They were very professional, knew what they were doing and we were mightily impressed with their attitude and pace.  A about at the half way point they asked permission to take a cigarette break so I gave them each a box of Marlboro and their eyes twinkled like kids at Christmas.  They were most appreciative and came back with a renew vigor and no smell of alcohol, which impressed us.

When they were done I asked them to leave a box that I could put the TV in since we need to transport it on Sunday to the person who purchased it.  Not only did he leave a box, he prepared the box, left us bubble paper and a whole role of tape.  While Cindy was signing all the paperwork, I went and got a couple of beers and as they left I gave them the beers and six hundred rubles, which they appreciated greatly.  The apartment looks quite bare and very spacious with everything gone.

We celebrated with a late lunch at Ragout and had a delicious and very inexpensive meal, by Moscow standards.  It was fun to have a ‘business lunch’ on a weekday and would be even more fun if Cindy didn’t have to go to work tomorrow.  For some reason, not at all clear to me, they are being made to go to work tomorrow despite the fact that there are no students and nothing to do.  As bad as that is, they also have to go to work for a half day on Monday.  I’ll never understand K-12 schools.

Here is a great headline and a fun story.  Putin loves the young and pretty.

Colin, Meagan, and Hannah head out today for New Zealand.  Everyone is so excited and I know they’ll have a great experience over the next several years.  They stayed last night at the Hyatt Dulles where they were upgraded to the Presidential Suite.  I’ve walked pass it, that’s as close as I’ll get I’m sure.

That’s it, we need to get ready for yet another party, this one starts at five, but it is a half hour walk from here.  Best wishes to all, Cindy and Wm.

'Cause Packing Up Is Hard To Do

This will be a quickie since both Cindy and I are exhausted. The movers come tomorrow so today we have been getting organized.  We thought this would be a piece of cake and that we would be done by noon and then we would go someplace special for lunch.  It is now four and we have been at it almost non-stop since 8:30. This shouldn’t have been so difficult since we’ve only been here eleven months; we have no furniture and we really haven’t accumulated lots of stuff.  One of the things we had to do first was to figure out what we needed to keep since we’ll be going to Tallinn and Riga for five days and then be back here for two more. We really found that we didn’t need much so we placed everything in one closet and closed it up.

While Cindy ran, I remade the bed with the linens that were here when we arrived and then I packed up our linens, pillows and duvet for the move.  Had to do three more loads of laundry to get all the towels washed, dried and packed and then we had to wash the ones that were here when we arrived.  Lordy, I’m not going to miss this washer/dryer.

We took a break and took a short walk to get a nice espresso before coming back to finish off our packing.  I still have to work through the fridge and use everything up over the next several days, but that should be easy.  As difficult as this is, it is still very exciting to know that we are almost out of here.

I suspect the members of The 54 Club are just ecstatic with the report in today’s paper about a new ORGANIC VODKA!  To think that all these years they have been drinking inorganic vodka.  I think they are going to have to have a really cool marketing plan to get Russians to spend more on vodka because it is organic.

Never let it be said that the Russians are a forgiving lot.

Ciao, Cindy and Wm.

Dinner Out

We started our clean-out-the-booze campaign last night by inviting the friends taking us to dinner to stop here first for a drink.  I introduced them to wonderful amber rum from Barbados called Mount Gay.  I served it on the rocks with a bit of tonic and lots of fresh lime and it was a big hit.  We then headed to a restaurant I’ve not been to called Torro Grill, which is a small chain here in Moscow. It is a Spanish steak house and there is plenty of charm in the place. Lots of Serrano hams hanging over the bar, a great wine list and what looked like wonderful steaks. I wanted a hamburger and that is what I got, a great big juicy Kobe beef hamburger with bacon, cheddar cheese and a bun that I’m sure was grilled in butter! This was a huge monster of a burger and on the menu they tell you that the chef will go crazy if he sees anyone eating it with a knife and fork.  I must admit I had a grand time eating that thing. Cindy had a bird burger, ostrich I think, and it was very tasty as well but there wasn’t enough bad stuff in it to make it really special. 

This morning I walked for about an hour before coffee just to work off some of that burger, but I had no regrets.  The day was beautiful and any thoughts that I had about all that rain getting rid of ‘Stalin’s Snow’ were dashed as the wind picked up and the ‘snow’ started falling heavily. Being out during rush hour gave me a chance to once again marvel at the traffic in Moscow. On one of the long streets where I walk the traffic was backed up six blocks. In fact, I got to the end of the street walking, before one of the cars I saw at block four got there.  Here is an interesting article on gridlock and fancy cars.

I spent much of the day just getting organized for the move.  I’ve been doing laundry so that we don’t send home dirty clothes and I’ve washed the sheets that we’ll use for the last week we are here.  I think I’ve just enough detergent, bleach and softener to last until we depart. What an exciting life I have being able to plan my use of detergent down to the wire!

I purchased five new shirts before we departed Charles Town for Moscow. I had been told that there would be lots of work for me in Professional Development and Leadership workshops at the school so I wanted to make sure I dressed for success.  Here, as in Bahrain, none of the promises were honored and I still have five nice new shirts in their original packaging, which will make them much easier to send home.

As I’ve been sorting and organizing, I’ve found a few more items for sale that we really don’t need to take home.  I just sold a speaker system as well as our 220v clock radio.  I fear there will be very little for the movers to move and certainly nothing heavy, which I’m sure will please them.  I’ve saved a few packs of Marlboros to give as tips to the movers if they do a good job. I’m planning on having a ‘safe room’, most likely our laundry room, where we can place all of the things we don’t want packed, as well as our personal valuables, and close the door.  It is always a good idea to remove temptation whenever possible.

I just realized that I’m missing the Paris Air Show yet again. It has been going, on and off, since 1909 so I’ve had plenty of time to get there.  Oh well, perhaps in two years.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

US Flag Day in Moscow

Happy Flag Day!  I went to the embassy today so that I could salute and say the pledge of allegiance in front of the giant flag in the courtyard.  I mean, that’s what holidays are for, right?

It rained most of the night and morning resulting in Minnesota on the Moscow, land of 10,000 lake-sized puddles.  I swear we must be in a bowl in this neighborhood. There is water everywhere and you have to plan a route carefully or you end up confronting a large body of water and have to turn back. Drainage isn’t one of the grand things about Moscow.  There is, however, an up side to this problem. As I was waiting to cross a street, a big black SUV parked in the crosswalk on the other side of the street. Now I had been thinking about how I was going to get around the puddle in the crosswalk just as this bozo leaped out of his car and submerged his Gucci loafers up to the tassels.  Oh it was a grand and glorious event and he did not react well, which made it even grander.

I almost timed my trip to the embassy perfectly, but the last twenty minutes of the trip were filled with heavy rain.  I was carrying my backpack, which was filled with liquids, and it was heavy. That combined with the light rain jacket I had on provoked a good deal of perspiration and gave me a very good workout.  It is now bright and sunny, of course, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that it rains like crazy when we are ready to walk to dinner.

Pasta with Salmon and Green Beans

Attempting to prepare dinner last night taught me a few tricks that I’ll use from time to time. Since I really don’t have a decent frying pan anymore, I decided to ‘stew’ the onions and garlic in butter that I placed in a small saucepan.  Once they were soft I added salt, pepper, tarragon and some chives and continued to slowly cook it for another few minutes to release all the flavors.  I then turned the heat off and stirred in about a half a cup of smoked salmon that I had cut into small pieces.  When the pasta water was hot I added a mixture of spinach and egg fettuccini, which was languishing in the cupboard. I returned it to the boil for four minutes and then added lots of whole green beans and cooked everything for another five minutes.  Meanwhile I added a half-cup of sour cream to the salmon mixture and gently heated it as I added a half-cup of chicken stock.  I had already grated the remains of the wonderful pecorino that we had in the fridge and I was now ready to assemble and serve. The drained pasta and beans went back into the big pan, followed by the salmon mixture, which was incorporated into the pasta. Off went the heat, in went the cheese, out came the mixture onto the hot plates, a little sprinkle more of cheese and voila!

It looks like you can take the Commie out of Communism but you can’t take the privilege away from the privileged. Very happy I was not on that flight.

Fifteen days and counting. Best wishes, Cindy and Wm

Stalin's Snow

Lovely Central Fountain

I had a lovely three-hour walk today and discovered a completely new neighborhood.  I love taking walks where I end up going someplace that turns out to be an adventure.  I was deep in some strange neighborhood when I stumbled across a very large park with a magnificent fountain.  I went into the park to explore and found all this wonderful old homes and buildings surrounding the park and a huge statue of a very stern looking man, who I’m guessing might be Lenin. The park is called Skver Devich’ego Polya, which translates as Square Maiden Field.  I had to do a lot of map work to find this when I got home, but it was worth it just for the language experience.  It has a wonderful history as you can see from the article. The park lawns were filled with Stalin’s Snow, the white fluffy seeds from both cottonwood and trembling aspen.  They blame Stalin for planting all these trees to replace all the trees that were cut for firewood during WWII.  These are fast growing but no one anticipated all the ‘snow’ they would produce in the spring.

Stern Lenin

I was thinking today that I probably know more about the walking tours of inner Moscow that any non-native speaker. I figure in the eleven months that I’ve been walking around here I’ve most likely logged about seven hundred miles, assuming I walked at least three miles per day, which on most days has just been a warm up.  I’m quite sure I’ll miss this part of my experience when we move back to Charles Town.  From CC:  I feel like I’m just warming up in terms of getting to know Moscow.  If I could stay here for several more months without working at AAS I’d be in heaven!

One of the best things about walking today was that there was no traffic, it being yet another Russian holiday.  Most of the Russians were at their dachas so it was just me and the Stans walking around Moscow.  I made a quick pit stop in a very large four-story mall, which was almost deserted at noon. (I know where all of the very clean and free toilets are in Moscow, surely a marketable commodity.)  On part of the walk I crossed the Moscow River four times, just for the fun of going over bridges that were not clogged with traffic and pollution.  You do get the very best views of Moscow from the middle of bridges.

Time to go and check out the fridge. We have been very good about getting rid of things and I’ve only a few more meals to prepare since we have been getting lots of invitations to dinner this week. Last night was just the leftover chicken served with corn. I found one can of corn and drained it and then melted butter and garlic in a pan and threw in the corn.  I added some salt, pepper and herbs de Provence and cooked it until the niblets started to turn brown.  We had that with the remains of the French bread and an exquisite Petit Chablis. I’ve always said that nothing dresses up a dull meal more than an exciting wine!

Best wishes to all, Cindy and Wm.

PS. They jail poets, don’t they?

The Day of Russia

Today is The Day of Russia, a national holiday to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty.  There most likely are speeches, parades and other festive things but mostly it is a three day weekend and Muscovites are off to their dachas, bars - or if you are a member of The 54 Club - sitting in the clubhouse with extra rations of vodka and beer.

Last night we returned to Ragout for dinner with our friends that recently moved here from Costa Rica, Katy and Craig.  Dinner was wonderful as were the stories of getting acclimated to Moscow.  Craig has already made great strides in becoming accepted in his company. As the only American it has been rather difficult but he seems to have proven himself to the extent that he now gets invited to birthday celebrations, a real sign that you have made it.  Katy has been involved with the International Women’s Club and recently went to one of their events which featured a luncheon cruise on the Moscow River.  With her permission, I’m sharing her summary of the event.  As you read this remember that this is not an el cheapo cruise but rather it is on one of the best boats in Moscow.

I attended the International Women's Club end-of-year outing which was a cruise on the Moscow River.  It was quite funny because some ladies received salmon for the main course, others beef with a few meager potatoes, some ladies received the beef and salmon, and some only received vegetables!  I was one of the ones who received the beef and I am accustomed to small portions here, but this was really small. The woman next to me was sure we were going be served salmon after the beef, but that was not the case.  Then, one woman from Hong Kong said that at her table they received only vegetables and no one was vegetarian.  I talked to another woman later who said they had first been served the beef and then later waiters appeared and served them all salmon.  For dessert they served vanilla cream to some tables.  Our table was not served, but there was a tray of ice cream near us, so the woman next to me went to help herself and was told that she couldn't take a dish of ice cream.  They did come by later with ice cream for our table.  Oh, one other little tidbit:  there was a small plate of Russian mushroom salad on the table between me and the Russian woman next to me.  Well, she assumed it was her salad and put the whole plate on her plate.  It was a small serving and I guess by placing it between us, she did not think it was for the table.  The other ladies and I realized it was meant for the table because there was another SMALL cabbage salad in the middle of the table.  The Russian lady's friend later realized that the mushroom salad was for the table and asked them to bring another serving.

Well at least what the Russians lack in service they make up for with toilets.   Here are some lovely photos of Frick and Frack at play!  The Russians eat this stuff up.

We have had a lovely and quiet Sunday, which started late since we were up much later than normal. We had breakfast at a local café with excellent espresso and pastries.  Cindy, at my insistence, brought her iPad so that we could look like natives. We would have fit in perfectly except we were talking with one another, which is a sure sign that we are not serious techies.  It is a beautiful day and we have taken several walks in between getting organized for the move at the end of the week.  We really don’t have much stuff to move so you would think that this would be easy, but somehow it is a bit more complicated than we anticipated. In the end we are told that anything that we don’t move or don’t sell will disappear in minutes if we place it outside near the garbage containers - or as I like to call them now, the Goodwill Boxes.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, Cindy and Wm.

The Apartment is Getting Empty

Most of the morning was spent getting things organized for a ‘garage sale’. Only about three people came but we unloaded a lot of stuff.  We have sold almost all of our electronic things, including the multi-voltage, multi-system 32” TV.  I fear the movers will have very little to pack out for us, mostly just clothes and computers.

Jamaica Jerk Chicken and Cole Slaw

Yesterday afternoon I purchased a chicken and then cut it up into twelve pieces and marinated it for three hours in Jamaica Jerk, lime juice and a nice bit of BBQ sauce.  Then I cooked it until it took on that nice brownish red color and it was really delicious served with my crunchy sesame Cole slaw.  It appears I’ll only have about three more meals to prepare before everything is gone from the kitchen. As it is, it is getting more and more difficult to cook with fewer and fewer pots, pans and utensils.

Now here is a really bright idea sure to win the hearts and minds of Russians everywhere.  And this is a topic seldom discussed in Moscow, but pickpockets do exist.

Mayor's Residence

Yuir Dolgorukiy

We took a walk this morning after the tag sale and found some interesting places.  We walked right by Itar TASS, the old Soviet era propaganda paper. From there we walked to a lovely little gallery that was having an exhibition on Spanish bullfighting. Rather then go in, we sat by a great fountain that we had all to ourselves.  From there we went to the Mayor’s Residence and took some pictures.  There is a great statue of Yuri Dolgorukiy, founder of Moscow, in the front of the building and a great fountain to the rear of the statue. There were a few teenagers trying to skateboard near the fountain and man were they terrible.  I’ve noticed that skateboarding is a very big thing, despite the fact that I’ve never seen a Russian kid do it well. I’m thinking of starting The San Diego School of Skateboarding here in Moscow.  I’ll be rich!!

Central Fountain

The new mayor is doing a great job of dismantling all the wasteful construction that took place doing the old regime. He is also doing a fantastic job of getting rid of all the advertising that was on buildings under renovation. The old mayor used to get kickbacks from both the construction contracts as well as the renovation advertising.  It will do much to make Moscow more attractive.  We got home just before a big heavy rain that we hope will cool things down and get rid of a bit of pollen.

All the plants have departed the apartment for their new home and I must say the apartment seems much more dreary without them.  However, I’m sure they will thrive and since our time is running low, we needed to get as much done this weekend as possible.

Extra Credit: What Does This Say?

Have a lovely Saturday, Cindy and Wm.

Irritants: Wind Blown and Otherwise

With the Russian schools out, the playground outside our window fills with Vietnamese kids and moms/grand moms at around 8 am.  There are about twenty-five kids ages one to ten in the morning and then the older ones join them at about two pm.  This will give you a sense of what it sounds like.  

We had about an hour of rain last night and I was hoping it would clear the pollen from the trees but no such luck.  My allergies are really acting up and the air is once again filled with cottonwood seeds.  I walked to the store but that was it for walking outside today, just too much pollen for my delicate eyes and nose.  I hope things clear up so we can have an outdoor weekend; we still have lots to do on our list.

Purple Passion Flower

Purple Passion Stinky Flowers

Plants II

Yesterday when I started to do the laundry I noticed a smell most foul. It smelled like sour milk or vomit and I checked all the clothes and clothes containers but found nothing.  As the laundry cooked I watered my plants and as I bent over the purple passion, I found the cause of the stench.  I have taken very good care of that plant and as a result it was filled with blossoms, delicate little yellow blossoms that stank to high heaven.  I have never had one flower before and therefore didn’t realize that they smelled so bad.  I read up on them on Google and it was suggested that the blossoms be cut so that the plant can fill out, so I cut them, about a hundred of them, and threw them out the window.  Everything smells fresh and clean now. 

Plants I

 

I think I mentioned this before but when we arrived I found about eight plants that had been left unwatered and unloved over the summer. Some were in friends’ apartments and several were just sitting near the garbage.  I salvaged them all and with some TLC, good watering, and fertilizer, I’ve nursed them all back to health. Now I have to say goodbye to them since people who are staying really want them and of course, we can’t bring them back with us.

Curried Vegetables with Butter Poached Cod

Dinner last night was a lovely fresh vegetable curry served on a bed of spinach and topped with chunks of butter, garlic and dill-poached cod.  Cindy did not like the cod I made before so I had to find a way to make it taste better, moister, and fresh*, so I decided on a two part recipe. First I made the vegetable curry by melting some butter and a bit of olive oil in a big pot. I then added my spices, curry, turmeric, nutmeg, ginger, chili flakes, and black pepper and cooked them until they began to release all their lovely flavors.  I then added chopped potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and green beans and cooked them until they were just getting soft (NO German Bean Sprouts).  I then added a half-cup of chicken stock, stirred, turned off the heat and partially covered the pan.  In a smaller pot I placed about a half stick of butter and some sliced garlic and over a low heat got the butter melted and the garlic soft. I placed the pieces of cod in this and cooked covered for about four minutes. I added some fresh dill and turned the pieces and turned off the heat.  Just before serving I added a half-cup of sour cream and a quarter cup of yogurt to the curry mixture and slowly heated it while stirring all the time.  When it was ready, I placed spoonfuls on the spinach and then topped it with the cod and butter sauce, which I gently had reheated.  Cindy did enjoy the cod this time but I will be our last attempt of using frozen cod. From now on, fresh only! (* from CC: I hope it’s clear that the dish I did not like was for good reason; I’m not fussy!)

I realize my time is getting short here in Moscow and as a result I’m certainly not as objective as I might be, but today at the market things just seemed to be even more ‘Russian’ than normal.  There was a level of aggression at the vegetable area that I’ve not seen in a long time.  One woman was giving her plastic bags of fruits and vegetables to the clerk to be weighed and priced, while at the same time filling new bags with fruits near the clerk. This seemed to be a deadly sin and she was attacked by two women who told her - in no uncertain terms - that you don’t get in line unless you are done shopping.  While they were having at it, the clerk was idle so I handed him my four bags and was out of there while the conversation continued.

There seemed to be chaos in the fresh fish area since the fish wasn’t fresh.  You could see by the color and odor that this was not fresh fish and sharp words were exchanged with the clerk. I saw this argumentation all over the store today, in meat, dairy and even at the bakery, which is usually a tranquil spot. Everyone was just standing around arguing and blocking the narrow aisles. At the checkout, the two women ahead of me were paying with coins. Don’t know why I think that is charming in France or Germany and I find it bothersome here. Well maybe I do know and it is good that I’m leaving.  Perhaps the barometric pressure is affecting everyone, or perhaps it is the pollen, but these are not especially happy people today.

I received lovely notes of thanks yesterday from the folks in charge of the Liberty Store at the Embassy, thanking me for my assistance.  It is always nice to be recognized, even if it is only in praise of my ability to unload pallets.  Speaking of recognition, Cindy has been getting her fair share as people come to understand all she has done and wish that she could stay and fight for their technology concerns.  I’ve told her to be strong and resist.

I had to clean the screens on the windows today since they were clogged with the fluff from the cottonwood trees. I wet down some paper towels and on my first swipe the towels turned black!  I keep forgetting that Moscow is a dirty town when it comes to air pollution. I went through a half roll of paper towels just doing three screens.  No wonder my allergies are acting up; it is a combination of dirty air that is also filled with pollen. Not the best combination in the world.

That’s it for today; time to get into the weekend.  Today was Cindy’s last Friday at work since she’ll be home with me on Thursday and Friday of next week to prepare for the movers and supervise their packing out of our stuff.  Nice to be able to count the last of things.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

Aeroflot: Best In Business

I’m back from a very fast two-day trip to Wiesbaden Germany.  I feel like I was in perpetual motion from the time I left the apartment at 8 am on Monday until I arrived back here at 8 pm last night.  Since it was a short trip and I didn’t have much time to prepare, I was unable to stay at any of the hotels I would have preferred in Wiesbaden.  There was some type of big convention going on and I was lucky to find anyplace in the city. I ended up at a small place called Hotel am Kochbrunnen; right across the street from the, yep you guessed it, Kochbrunnen.  The Kochbrunnen, Cooking Spring, is a natural hot water spring used continuously since the Romans soaked their bodies in these springs.  The hotel was fine, clean and small but my room on the first floor faced the street and since it was really hot, I had to keep the window open, which made the room very, very noisy from five am until midnight.

I had purchased a last minute coach ticket, which cost about $300 more than it would have if I had been able to purchase it a month earlier.  I have to tell you, that $300 was very well spent. I took the train to the airport and then had to spend about thirty minutes getting through the initial security before walking to the Aeroflot section of the airport, the furthest from the train.  I stood in line to check in and when I got to the front I was told I had to go to a different check-in counter. NO reasons are ever given for anything in Moscow.  I got there to discover that it was where you check in for Business Class, which was surprising.  They looked at my ticket and without any hassle gave me a seat in Business Class and an invitation to the lounge, which brightened up my morning considerably. 

It turns out that the Russian Schools went on summer vacation last week and there were hordes of children in the airport. Security was very slow since kids being kids didn’t know the drill, so it took another forty minutes to clear security and head for the lounge. I was very happy I had decided to take the earlier train. The lounge was nice although a bit sparse, and had no windows, which made it rather dark.  My 11:20 flight was not scheduled to board for another fifty minutes so I had some tea and cookies while writing to Cindy regarding my good fortune.  I went back to the coffee/tea area and saw a line of men waiting to pour themselves glasses of cognac to go with their beers.  Without them saying a word, I knew they were on one of the SAS flights leaving for either Sweden or Denmark.  The lounge had three different types of cognac and three types of vodka, but nothing else other than beer and some indifferent wine.

Toilet Kit for a Three Hour Cruise

For those of you of a certain age who remember the old Aeroflot, you can imagine how I was mightily surprised about the quality of the service in Business Class.  I had the luxury of not having anyone next to me, and the leather seats were comfortable in a 2x2 configuration. Each seat had a good-sized pillow with a linen cover and a nice wool blanket wrapped in plastic. The flight attendant took my jacket and returned with a selection of drinks, water, juice or Champagne. The Champagne was Louis Roederer Brut Premier and it was delicious, even though it was served at room temperature.  She later came by with toilet kits, which was very surprising to me since it is only a three-hour flight.  The kits are in a nice blue bag and have slippers, eyeshades, pen/paper and tissues. We departed on time and were treated to a lovely view of Moscow as we made our swing to head southwest.

As soon as the seatbelt sign went off one attendant came by to take our drink order while the other handed out small personal video players and noise cancelling headphones.  These slipped nicely into the seat pocket in front of me, thus freeing up the tray table for lunch.  I had ordered Champagne and was surprised when she came by with Cristal. I asked about this and she said it must have been a mistake or a promo since they never had it on board before. What a lovely mistake!  I felt bad drinking it with ice, but it too was room temperature and they didn’t have any way to chill it.  As I expected, there was no Cristal on the homeward leg.

Menu Items

I started to watch a movie as they began serving lunch. There were lots of choices - the menu is attached - and the food was delicious and in some cases quite innovative.  I skipped coffee and desert, opting instead to try a little bit of their excellent cognac, Hine Antique XO Premier Cru, which I’m happy to report, was simply divine.  All too soon we were heading into Frankfurt International and the fun and games were over. 

I was scheduled to come back today, but since I was done with my work I called to see if I could depart on Wednesday. I was told I could for an additional fee of 400 Euros. I instead made a reservation at the airport hotel for a lot less than that and was resigned to spending a night at the airport.  When I woke up on Wednesday, I decided that I would go to the airport to plead my case in person since I knew they had empty seats.  I put on my jacket and tie and headed out convinced that the Byxbee charm would carry the day.  I was lucky to get a very sympathetic person at the counter who understood that getting home a day early is sometimes like winning the lottery.  We negotiated prices until I was able to get her down to about the same price I would have had to pay to stay and eat at the airport and she reissued my ticket, again placing me in Business Class. This was a fine trip.

Now it is back to reality, two loads of laundry cooking and soon I’ll head out to find something for dinner.  It is, however, great to be back early.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm.

Noisy Sunday

Our Romantic Balcony

A lovely Sunday at home with just the tranquil sounds of sirens, car alarms, heavy drilling equipment, construction noise and of course the constant singsong of Vietnamese.  This place would be so much better with air conditioning; that way we could drown out the clutter by keeping the windows closed. Of course if we had kept the door to our balcony closed, we wouldn’t have this photo.  Years ago when we lived in Germany it was illegal to make any noise on Sunday. You couldn’t mow the lawn, hammer a nail or do anything that would violate the quiet of a Sunday.  I’m sure that has also changed but it sure was nice while it lasted.

We did a lot of domestic things this morning.  I did some laundry while Cindy made six (small) loaves of her famous Chinese Lemon Bread from a secret recipe supplied by Barbara Romig, who I’m reasonably sure is not Chinese.  This is good stuff, dense lemony cake filled with golden raisins, walnuts and lots of eggs and butter. The house smells divine.

We took a little walk this afternoon just to get out of the house a bit, and enjoyed the flowers that are now everywhere.  We stopped at a local bakery/coffee house for some bread and two of the best cups of espresso this side of Trieste.  To think, it has been there since we arrived and we never tried it.  Not only was it fantastic, they gave us two glasses of water, FREE, which is a very big deal in Moscow.

Pasta Caprese

We didn’t think we would want any dinner last night but around seven thirty we were both a bit hungry so I did a quick look about the kitchen and came up with a nice Pasta Caprese served on a bed of arugula. I flash fried some quartered cherry tomatoes, garlic and coarse salt. I added the drained pasta and a half-cup of the pasta water and mixed it all up. I then turned the heat off and added the mozzarella and some pecorino and basil and stirred until things started to melt, and then transferred it to the plates of arugula.  It was just what we needed.

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday, Cindy and Wm.