Sunday in the Park

Another day in Moscow.

Today i had this brilliant plan to take the metro to Izmailovsky Park where there was supposed to be a quaint market selling handcrafted items. We arrived and found the market, which was a sprawling flea market of sorts which i can best liken to a cross between the Hialeah Ghetto market (in Miami), the Richmond Night Market and Canal Street in New York....for those of you who still can't get a visual: it was tents and enclosures filling maybe a football field selling clothing and housewares, toys, food and any other item you could imagine. It was extremely crowded and from what we could tell we were the only non-Russians there. It was not at all what i was expecting, but it was interesting to see where many Russians seem to do their shopping.

After fleeing that scene we went back "downtown" to the Kremlin, where we got an espresso and ice cream (when in Moscow...) and sat outside at a cafe on a promenade in the sun. The weather today was FANTASTIC. Snow? What snow? While sitting outside i was so warm i removed my jacket and scarf. Heaven.

After that we went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts which was especially crowded due to a recently opened Modigliani exhibit. I was a bit disappointed with the museum, as the impressionist works i had been keen to see were in closed wings. There were a few rooms, however, of lovely Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 17th Century.

We then walked back to Ulitsa Arbat for dinner at the same cafe we ate at last night. I had the most exquisite chocolate dessert. Now we are back at the hostel. Yesterday it was filled with Germans, today it is literally crawling with children; the kind that stand too close and stare at you....in fact, they are doing it now....creepy.

Tomorrow is our final day in Moscow. We catch the midnight train to St. Petersburg tomorrow night.

Good night.

d & b

The Kindness of Strangers

I am giving this post that particular title, as i wish to point out the many kind people who have helped us out on this trip - pointing us in the right direction, letting us change seats with them at the ballet (BL had a panic attack when we sat down in our seats in the 1st row of the 3rd tier), dragging us back on the train when we almost got off at the wrong stop in the middle of nowhere, et cetera.

Moscow commuter train

Today we slept in about 2 hours because someone forgot to set the alarm (dale). We raced to the train station and managed to make our train to the country, although to do so we had to skip showering and breakfast.

train platform sign, Moscow

The country was great today. The train ride was an adventure. I'm pleased to say that i successfully used my little Russian to purchase 2 round trip tickets to Sergiev Posad and found the right train. We almost got off one stop too soon, but some nice Russian girl saved us from our folly.

The Russian countryside is extremely pastoral, but much of it looks very poor - dilapidated shacks and barns and whatnot.

The train was very old and very crowded (some passengers had to stand for the nearly two hour ride). People would walk through the cars selling various goods, including steak knives, loofahs, wallets, and tazers.

Our trip to the country was for the purpose of taking us to the St. Sergius monastery. It is basically the Vatican of the Russian Orthodox church. It was full of Monks and pilgrims and worshippers. Surprisingly few tourists. We had a Russian guide, Sofia, show us around. In one of the churches they have a ceremony which goes from 5am-9pm 24/7/365, in which people line up to kiss and pray at the tomb containing the relics of st. Sergius. Pilgrims come of their own volition and sing through the affair. It was so beautiful and quite moving. I still think Catholicism is crazy, but they do have some lovely rituals. Although Betty Lou and i each raised an eyebrow when our guide told us that all of the wealth on display in the church (bejeweled icons and the like) is not to show off their literal 'wealth', but to symbolize the wealth that awaits us in heaven. Uh huh.

St Sergius Monastery building 

We took the train back to Moscow and wandered down Ulitsa Arabat, a wide, pedestrian street with vendors, shops, and restaurants. We found a lovely little cafe and had dinner and coffee and did a crossword.

I must mention the weather again. While there were moments today where it was sunny, they were fleeting. Most of the day was bitterly cold with snow blowing at a steep angle. I had to break down and buy a scarf.

Until the morrow,

BLou and Dale

An Evening at the Ballet

Another day in Moscow and it was a thoroughly Russian day.

We spent several hours at the Kremlin exploring the numerous churches, many of which are about 500 years old and filled with tombs and iconoclasts and all the usual Catholic bells and whistles. (They certainly did favor some violent imagery, those Catholics.) Everything was so beautiful.

me with Tsar Cannon, Kremlin, Moscow

We visited the Armory Museum (also at the Kremlin), which houses all of the riches of the Romanovs. The carriages were particularly impressive, as were the coronation gowns.

After that we were quite fatigued, so we wandered over to Theatre Square, where we had a leisurely dinner before going to the opera at the Bolshoi. On our way in we stopped by the cocktail area of the theatre and Betty Lou spontaneously splurged on some caviar - the perfect pre-show treat at the Bolshoi.

A side note: One odd thing we have noticed is that Moscovites seem to have a penchant for ice cream. There are ice cream vendors on every corner and every 50 feet or so in the mall. They eat ice cream at breakfast and stroll leisurely down the ulitsa (street) licking cones even in the most frigid of weather. Weird. What else can i say?

We're tired. That's all, folks. Thanks for checking in on us.

Betty Lou & Dale 

Mastering the Moscow Metro

Good Day.


We awoke this morning after a surprisingly restful and cozy sleep in our somewhat shabby room. Much to our surprise it was snowing. That's right, snowing. Fortunately the snow did not last long and it was atmospheric; it IS Russia after all, and it wouldn't feel right without a little snow.

Moscow Metro Station

We ventured onto the Metro (the subway) today to transport ourselves to Red Square. It was quite an adventure, but one, i am pleased to say was without incident. Of course, none of the ticket sellers spoke English, so we had to rely on our rough and rudimentary Russian. Amazingly, we were able to purchase our tickets and made it to our destination. I must note, first of all that the signs in the Metro are entirely in  Cyrillic. I must also comment on the stations themselves which are quite ornate and extremely clean; some of the stations had chandeliers, other had stained glass and sculptures.

me at St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow

We arrived in Red Square and were greeted by St. Basil's Cathedral, which is magnificent, so much so that it does not seem real. We wandered around the area and visited numerous churches, a former residence of the Romanovs, and the site of the (former) KGB, which, strangely is right across the street from the world's largest toy store.

Also, at Red Square, we witnessed a curious sight: hundreds of Russian soldiers lined up like, well, soldiers participating in what appeared to be a military ceremony. We couldn't communicate with anyone to find out what it was, but there was solemn singing and men in uniform.

At some point the sun came out and it was actually beautifully warm...for about 20 minutes.

My great moment of triumph came when i stumbled upon a shop selling candy, coffee, tea, wine, and.....cigars! Despite the fact that the sales people didn't speak English, i successfully made my purchase. Victory!!

Tomorrow we head to the Kremlin, where, sadly, Lenin is unavailable for viewing. [insert our pouting faces here] That;s right, the old guy had better things to do apparently. Truthfully, I don't know why his tomb isn't open, but it is closed until the 15th. Tomorrow night we head to the Bolshoi to see the ballet.

That's all. Happy trails,

dale & lou 

So Much For Sensible Shoes

St Basil's 

It is a very sunny morning here in Moscow.

Betty Lou and i have just awoken.

I'm sorry some of you are having trouble posting. I don't know what that's all about, but you can email both of us at my email if you are keen to contact us.

A random tale which i forgot to mention in the last post:

I had been congratulating myself for wearing my sensible Doc Martens on this trip (or rather, i had been thanking Betty Lou for urging me to wear them rather than the more stylish shoes i had originally selected), it seems however that even the most cautious and sturdy of footwear was not enough to save me from my own innate clumsiness. Yesterday as we were entering the rather posh and famous GUM department store i tripped and fell on my face, losing both my balance, my grip of my guidebook, and my pride. The security guard, standing on the other side of a window, looked at me, placed his hand over his heart and shook his head. I laughed.

Dawn, i knew you would appreciate that story.

Later, d

From Amsterdam to Moscow

Please forgive me for this being so brief, but it is quite late and others are waiting to use this computer.

Amsterdam canal & bicycles

We arrived in Amsterdam, which was unseasonably warm and beautifully sunny. We cruised the canals and wandered aimlessly down the narrow cobblestoned streets (i am SO glad i wore my Doc Martens; they're not stylish, but at least i can keep my balance), had coffee outside by the canal and smoked a cigar (well, i did; Betty-lou had a latte). Our hotel, the Hotel Brouwer, was beautifully charming and cozy.

Hotel Brouwer, Amsterdam

We flew via Stockholm to Moscow and arrived this evening. It is cold. About 6 degrees. I have to admit this is a bit intimidating. Most people don't speak English and all of the signs are in Cyrillic. I am, however, pleased and proud to report that this evening BL and i managed to find a restaurant, order food and pay for it in Roubles. She had borscht. I had vodka.

Our hostel in Moscow (The Godzilla Hostel) is...well, it's no Hotel Brouwer, but it is clean and has all of the amenities we could need.

Hostel Room, Moscow

We will post when we can.  Tomorrow we are off to Red Square and to view Lenin's body.

A couple of notes to specific people:

 -Dale says:

• "John Josh, Anthony: i ran into someone from our class at the airport. He was en route to Paris."
• "Steve, it is 2 May and i am thinking of you in particular on this day."
• "Chris, thank you for letting me know what the soup of the day is on Granville Island. You're swell."

-Betty Lou says:

• "Dawn, we thought how much you would like Amsterdam - it reminded us of New Orleans."
• "Ron, I love you."

That's all for now.

Da svidanya.

drn and luba dtmetrunetz

Introduction

Betty Lou suggested that we create a blog to document our adventures and keep friends and family informed as to our whereabouts while we are on our trip. This is it. We do not leave until the end of April, but i wanted to post this introduction to test out the site. I have no idea how often we will be posting, but check in often for updates. If you would like to email either Betty Lou or me while we are away, you may do so at drnorth@telus.net