Novodevichy Cemetery (Новоде́вичье кла́дбище)

Moscow’s third most popular tourist site:

There are extraordinary granite and metal monstrosities that crown the graves.

The diverse tombs of Russian authors, musicians, playwrights, and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, architects, and scientists are here in Moscow at Novodevichy.

Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Bulgakov, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin’s second wife, are buried here.

There’s’ a beautiful 17th-century convent complex, not to miss, right next door.

New Zealand

Happy New Year! It has been an absolute dream come true to travel to both islands in New Zealand. We did so many exciting activities while we were there. We started our travels in Auckland, and took a ferry to Waiheke Island. The Mudbrick Winery was a breathtaking spot to eat, drink, and be merry. We also stopped at Cable Bay Winery. We walked and hiked on the island.

After experiencing a few days in Bucklands Beach and adjusting to the time change we went to Christchurch. We went to a botanical gardens, did some bird watching, learned about the Maori culture, ate french fries out of a vacuum tube, and played Star Wars pinball.We collected shells, and drove on the other side of the road.We were lucky to have a friend from the area show us around also. There was earthquake damage that we saw too. The journey continued down south to Queenstown – a favorite location we’d definitely like to return to. Adventure was the name of the game as we played mini golf a few times, T played golf after many months, and we went on a shotover boat ride with our good friends who were visiting NZ too. T and K went on the biggest swing in the world. 

We sampled craft beers, ate at the famous Fergburger and Cookie Time. K got to do gold panning and we visited a Chinese Settlement. We went on a luge numerous times, saw UB40 on the Red Red Winery Tour, hiked the Queenstown Hill hike, and visited Arrowtown and Glenorchy. Three of the sweetest things about New Zealand were the magnificent stars in the night sky, manuka honey and the experience of eating Afghan Cookie ice cream at the                  I-recommend-you-must-visit ice cream shop Giapo located in Auckland. https://www.giapo.comIt’s up to you!

Mom life

This morning I woke up to noise in the kitchen. My 11-year old daughter had borrowed some eggs from a neighbor, gone to the store and bought butter, and Googled “how to make regular french toast.” Her cutting job of the loaf of Russian bread wasn’t too smooth and there were a lot of crumbs on the counter. The plastic bag that the bread was in was close to the hot pan but luckily just far enough away so it didn’t cause any problems. The bowl of mixed eggs was quite large and full. I asked her what recipe she used and it had called for 8-10 slices of bread for 4 servings. So we had a mini lesson on portion size and which knife to cut bread with. (Nonetheless, we’ll have scrambled eggs for brekkie tomorrow)

The smell of delicious French toast was in the air. K got out her favorite topping for French toast – local honey – and started eating. I took over from there and saw she only spilled a tiny bit of milk on the counter. She then said, ever so sweetly, she needed to repay the neighbors with a cup of butter and one of their leftover eggs. 😜Bonus news – she also told me she had walked and fed the dog too!

Then I saw some macaroons on the counter from the W Hotel in St. Petersburg. T had missed his flight so he arrived at 3:30 am. Here’s what it looks like at that time of day.

Mom life = Good times!

Konstantin Melnikov (Константин Мельников)

Konstantin Melnikov was an avant-garde, Russian architect and painter.  One or his architectural masterpieces is on Krivoarbatsky Lane right off Old Arbat. It was his residence in Moscow (completed in 1927-1929).

Melnikov’s home consists of two intersecting cylindrical towers decorated with a pattern of hexagonal windows. The towers, top to bottom, are a honeycomb lattice made of brickwork. 60 of more than 200 cells were glazed with windows (of three different frame designs), the rest filled with clay and scrap.

My favorite part of the tour was the largest room, a 50-square meter workshop on the third floor, is lit with 38 hexagonal windows. Yard artView from the back of the house. This unorthodox design was a direct consequence of material rationing by the state, at the time – Melnikov was limited to brick and wood, and even these were in short supply. The wooden ceilings have no supporting columns. They were formed by a rectangular grid of flat planks. 

Dining room and hallway. Our tour guide told us to imagine we were blindfolded and had walked into the house. Then she asked us to looked around and realize we wouldn’t know we were in a house with such a shape. Truly unique. Also, the house appears much larger inside.

Kitchen cabinet.

The view from the upstairs balcony.

Tip: you have to book a private tour to get inside the house.

Red Square, 1, Moscow

At one end of Red Square is a gorgeous, red brick building. I’ve past it many times on my way to admire St. Basil’s Cathedral, visit the Bolshoi Theatre, or ride the metro home. I knew it was a place I would get to tour at some point. I now know that the State Historical Museum is a must see. And I have to go back.

Our guide informed us to see everything in the museum it would take about 350 days. We had a nice overview of the various exhibits. There’s over one million articles to view housed in 40 rooms.

The museum covers a thousand years of Russian history.

The architecture inside and outside is magnificent. You have to look in every direction, in every corner or else you are certain to miss a lot. 

The man in the middle here is Peter the Great.

This is an incredible ceiling painting.

Photographs were allowed here but without the flash. A number of museums in Moscow make you pay a minimal fee to do that but not here.

Here’s a display of the gold artifacts of the Scythian. I learned that birch bark from Novgorod was used and praised. There’s also manuscripts going back to the sixth century, and some lovely Russian folk ceramics, and wooden objects. The address Red Square, 1, Moscow is worth every second you can spend there.

Big Moscow Circus – большой московский цирк

The Big Moscow Circus! It was a bargain and a hoot on a cold Sunday afternoon. From acrobats to magic tricks, to bears and tightrope walkers, we experienced it all.

  
For about $13.50 we were entertained and amused for two-hours and 20 minutes.

   
 One impressive part of Russian culture is their coat-checking standards. When you arrive at a restaurant, ballet, or circus you can check you coat for free (gloves, scarf, and hat too). If you’d like you can also check a bag with your boots, because you brought a change of shoes, naturally. 

  
Our seats were great. It didn’t seem like there was a bad seat though. But the price to be positioned near the ring was quadruple the price we paid. There was a story told during (parts of) the show – in Russian. You could still appreciate the spectacle even if you didn’t understand Russian. There was a king who would go to sleep and dream about what we got to see.   

   
Costumes, and lighting were brilliant. A live band accompanied the show. 

   

My   

Technically you aren’t allowed to take photos, bring guns, or alcohol to the show either. Our tickets had pictures displaying those items are prohibited. The animals appeared well treated. I was a little surprised to see the bears. There were also camels, goats, ponies, horses, an ostrich, and parrots.     

I fully enjoyed the elaborate costumes the acrobats and tightrope walkers wore. It was fun to see it. It is a tradition in Russia and the venue was packed. I recommend getting tickets in advance. They have a 20-minute intermission so you can purchase one of those annoying, blinking, bright Darth Vader-type swords too.

Abu Dhabi

Tickets were booked and special plane meals were ordered. Lest we forget the electronics or the neck pillows. Getting to vacation in a foreign land is thrilling. When none of us has been to this place before discovery is a key factor.

Coke with a different kind of smile

Delicious labneh – middle eastern yogurt cheese

Bathroom humor

Cool find

Of course, we explored the Internet before our departure to make sure everyone had some place they wanted to visit in Abu Dhabi. There’s sport, culture, cuisine, and entertainment to be seriously considered. In particular we were looking for golf, roller coasters, water parks, massages, pool time, shopping, and adventure.

 

Saadiyat Golf Course

Shisha lineup

Sheik Zayed Mosque

Lost in translation?

One benefit of having traveled to so many places is that you know what things are important. We always try to leave a day open on both ends for possibly travel delays, laundry, and incidentals. We try to remember to bring various credit cards and still carry some local cash too. Patience and preparation are essential. Also, respecting other cultures is absolutely necessary.

Fantastic scenery and people watching were awesome here. A desert safari tour (Desert Rose Tourism) rounded out the week including camel rides, sand dune bashing, henna, belly dancing, and sand boarding. Serendipitously we got to see old friends here too.

 

 

 

 

St. Petersburg

Sapsan – Our trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg was easy transportation-wise. It is a 4-hour train trip at approximately 200 kilometers per hour.

We left on Saturday at 6:55am by taxi and arrived at the train station 15 minutes later. Finding the train track wasn’t difficult. The station wasn’t very busy and it appeared there were trains leaving every 10 minutes.

If you need to use the bathroom in the train station you will have to pay 30 rubles.

Boarding the train was simple and plenty of legroom and space for our bags. The price of the ticket includes a small sandwich (even a vegetarian option), small bottle of water, tea or coffee which they promptly delivered to us within 15 minutes of the departure. Our train made two 1-minute stops along the way. The train was very clean and quiet. The bathrooms on the train were conveniently located to our seats as well as a decent-sized table for placing items like guide books, phone, and such. The windows are large so you can enjoy the view and amenities like a place to hang your jacket.

Passengers took off their shoes, slept, and read near us during the trip. We didn’t visit the cafe but there were announcements and signage indicating other food options. There was also a video playing, without sound, about the Russian Railway system’s history with English subtitles.

A few times I observed a security officer walking through the aisles. The train we were on had a few empty seats.

Grabbing a taxi anywhere in the city is fast and convenient. Download the Yandex application on your phone. But if you don’t have the capability for that there are plenty of marked taxis around. Just make sure to get your price set before your driver starts driving. The drivers inflate prices for foreigners. The metro is absolutely spotless and incredibly cheap to use.
The signs are in English much more so than Moscow. For the most part people are quiet while traveling in the metro.

Statues, churches, and parks are prevalent in the heart of the city. You may follow a guide book quite easily or allow yourself some flexibility to walk around a corner and explore something unbeknownst to you. Charming characteristics of St. Petersburg abound: proximity to the canals and bridges plus the elaborate views of the horizon from so many angles.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to see a theatre/ballet production or a professional hockey or soccer match but there are tickets booths easily found.

A deeply rich and thick hot chocolate may be purchased for a few dollars at Chocolate shops all over the city. It is nearly a meal.

Museums have free coat checks and it is a comfortable and common to leave your jacket there.

Russians don’t like large ruble notes and will always seem to ask you if you have smaller bills, the exact change or for a 5 or 10 ruble coin depending on what your bill comes up to be. It’s a good idea to get a bunch of 100 and 500 notes.

Three days was great but we’ll need to go back. We are always told seeing this city and Moscow in different seasons is paramount. We flew home. The airport is about a 30-minute taxi ride from the center.

Wheatless Wednesdays

Going to try Wheatless Wednesdays starting tomorrow and attempt to stick with it weekly for all of September. Hopefully, won’t get invited out to lunch or dinner at an Italian spot.  I will start breakfast with  something along the lines of plain Greek yogurt (see pic) topped with blueberry yogurt, berries, grapes, and honey. I’ll most likely add a splash of cinnamon too. Tonight I made a fresh, organic spinach and organic pinto bean soup from scratch. It also has white and green onions, garlic, celeriac, beet roots, cilantro, and dried spices including oregano, sage, and white pepper. I topped it with sour cream – so that will be leftovers for lunch. Now, dinner is TBD. If you have a suggestion, send it my way. Just nothing with meat please.

 

Gorgeous Gorky Park – парк горького

The beauty and design of Gorky Park is quite inviting. Since we’ve only experienced it in the summer months we’ll have to plan to come back. I know the cooler weather trips will be exciting too. (We’ve been told it becomes a vast skating rink in the winter.) This is a nature-filled place with many entrances. It also has activities like paddle boats, restaurants, cozy areas, and a museum. You can bring dogs, ride your bike/scooter, play ping pong, and attend yoga classes weekdays at 7 pm. You may also relax on a bench, play volleyball, walk hand-in-hand, eat ice cream, and drink freshly squeezed lemonade.

   
 

The park opened in 1928 and was the first park of its kind, and the prototype for others across the Soviet Union. Gorky stretches along the Moscow River banks. There are two metro stops convenient to an entrance – Park Kultury or Oktiabrskaya stations.