The Arctic Coast

After two days of looking around Murmansk, I had pretty much maxed out all there was to do there. I hadn’t traveled 2,000+ some miles from Moscow to just sit around my hotel room and wait until my train to Petersburg came at 7pm, so I started searching for tours around the area. I scoured the Internet for excursions and even inquired with one company about visiting a reindeer farm and a place with sled dog huskies. But unfortunately nobody returned my emails. So I figured I should ask the front desk if they had any suggestions. Luckily they did have suggestions.

The nice girl there, Anastasia, provided me with a card of a local tour guide. I figured since it was winter and I wanted a tour the next day I may be out of luck. Nonetheless I figured I might as well try and shot off an email hoping for something. Within about a half an hour I got an email back asking what type of tours I’d like stating, I could choose from seeing the huskies, visiting a reindeer farm and going out to an Arctic Ocean village. Since I am a Husky…….that is a proud graduate of the University of Washington whose mascot is a husky, I contemplated seeing the dogs. But this just didn’t have the wow factor that going to The Arctic Ocean had.

So, after thinking it all over I signed up for a tour to a village called Teriberka on The Arctic Ocean. I was unsure exactly what it entailed, maybe looking around the village, some light walking around, maybe a visit to a museum, some cultural program and that was it. Neither did I realize what I was getting myself into.

I met up with my tour guide, Yuri, in the hotel lobby. He was a tall thin but well built guy with long hair tied back in a ponytail. It took us a good two and a half hours to reach the village. After a quick stop at the local café for a bathroom break and a chance to look around the village we headed further up the Arctic Ocean Coast. 

Eventually we got to a point in the road where the snow got pretty deep. Yuri tried several times to get some traction and go forward, but we just sat there spinning our wheels. We couldn’t go forward or backwards, the van was stuck. And this was no ordinary van, this van had high clearance and was built for the snow, still we may as well have had a Lada from the 1980s as it didn’t matter we were stuck! Yuri hopped out of the car after several futile attempts and started shoveling. He shoveled for a good 10 minutes and then got back in and still nothing! We were stuck. He repeated this for about a half hour. Eventually as luck would have it he was able to shovel out just enough to be able to back out but unfortunately we would not be going forward and had to park the van. So, at this point our only option to go forward was to walk.

The wind was howling and I do mean howling! The air temperature was not that bad, about -3 to -4 centigrade or around 28-30 F. But combined that with the frigid wind chill, blowing snow, ice, brutal headwinds and even some sand to mix in with it, it was difficult at best to walk. We walked and we walked over rocks, through snowdrifts and over ice. I could see the Arctic Ocean over to my right with its violent crashing waves against the rocks. It was thrilling to finally see the Arctic Ocean, which now meant I’d been to all four oceans, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and now the Arctic. And even more thrilling to imagine was that at that point I was closer to the North Pole at 2,000 kilometers than I was to Moscow!

After a few pauses to look at some of the scenery and some of the rocks, we continued on. I was struggling mightily as I had not brought the proper footwear since I had no idea we would be doing so much hiking! I only had tennis shoes on and not my “arctic grip” boots, which put me at a real disadvantage, as the snow was DEEEEEP! At times I would be going along and suddenly I’d drop down a foot or two into a snow bank. But I kept going until I fell into a hole and severely bruised my leg. After a moment or two of expletives and assessing any damage, I was able to pick myself up and continue. We were going to go down to the beach, but seeing how I was struggling Yuri decided we’d instead stop at a rock that was not covered in snow and have some tea. He brought with him some pads for us to sit on. We sat down and in true Russian fashion sat there surrounded by snow with howling winds and drank tea. With the winds screaming and the frigid wind chill I was quite grateful that I’d layered to the max!

We spent about ten minutes drinking tea until Ivan, the other group member, decided he wanted to go to the beach after all. So Ivan got up and started hopping effortlessly over all the rocks, snow and ice making his way toward the beach. As I sat there huddled on a rock with a teacup in my hand trying to stay warm I wished that I’d have had that type of energy. I guess having been born and raised in Seattle I just wasn’t cut out for Russian winters. Yuri eventually got up and told me to wait on the rock and that he was going somewhere, where I didn’t know! He said he’d be back and left his stuff. I really did not question thinking he was just going out for a bathroom break or somewhere. Looking back on it, I should’ve asked him!!

About ten minutes went by and I started to wonder where he’d gone, so I climbed up to the top of one of the mounds to take a look at the scenery around. No sign of Yuri! I thought it was odd, but figured he’d eventually come back. Another few minutes went by and still no sign of Yuri. Ivan was down at the beach playing around, so I was alone, not a soul for miles!!! I started to get worried, calling for him thinking maybe he was just over the next rock. Nothing!! Eventually my worry turned to all out panic. I had no idea how to get back to the van! I yelled some more and still nothing but howling wind.

What now? I did not want to leave my place in case he came back, but the weather was starting to get even worse and visibility was shrinking rapidly. I looked at my phone and by some miracle I actually had decent mobile coverage out there in the middle of nowhere!! Yuri had called me earlier that morning to make sure I was coming so I quickly dialed his phone number. But no luck! I then realized the tour organizer had written me on Facebook, so I quickly wrote him a message that Yuri was nowhere to be seen and that I was panicked. Within about a minute Yaroslav, the tour organizer called me on Facebook to tell me not to worry that Yuri is extremely trustworthy and you can trust him like your brother. He told me that if he did not show up to find a place that was not windy and to start following my footprints back to the van. The only problem with that advice was that this was wide-open tundra!! There were no trees or places I could find that would shield me from the cruel Arctic wind!

Just as I was ready to give up and try to maybe walk back to the van, I spotted someone!!! At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I thought maybe it was just a rock that looked like a person, but sure enough out there on the snowy tundra it was indeed Yuri. I waved profusely and he waved back. I was relieved to know that he was on his way. I wrote Yaroslav telling him that I’d found Yuri. He was relieved and said it was easy to get lost out there.

Yuri eventually made his way back to my rock. I frantically asked him where he had been. I said to him that he’d been gone for what seemed like at least a half an hour. He looked at his watch and said, “I was gone just about 15 minutes”! 15 minutes………no way! Maybe Arctic time is longer than back home, but there was no chance he was gone only 15 minutes. After my story about how I was worried he’d abandoned me out in The Arctic he told me he’d gone back to the van to retrieve some boots that I could slip over my tennis shoes. These would help me walk through the snow easier. I slipped them on and they did help, but there was no taking away from the fact the wind still was brutal and the conditions were rough at best.

Eventually Ivan returned from his side trip to the beach and we were ready to continue our adventure. We walked over some more terrain then hooked up with what was the road, albeit totally covered in snow. We continued walking for about another 15 minutes until I got to the point where I had to ask Yuri how much longer we would be going for. After all we’d been out there a long time, plus conditions after getting better for a bit were again rapidly starting to deteriorate. Yuri stated we’d be hiking for another half an hour. No way was I going to continue to brave these conditions for another half hour. By that time Ivan had already raced out ahead of us by about a kilometer. Yuri said he’d run ahead to try to catch up with Ivan to tell him we were heading back and to return with us. He told me to head back on the road and that I’d eventually find the van. He said he’d catch up with me once he found Ivan. I was a bit skeptical but I figured if I kept walking I’d find it.

After about 15 minutes of hiking Yuri caught up with me but he was missing Ivan. Where was Ivan I asked? He said he refused to come back and wanted to walk out the full half hour. We got returned to the van despite the harsh conditions of blowing snow, ice and hail. It was good to be back in the van and be warm especially after about 2 or so hours of hiking in the frigid conditions. Although I was happy to be back in the van, I was a bit worried as I had train to make to St. Petersburg at 7pm and we were leaving rather late. Who knew what type of conditions lay before us on our way back. After a good half an hour of sitting in the van huddling around the van’s heater Ivan finally returned! We were finally ready to go back to Murmansk!

My guide, Yuri, forging ahead despite the white out conditions

The conditions on our return trip were nasty at best, blowing snow, times of near zero visibility and very bumpy conditions. It was a good thing we had a UAZ- 2206, a cross between a VW van, 

Our trusty UAZ-2206

a cross between a VW van and a huge 4x4 truck or we’d’ve never made out of Murmansk. We arrived into town about 5:30pm with just enough time for me to pack my bags, go to the grocery store below to pick up some Coke for the road and check out of my hotel. I made the train with no problem but was sad to leave The Arctic and all its adventure behind. I may have left the Arctic behind, but the memories and impressions of my three days in the Arctic will never ever leave me!

Blue dot marks the spot! My location at my furthest point north!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Shortly after I completed my abandoned buildings tour I came down to reception to talk to Vanda about staying a few extra hours at The Pushkin Hotel until my train left that evening to the legendary city of Kazan, Tatarstan. She told me the other day that we’d try to think up some solutions so I did not have to pay too much to stay till that evening. When I came down she did not look like her usual happy self. I asked her “how are things”……..she paused and said “bad”. I asked her what the matter was. She said I would kill her when I heard the news. She said The Pushkin was all full up for several days and that I’d have to leave at checkout, which would mean I’d have about 10 hours of time without a place to stay. She was quite disturbed, worried and did not want me homeless for ten hours. Vanda frantically tried to think up all types of different scenarios but to no avail.

I was a bit panicked too, but luckily I had a solution in case there were no cancelations and I was forced out of The Pushkin. For my return trip from Kazan, Tatarstan through Moscow I had a 15 hour layover between trains and I had booked a hotel at the train station called “Gorod Otel’” or “City Hotel”. Their check in and check out time was pretty flexible, so I suggested that I stay there in case I needed a place to rest. Vanda quickly called them and indeed they had room, so we made a reservation. She said she’d try her best to get me a room at The Pushkin so I did not have to move.

The next morning came, but there were still no cancelations, but she still was hopeful she could pull something off. An hour or two later after breakfast there was a knock at my door it was Vanda. She said she had found me a room but that I’d have to move from my nice suite to a much smaller room. I was open. We went upstairs and she showed me two different rooms and indeed they were small…………no bigger than a nice coat closet. Plus, they would cost a lot more than “CityHotel” over at Kazan Railway Station. I said I’d give it a thought. At that point her shift was over and she was leaving which meant it was time for one final goodbye. I gave her a big hug and kissed her goodbye………feeling sad that I wouldn’t see her for another few months.

After a fair amount of time weighing my options I figured I may as well save the money and move across town to the Kazan Railway Station. So after a week of being at The Pushkin I somehow gathered up all my stuff cluttered around the room and headed to the railway station. I got to the railway station and after going around and around trying to find the hotel entrance I finally found it tucked away in a remote corner of the station. I was glad I found it………..the bad news though………it was up at least several flights of stairs and my bag weighed at least a ton! They had a little ramp on the side of the stairs to help you, but that did little good just made my bag tipsy and fall over. So like the famous Greek legend of syphisis, who kept rolling the rock up the hill only for it to fall down, I kept rolling my bag up the stairs and the small ramp only for it to fall over and for me to try it again. After several attempts I finally made it up the stairs to the hotel! The staff there was very welcoming and I was glad I spoke Russian because without that skill, I’d be in deep trouble, as they spoke zero English!

I checked in and they escorted me to my deluxe room. It was a nice room and would do well for my 9-hour stay. It had a view over the train station, which was ok since I was only going to be spending a few hours there anyways. I actually enjoyed my view, as it was entertaining to observe from above all the people scurrying around the station and listening to the non-stop announcements on which trains were arriving and which ones were departing. I’ve been to a lot of different train stations in Russia in my life, but for some reason Kazan Station just felt a bit different. It was more frantic and had a unique atmosphere to it. It may have been due to the fact that all the trains from the south come into Kazan Station, i.e. Chechnya, Dagestan and Ossetia, three places that fair or unfair have a reputation as being bad places.

Kazan Station

VDNKH Fountains in summer

Once I got settled into my room I went out to one of my most favorite places in all of Moscow, VDNKH. VDNKH is a type of Soviet world’s fair like park with all types of buildings, exhibits, statues and relics to remind one of bygone times. There you have different pavilions from the ex-Soviet republics, which profile the republic’s native culture. Some of the other highlights include a fountain with 15 golden statues in a circle to represent the ex 15 republics. During summer months when the fountains are on it is quite the sight to see.

Unfortunately, the fountains were off and they were constructing an ice skating rink around it, so I only caught a glimpse of them from afar. But the other buildings were still there in all their glory. However, it wasn’t always so glorious. Shortly after the USSR collapsed in the early 90s the park began to decay and many buildings were left to rot. Only recently did the government start to take an interest in revitalizing the park and bringing it back to its former glory days. To me this park holds a certain nostalgic value, as it was the first place I ever visited when I first came to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1991. Today I can safely say VDNKH is back to its past glory days and serves as a favorite place for Muscovites to visit during their free time and during summer when its jammed with people!

I returned to my hotel room tired from all my walking around and freezing from the chilly weather. After coming back so cold I learned that it’s better to air on the safe side and layer than under layer. What seemed like a century’s worth of time quickly evaporated to no time and before I knew it, it was time to pack up my bags and hop aboard the new double decker train to Kazan that would take overnight. I looked forward to my next adventure! My journey was just starting!

Kazan Station entry

Abandoned buildings and a new ring line

Moscow for years has been trying to improve its traffic problem , which is awful, with little to no success! They've tried a few different things like built countless new metro stations and also started charging for parking in the center, but for what it's worth it all has failed to solve some of the world's worst traffic. The newest weapon Moscow has rolled out to get people off the roads and onto trains and buses is the new metro system called МЦК or for those who do not read Russian, the Moscow Central Ring line. It just opened in September. Unlike the first ring line, which opened in the 1930s and uses regular metro subway wagons, the new Moscow Central Ring line has actual nice brand new state of the art rail cars by RZD/РЖД (Russian Railway company) with comfortable seats to accommodate passengers. They even have cars that are specially made for the handicapped and to bring your bicycle on, two things that are pretty uncommon in Russia.

The new line dwarfs the old line weighing in with over 35 stations as compared to 12 for the old one. So, being the lover of public transportation and especially trains I figured I’d spend some time out of my day taking a ride on it. Overall, I was very impressed with the system. The seats were comfortable, the ride was smooth and there were plenty of announcements in both English and Russian to let you know what the next station was and what the interchange was.

However, the connections to the regular Moscow Metro are awful!! Many stations are not connected with the overall metro requiring you to walk sometimes upwards of 15 minutes to get to the next station in the elements and through the regular grimy streets. It basically feels as if you are transferring to a whole another metro system even though it is completely owned and operated by the same company that runs the regular Metro system and all cards and passes are valid on it. Mind you there are some stations where there are overpasses and a clear connection, but it’s the ones that are not connected which make it a bit of a flawed system. Nonetheless despite all of its flaws I enjoyed my ride on МЦК Moscow Central Ring line.

That evening I had yet another exciting adventure planned, an abandoned buildings tour in Moscow. Unlike in the United States where going into an abandoned building would not only never be advertised as an official tour, but would probably get you into a lot of legal trouble, in Russia there seems to be no problem, even if it is a bit dangerous. The plan was to meet my guide at The Sparrow Hills metro station and from there we would explore an abandoned escalator shaft followed by an ascent to the top of a building for a view of all of Moscow. I arrived at the metro station in good time only to get a message from Maxim, my guide, to say that he was running late due to traffic. So I waited and waited some more till he called me and told me where to meet him. Sometimes it can be so maddening as I have studied Russian for 26 years but many times people say things over the phone and I don’t understand them. This was one of those cases, but eventually I was able to pinpoint that he was outside the station waiting for me. I walked out of the station and by a guy just standing there. I got eye contact with him like to say, “Are you the one I’m looking for” and he didn’t do anything. I thought that was odd, so I went back and approached him and asked him if was Maxim. Sure enough it was he. 

Sparrow Hills Metro station which sits on a bridge

  

Our first stop would be the abandoned escalator shaft on Sparrow Hills. The Sparrow Hills or as it once used to be known as Lenin Hills station is located at the bottom of the hills. In order to get up it you have to hike up about a kilometer to the top. This can be kind of hard if you’re not in good shape or are not up for the weather elements that Russia can throw at you. But back in the Soviet days you did not have to worry about this, as there was a second option, an enclosed escalator to the top. But in the 1980s the dirt started to shift and the escalator started to show cracks and signs of settling. Due to this the shaft was closed and has been abandoned ever since.

Tonight we would explore this now abandoned shaft. I had seen the shaft many times before while walking around Sparrow Hills and had heard about it but did not know much about its history, just that it was no longer in use. Because the sun sets soooo early in Moscow, about 3:30 pm, we’d be doing this all in the dark, adding an extra layer of suspense.

We arrived at the shaft and it was pitch black around us, plus very icy!! I could feel my feet getting a bit shaky but luckily I was quickly able to stabilize myself. He handed me a flashlight and showed me where I’d have to step up to in order to get in. It was a bit of a reach to step up onto the ledge that led into the abandoned shaft but I was up to the challenge.

Once we got in all I can say was it was very creepy. I guess what else would you expect when talking about an abandoned building, but this was not a good feeling. There was trash EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere, heaps upon heaps of it making it hard to really walk around. I asked him when we got in if it was dangerous. Usually when asked this question Russians in their very cavalier manner will answer with a smile and say “no, not at all, it is no problem, very safe”…..even if it is highly dangerous. So, when I asked him if it was dangerous he actually replied by saying “a bit”. I knew if he thought it was a bit dangerous that it probably was not very safe and therefore not a good idea! We took a look at the old engine room, which was also just saturated in trash and I guess a home to bumbs and homeless people. We got back to the main area where the escalator used to be and now there are just ruins and he asked if I wanted to climb up to the top. I said at this point I was uncomfortable and that I’d rather just skip it.

Our next stop would be an abandoned building 15 minutes away across town. But of course due to traffic it took us 45 minutes to get there. Once there I noticed the building was surrounded by what seemed to be concrete panels and was about 14-15 floors high. He must have had some type of arrangement with the security company who was guarding the building because we were let right in and they seemed to know him quite well. I suspect that it was very much an under the table sort of thing, where we did not have official permission to go up there but nonetheless money does talk, especially in Russia!

Although it was pitch black in the building I had a better feeling about this one than I did the abandoned escalator shaft. Luckily he handed me a flashlight so I was able to see pretty easily. He told me that the building was started in the late 1980s during Soviet times and when the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s that the building’s funding fell through and it was never completed. We explored all the different floors of the building, which contained heaps of debris and dirt. The stairs to the top were all on the outside, so every time we’d be hiking the stairs he’d tell me to turn off the flashlight so people did not see us. On our way up he commented that I was brave for taking this tour in the winter and that he hadn’t had any customers since summer. That would be me, someone who always does things a little bit differently!

Eventually when we got up to the top of the building I noticed the roof was a giant ice-skating rink with ice everywhere. Having slipped several times last winter on my trip to Iceland I did not want to repeat this unfortunate incident and proceeded very carefully. We got to a point where we could see the entire city and the view was incredible! The only problem was I could feel my feet slipping underneath me, but luckily nothing did happen. He offered to take me further to a higher point on the roof but after carefully considering everything and seeing how icy it was I said no.

Even though the roof was icy and treacherous in places it was all worth it for the view. You could see all of Moscow! Just below the building you could see the metro station, which made for

Metro station below

interesting viewing to watch all the rush hour commuters moving like a wave below toward the metro station. And, if you squinted very carefully you could even make out Red Square somewhere in the distance. Sitting right next to our abandoned building was an old TV tower, which has in recent decades been put of service by the larger than life huge Ostankino TV tower which could be made out to the north of us. Several years ago the tower was going to be destroyed but there was a huge outcry to preserve this as a Soviet monument. Luckily, the government listened and it still sits there today, a reminder of the bygone days of Soviet television. Although Russia can be a little rough on the edges with burnt out buildings, strange rules and kind of odd Soviet like architecture I think this is what keeps me coming back for more! That of course and the girls!!

The old TV tower

Friends

Following my awesome tour of The Bolshoi I returned to the hotel for a bit of rest before my first of two social engagements that day. The first meeting was with my Russian teacher, Ekaterina. The second one would be with my student Sasha. Ekaterina is the niece of two of my students, Nikolai and Marina and has been most helpful in trying to help me improve my Russian beyond its current boundaries. Sasha has been my student for about a year and always is fun and interesting to talk with.

I arrived a bit late to lunch with Ekaterina, which I felt bad about, but once again I underestimated how long it would take to get ready in this cold, snowy weather. Luckily she was very understanding and told me it was no big deal. She took me to a great Georgian restaurant, which served my utmost favorite Georgian dish if not one of my most favorite foods, Hachapuri, a kind of pizza but without sauce stuffed with cheeses inside. I so wished there was somewhere, anywhere in Seattle or nearby that served this wonderful food, but alas I’ll just have to keep coming back to Russia!!

It was wonderful to meet with her again (I’d met with her in person on my last trip in May). Over lunch we discussed her current PhD thesis, which was based around the creation of a new computer program for Russian language learners to better improve their reading skills, writing skills and listening skills. It was still a work in progress and was being tailored for all types of different levels of Russian. I look forward to testing the program myself and especially liked the fact that it would tell the learner why they made a mistake. So many online tests I’ve taken in Russian or exercises that I do don’t tell you why you made the mistake leading to frustration on the part of the language learner.

Ekaterina and I also were lamenting about how so many unique and individual cafes in Russia and especially St. Petersburg have gone out of business in favor of chain restaurants like Coffee House (a Russian café that is literally on every single corner!!) and others. And here I thought my hometown of Bellevue and Seattle were the only place where unique local restaurants were being replaced by global mega chains! Goes to show you there is nowhere immune to the evil tentacles of globalization. 

After discussing a wide range of other things including her recent trip to the Spanish city of Grenada, which sounded absolutely fabulous and a place that if I ever can break my addiction to travel in Russia that I’d like to visit, we said goodbye. I promised that I’d definitely continue my lessons with her. Unfortunately my mother’s recent health problems and my unhealthy obsession with the past election (which I’m still mourning) left little time to do lessons. But hopefully this time around I’ll do better at time management and find a place for lessons.

I returned to my hotel room a bit tired due to the last remaining remnants of jet lag trying to exert their power over me. I laid down for a bit and then got ready for my second social engagement, dinner with my student, Alex or Sasha. He was going to meet me at Pushkin Square about three blocks away from my place, where we would take the metro to his place. Meeting at Pushkin Square under the Pushkin statue is a common place for people to meet in Moscow. And why not, it’s a great landmark and you really can’t go wrong! Although I am very proficient on how to navigate the metro, which I’ve been doing successfully since 1991 when I was a freshman or 9^th grade and sneaked out of my hotel room at 6 am to ride the then Leningrad Metro blue line, Sasha insisted that he meet me in the city center so he could personally escort me to his apartment, an hour away by metro. I hated to put him out but since he was so insistent I gladly agreed.

The metro ride was a long one, nearly to the end of the orange line in the southern part of the city. Although we had reached his home metro station that didn’t mean we were there, we still had to walk 15 minutes to his apartment. We arrived without any drama, but his mother had been expecting us and wondered why we had been so long. She introduced herself as Svetlana and proceeded to give me a tour of their apartment. Russian apartments are amazing! The hallways and entrances to the buildings themselves are not very pretty. Often they are dark, foreboding and the elevators can look as if they’re ready to go out at any moment. HOWEVER, once you step inside you are in a whole new drastically different world! The apartments are always nicely furnished, very airy and definitely tastefully decorated. Sasha/Aleks’ apartment was no exception! It was very nice inside, very airy and definitely very welcoming.

Sasha and me at the dinner table

Following the grand tour we sat down to dinner. Russians always make sure you are well fed and this visit was no exception. Our discussions at the dinner table were all very interesting. Sasha/Alex had a huge passion for Great Britain and when it came to British history he could talk about it till as they say, “the cows came home”. If anyone ever needs an expert to explain Churchill’s reign and what it meant to the UK and/or the world Sasha is your man! He’s a genius!! His mother actually used to work in England and spoke about the stark differences between the UK and Russia.

Sasha's mom, Svetlana and myself

One difference she noted was how in the UK and of course as I noted in the United States people will often smile at complete strangers and even say hi or engage in polite conversation. Whereas in Russia you generally absolutely do not smile at strangers or really make conversation. This may be part of the reason Russia gets a bad wrap about being unfriendly. Russians are very much to themselves and believe that smiling at someone is quite weird and in one Russian’s words indicates there must be something really wrong with you! I try to remember this when I’m on the streets of Russia, but sometimes being from Seattle where people are super friendly and will always smile and go out of their way to be nice, it can be hard.

View of Moscow from Sasha's apartment.

 After hours of chatting about everything, we wrapped it up. I couldn’t believe it, but Sasha wanted to personally escort me home. I told him all he had to do was take me to the metro and I’d be good from there, but he insisted. So, we got ready and headed to the metro eventually reaching my place in what seemed like record breaking time of one hour, which meant Sasha would have to ride the metro home one hour. I felt bad, but there was no way he was going to let his honored guest ride home by themselves! Parting ways with Sasha made me feel very grateful for the awesome friends I have across this gigantic nation!

Sasha and me at my hotel, The Pushkin

The Bolshoi

For many years I passed by it, stood in front of it, seen it on TV, heard about it and was always interested in it but never had the chance to go in……until now! You can’t get much bigger and more legendary than The Bolshoi! Ballerinas, and opera singers spend their whole lives dreaming and working for that one opportunity to be a part of this incredible theater and production company.

Now mind you I had not worked my entire life to get in there, but it had been a dream of mine to go inside. Not one who is into ballet and opera (I’m much more of a sport’s guy than anything else), I really did not want to shell out the big bucks for a ticket. Yet, how else would I be able to see The Bolshoi?? Luckily before I came to Russia a friend from Australia (thank you Mel Smith) posted a link on Facebook to tours of The Bolshoi. I knew instantly this was literally my ticket in!

So…when I arrived in Russia I researched how, when and where to get tickets. The process was pretty easy! Tours were conducted several days a week twice a day with tours in Russian and English. When I got to The Bolshoi there was a line outside, not that long a line, but definitely a line. I knew I better get in it. A man would emerge every few minutes from the gigantic wooden doors of The Bolshoi and call in people about ten at a time. Meanwhile the rest of us were left to freeze our asses out in the 30° F or -2 C weather with a mean wind chill. I had dressed warmly but I guess not warm enough, as I was pretty cold.

As we stood there an old guy, an employee, went down the line and asked people in Russian whether they’d be taking the tour in Russian. Everyone said Russian and since I do speak Russian I said Russian. He paused and said only citizens of The Russian Federation could take tours in Russian! WTF I thought…….not only do I have to pay more than a Russian citizen for a tour but I can’t even take it in Russian? Who the hell were they to say which language I could take the tour in?! Finally after freezing for a good half hour it was my turn to go through those doors.

When I got in and paid I asked what tour I could take and they said English! I was pretty mad inside. Eventually though the English tour guide said I was more than free to join the Russian tour. So after slipping on the little plastic slippers over my shoes that protect the floor from whatever your shoes may bring in I wandered over to the Russian group. Being inside The Bolshoi was so elegant and unbelievable! I could hardly believe that I’d finally gotten in! Everything about it just oozed with culture and glamour and I hadn’t even seen a fraction of the theater.

Our first stop was a small performance room, which was built right above the metro station “Teatralnaya”. The room is soundproof and so well built that there is no hint of arriving trains below! Our next stop would be the viewing hall, which was what I was looking forward to most.

After walking through the elegantly decorated hallways and on the beautiful perfectly shined marble floors we had at last arrived in the main viewing hall!! I’d seen it so many times on TV, in pictures, in books, etc. that it was hard to believe I was standing right there in the middle of this elegant hall. From what our guide told us the theater had been closed from 2006 to 2011 for a multi-million dollar renovation, which I guess from what I read went way over budget. Over budget, under budget, whatever, the place looked stunning as if the spared no detail in the restoration of this beauty.

While we were there they were doing all types of audiovisual tests for upcoming performances. Although I had been standing there looking around for a good five minutes I still was just in awe that I was finally in The Bolshoi. One of the features I loved the most was the VIP government box. There it sat in the center in the back of the theater with the two-headed eagle proudly atop of the box in gold with velvet red curtains with gold trim on both ends.

Our tour continued upstairs to the top of The Bolshoi. There according to our guide was what you would call the student section. For a discounted price eligible students could receive a discount. I’m not sure exactly when tickets went on sale, but from what I could understand it was usually a few days in advance of a performance. It was pretty amazing just how high the seats were. Although they were pretty high up (at the very top) I still felt you could see a lot.

Bolshoi viewing hall from the top deck

 Our tour continued, this time to a different room, a room that had a very unique feature. It was built so that the person standing in the middle of the room’s voice would echo off the ceiling so everyone could hear. It was said that this was done especially for Tsar Nicholas II who was known to have a very quiet voice. So our guide demonstrated to us and sure enough when she clapped you could hear it echo throughout the room. It was amazing!

The tour continued to a number of different rooms. It was truly like visiting a museum. Although I had enjoyed the tour my feet were starting to drag and my interest level wane a bit due to fatigue. Museum /indoor tours seem to do something to my feet, making them feel as if I am wearing shoes made of rocks. Eventually the tour concluded with a few more rooms, which were all stunning. After thanking our tour guide and dispatching of my little plastic booties that went over my shoes I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Yet another item to check off my Russia To See List!

Do or Die!!

Having mustered up the energy to go to Red Square and attend my friend Zhenya’s performance I really truly believed that jet lag was on its last leg, no pun intended! No way was I going to succumb to another day of jet lag…………that was…..until I did!! And this time it was even worse. Instead of losing just a few hours here and there I spent the entire day in my hotel room sleeping! The day ended like the rest of them with a dish of beef stroganoff from room service. After the third day of beef stroganoff and sleep I was not only sick of stroganoff but also was sick of wasting my time sleeping!! I had to conquer jet lag!

The next day was “do or die” in my opinion. Either do something other than sleeping or I’d start to feel like the trip was all for naught! Luckily I did get myself together and got out the door first thing in the morning. The weather was a touch warmer, by no means balmy but it felt just a tad bit more doable. My first stop would be back to Red Square. As I entered Red Square I noticed a long line as you enter the square. It looked as if they were in line to see the only full time inhabitant of Red Square…..the man himself……..the father of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin!!! After looking around Red Square a bit more I decided it’d been too long since I’d seen dear father Lenin, so I jumped in the queue and slowly inched toward security. Unlike in the old days when you had to buy tickets at the History Museum

History Museum

(the big burgundy red building that sits opposite of St. Basil’s) and check your bags and cameras, there was no such process anymore. However, that did not exactly mean you were free to take pics of old Vlad himself.

After passing through security I got the chance to look around the Kremlin wall where the remains of Soviet heroes and others are placed. One of the remains in this garden includes the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. A short walk later I’d come to the tomb. As we entered they made sure everyone understood there was no photography with signs everywhere saying this was not allowed. Once in I descended several sets of marble stairs into a very dark, cold and barely lit large room where Lenin laid. Several guards stood by making sure nobody said a word or do something like sneak a shot of Lenin himself.

Lenin's Tomb

I slowly moved toward Lenin and walked up a few stairs to get a look at him from the side and the front. Unlike in previous visits where they didn’t let you stand around for longer than 3 seconds, this time they seemed to allow people to take their time looking. From what I could see Lenin looked pretty good for being nearly 100! He looked just like I had remembered him………a wax figure. There are rumors that the real Lenin was buried long ago and that this is just a wax. Seemed pretty legit to me. Whatever the truth may be I don’t know if we’ll ever really know. Interestingly enough Lenin requested not to be kept like this but to be buried next to his mother. I guess Soviet bureaucrats had other ideas. 

Having looked over Lenin, it was time to walk around the Kremlin burial grounds a bit more and see the statues and plaques devoted to the remains of other Soviet heroes and Soviet leaders. Amongst the most well known leaders buried in the garden is Uncle Joe aka Josef Stalin. Stalin much to the dismay of many others, and myself seems to be making a comeback in Russian society. Who the hell cares he killed millions and imprisoned countless others, after all industrialization comes with a price and furthermore he won the war, so goes the philosophy of those who see him as a hero. Stalin used to lie next to Lenin until Khrushchev started his campaign of de-Stalinization and ordered him buried. My grandfather actually got to see Stalin back in the 50s when he visited Russia. Oh how I wished I could’ve also seen Stalin!

Speaking of heroes and controversial figures, there’s a new fight brewing these days over another man by the name of Vladimir, no we’re not talking about Vladimir Lenin, nor are we talking about Vladimir Putin (although he does sort of come into the equation), but St. Vladimir. St. Vladimir was the ruler of Kievan Rus (the mother to the modern Russian state) and is credited as being the one who introduced orthodoxy to Russia. 

To Ukraine St. Vladimir they feel belongs to them and not Russia, hence Kiev in the name Kievan Rus. They even have their own St. Vladimir statue in Kiev built in the 19^th century. So when Russia unveiled its own statue, Ukraine saw it as a provocative gesture. For those not keeping track ever since the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine several years ago that saw a Kremlin friendly president overthrown in favor of a western friendly figure, Russia has been in a conflict with Ukraine which includes the annexation of Crimea and two provinces of Ukraine, Donetsk and Lugansk, who declared themselves independent of Ukraine and aligned themselves with Russia. This move is sure to cause even more friction between the two nemeses. It’s also been said that the statue in a way is a monument to the modern day Vlad, Vladimir Putin.

The statue sits right next to the Kremlin and is towering! Many say it is ugly, but I found it to be ok and nothing that horrible. But I can understand peoples’ concerns when schools are crap, roads are crumbling, wages are stagnant and many other problems that plague Russia! Plus, it just reinforces the Russian government’s close, close alliance with the ultra conservative wing of the Russian Orthodox Church.

My next stop on my walk around Moscow would be The Kremlin. Although there are a few museums on The Kremlin grounds, including the world famous Armory I much prefer to simply be outdoors and walk around than stuck in a museum. I feel embarrassed writing this, but I haven’t been in The Armory since I was a freshman in high school and here I’m a Russian language and lit major, plus a lover of Russian culture. Oh well one of these days….at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

The Kremlin churches

The Kremlin grounds were fabulous, it never gets old being inside looking at The Kremlin itself, the different churches and beautiful grounds. And as an added bonus, Putin just opened up a brand new pathway through The Kremlin that allows visitors to exit via The Savior Tower (Spasskaya Bashnya). Only a few months ago this was impossible and used to be the main exit for government officials in Soviet days. Back then you used to see black Ladas speeding out of The Kremlin onto Red Square. Now all you see is wide eyed tourists looking around amazed by the beauty of The Kremlin.

Later that night I would take my dearest friend Vanda out to dinner. I was quite excited for our date as I was presenting her with a special gift, a bracelet from Tiffany’s. A few months earlier she had asked me to buy the bracelet for her offering to pay me back for the purchase. But as luck would have it she had an unexpected cost come up (don’t we all) and she had told me not to bother. I felt bad for her as she said it was her dream to have the bracelet. So being the nice guy I am and to show a little bit of love toward her I bought her the bracelet.

I was heartbroken back in October when I had to cancel my trip and was unable to give her the bracelet. But it was well worth the wait when I presented it to her and saw her light up like a child who had just gotten their most desired present on Christmas day! She was so shocked and told me she couldn’t take it. But I insisted and eventually I convinced her that she deserved it and that I wanted her to have it. Hell….I was not going to leave the restaurant and for that matter Russia without her taking the bracelet!

We eventually finished up our dinner, a kind of pizza like meal from the nation of Georgia without the sauce and with cheese stuffed inside called Hachapuri. Soooo delicious! After several days of spinning my wheels like a 2 wheel drive car stuck in a blizzard, I finally felt like I was back on track and making some traction!

Lagged

After a day in Helsinki plus having slept some on the train I had thought I had a pretty good grip on jet lag……….so I thought! Nothing could be further from the truth….. I arrived at my home away from home in Russia, The Pushkin Hotel feeling pretty good, especially since waiting for me there was my beloved friend, Vanda who decided to stay a full half hour after her shift in order to see me!! It was great to see her smiling beautiful face after what seemed like a couple years, but in reality was only six months! She checked me in in record time and personally escorted me to my room. I felt like such VIP!

Once Vanda left me I went straight to my bed and crashed! I figured I’d just take a small 30-60 so minute nap, but the next thing I knew it that little 30-60 minute nap had stretched into more or less a six-hour nap! I woke up, the sun had already gone down, the hotel kitchen was closed and the only option for dinner was to either brave the cold to find something on the streets or call for room service.  Since I was in no mood to test my thermal ware, I opted instead to order some beef stroganoff. When I called down to the reception I heard no ring on the other end. I tried several other times and nothing. Eventually a girl came upstairs to ask me if I needed anything. Luckily she was able to take my order and after about 30 minutes the front desk beauty showed up with a dish of beef stroganoff in her hands wishing me a “good appetite”. Had she only stuck around to have dinner with me, that would have been a dream come true, but oh well, luckily the beef stroganoff was good!

Having wasted an entire day on jet lag I was determined to make the next day better. So after breakfast I got dressed up in all my thermal wear and layers and headed out the door to Red Square. The wind was brutal and the temps were at least several degrees below freezing making for a tough walk down to see St. Basil’s. I thought getting down to Red Square and seeing St. Basil’s would jump start me, but unfortunately the wow factor, the buzz just wasn’t there, killed by the extreme fatigue from jet lag and the cold!

I returned home and subsequently crashed until middle of the afternoon I got a phone call. On the other end was a very calm voice saying in Russian, “hello, Steve, how are you”? I started going through my mind thinking who this could be. I said ok and eventually they identified themselves. It was Zhenya Altudin, my good friend who plays the accordion and performs at a local theater located not far from the center. He invited me to his performance that night. Luckily I really did not have anything pressing that night, plus I badly needed to get out!

After a little more rest, I pulled myself out of bed to get ready for Zhenya’s performance that night. No way was jet lag gonna deprive me of attending!! Back in Seattle getting ready to go out during winter is pretty easy thing, put on a layer, maybe at most two and you’re ready. In Russia’s winter it’s a bit more complicated and time consuming, making me pressed for time once I’d stuffed myself full of layers. I eventually opted to take a taxi rather than getting out in the cold and then pushing and shoving through the crowds to squeeze into a metro wagon.

Luckily traffic was not too horrible, just average Moscow bad, so I arrived in good time to the theater. Once there I was to go up to the ticket window and say the magic word “Altudin”, my friend's last name, and pay the $5 or so dollars and I’d be in. Sure enough it worked and I was in! The theater was tiny, the size of what you’d expect from a local high school. Although I was a friend of one of the cast members that did not necessarily mean I would get good seats. Each ticket had a number on it and row, but mine was missing that. Eventually I had to settle for a big wooden block seat in the top row in the walkway area. Oh well……not like the other seats were exactly lazy boy leather recliners, so it was no worries. As I sat there on my hard wooden block seat I wished I could just skip the performance all together and go home. But no way in hell was I going to miss the show and let my friend Zhenya down!!!

I really did not know how I would react to the show since I am not one who just loves the arts. I figured I’d tolerate it and then see Zhenya afterwards and go home. But….a funny thing happened on my way to tolerating and going home…….I actually REALLY liked the show! The show’s name was “Times of the Year” and was a show with no words, just four absolutely drop dead gorgeous I’d do anything to just have one of those as a girlfriend/partner singing the words “la la la la” in all types of different tones in all different types of costumes and times of the year. It was a very, very different show, but was very, very well produced and had a very artsy feeling to it. The music was incredible and my friend Zhenya who plays the accordion is not only an exceptionally gifted accordionist, but also a great actor!

The cast taking of "Times of the Year" taking a bow

Eventually after the show was over I got to see Zhenya in the lobby for a short time and congratulate him and the cast on their great performance. Unfortunately Zhenya couldn’t stick around and talk because the cast was having a post-show discussion. I eventually arrived home dead tired, but so happy that I attended the show!

The Lev Tolstoy

On my way to Russia!

As I boarded the Lev Tolstoy train I couldn’t believe this would be my 11^th trip to Russia. It was hard to even grasp all the stuff Russia and I had been through during our eleven times together. Most of it was all love, but there’d been some rocky times together, like the time it betrayed me and endorsed Trump, or the time I was told I couldn’t leave the nation because my visa had expired. But this was all behind me; it was time to move ahead into Russia.

Although I was still in Finland when I boarded the train it felt like I had entered Russia! So, what constitutes feeling like Russia you may ask? It’s hard to really explain, but probably the number one thing that stands out is the definite smell of cigarette smoke. Although Russian trains are supposed to all be no smoking it seems somehow the train attendants must find a way to smoke in their rooms because there’s always that hint of smoke on board.

Usually for all my Russia to Finland needs I take the high speed Allegro train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. The Allegro makes the trip back and forth in a mere 3.5 hours. But this time I’d be going a lot further, to Moscow, plus The Lev Tolstoy was a lot slower than the joint VR (Finland Rail)/RZD (Russian Railways) Allegro, so instead of the usual 3.5 hours just to Petersburg it’d be a whopping 17 hours!!  Luckily I had booked a really nice cabin so I’d get a good night’s sleep before I arrived in Russia.

As we slowly made our way toward the Finnish-Russian border, it dawned on me that unlike during summer and spring where there is no time difference between Russia and Helsinki, there was definitely one this time. Oddly enough because Russia has gone permanently to daylight saving time they are one hour behind Helsinki even though they are further east! Strange how time zones work isn’t it?!

Russia-Finland border

Once we got to the Russian/Finnish border the train lurched to a stop. First up on board would be the Finnish passport control people. They came by my cabin and looked over my passport a few times looking for my EU entry stamp. My passport has so many pages (the Icelandic passport control agent referred to as a bible) that it can be rather tough to find what you’re looking for, especially when it’s not exactly very bright on board. Eventually they found it and stamped me out of the EU. About a half hour later the train lurched a few more kilometers into Russian territory!! At last I was back in Russia!! The Russians boarded the train and looked at my passport. Luckily besides a few minor errors I’d made filling out my entry and exit card things went down pretty smoothly.

My cabin

Eventually the Russian passport agents finished their work and we were off to Moscow. The train stewardess stopped by my cabin to give me a bit of a tutorial on how to pull my bed down and to make sure my small little dining table next to it did not fall into me while I was sleeping. I listened carefully in Russian and pretty much understood everything………at least I thought….. Eventually when it was time for me to go bed I went to push the table next to me over to the side, only for it to swing back toward me every time the train made the slightest jerky movement. Eventually after trying several times unsuccessfully I figured I needed some intervention, so I called for an attendant to help me. The guy showed up and wasn’t exactly friendly about helping, but got it anchored in place so that it wouldn’t hit me while sleeping in the middle of the night.

The night went by fairly quickly, but due to jet lag I woke up at about 4:30 am and basically cat napped here and there until we arrived in Moscow. As the sun rose I was treated to a winter wonderland of nothing but snow and ice for as far as the eye could see. Although the calendar said it was still technically autumn, it appeared as if fall had left Russia loooooong ago!

After 17 hours on board “The Lev Tolstoy” train we arrived in Moscow. Luckily my beloved friend, Vanda, who is the front desk girl at the hotel I stay at in Moscow had arranged for a taxi to pick me up. I exited the train and expected to see my name somewhere on a name board (after all the driver had been given my wagon number and train number), but there was nothing except for some guy standing around with a name written “Sive”. I once again looked around but did not see anyone else holding a name board. So I figured that “Sive”, must mean “Steve” and approached the man. And sure enough he was here for Steve and had just misheard the name and written it down incorrectly when told it by the dispatcher.

When I started walking reality really hit me, it was cold….not just cold, REALLY cold!!! It was not as if Helsinki had been balmy either, but this was a whole another level of cold. I quickly did a mental assortment of all the winter clothes I brought with me and started to worry that I had underestimated the Russian winter! Never underestimate the Russian winter! After all Napoleon and Hitler did this and it did not turn out too well for them!