Stuff Stuff Stuff

September 19-25, 2016

Monday morning bright and early my sea shipment arrived; all 80 boxes or so of it. Not wanting to have stuff scattered all over the apartment, I had the movers open the boxes, put together the few things that I knew had been dismantled and they were gone before noon. I wasn’t so lucky as I was left to unload box after box of treasures including unmanageable quantities of dry goods from Costco. What was I thinking?!

The dishwasher and washing machine were working as hard as I was for two days and then I was back at the office Wednesday and the appliances were given a bit of a break. I am not quite sure where all my Xmas decorations are going to end up but for now they are in storage in the guest room along with a lot of other stuff that has yet to be unpacked. I promise to have it cleaned up before the first guest arrives!

One thing I know for sure that where ever I end up after this posting will not be as big a space as my apartment here so I have two years to downsize! Back at work, I am starting Wednesday afternoon Russian classes to help improve my language skills. The class is a group of eight and includes Embassy staff as well as some of the spouses. I’ll have to see whether the group class works for me or if I should also have some one-on- one training.

Wednesday night, I am off to a reception at the US Embassy to welcome their new Health Officer and bid adieu to the Environment Officer who is on his way to Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains 20 percent of the world's freshwater. The attendees are from the diplomatic corps and the full range of Russian NGOs involved in health and environmental issues; an interesting mix. After some tasty bites and sips and a bit a chit chat with the folks attending, I am off home for yet another early night (damn jetlag!).

Waking up early does have its advantages as I continue to unpack and put away my stuff. I want to be done before the end of October though my colleagues say it usually takes a couple of months! 

Soon enough it is Friday and I am avoiding my chores and drinking wine and playing cards at the Canada Club with the usual suspects. Not likely going to make much progress on unpacking this weekend as I am doing a bus tour of Moscow on Saturday morning, heading to Oktoberfest at the German Embassy on Saturday night and have a foray to a new Pho place on Sunday at noon.

I contemplated bailing on the bus tour but it’s not raining for the first time in a week so I take that as a sign. The bus takes us around the Moscow Garden Ring which I have explored extensively and then we are off to Sparrow Hill to catch a glimpse of the Moscow skyline and the tallest and smartest of the Seven Sisters. 

The Seven Sisters (also known locally as “Stalinskie Vysotki”– Stalin’s High-rises) are a group of seven skyscrapers in Moscow built on Stalin’s orders in order to compete with the modern cities of the western allies which the USSR had fought alongside in WWII. The Sisters, that define the Moscow skyline, are an elaborate combination of Russian Baroque and Gothic styles. Today we have a chance to see the main building of the Moscow State University up close.

We ran across a bride getting her photos taken and I snapped a few pics myself!
 

One of the interesting tidbits garnered from the tour was that the Church of Christ the Saviour was originally to have been built on the top of the hill but the hill was not stable enough for such a large church. Instead the beautiful but smaller Holy Trinity Church overlooks Moscow.

Holy Trinity Church

Leaving Sparrow Hill, we are off to the site Novodevichy (New Maiden) Convent and Cemetery next to the lake said to have been the inspiration behind Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet. The buildings and grounds are beautiful so a return journey is a must.

Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery on "Swan Lake"

Today there is time to take a few pictures of the lake and the whimsical bronze statues of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings – Make Way for Ducklings – a replica of the famous Boston landmark that was donated by Mrs. Bush to 
Mrs. Gorbachev.

We opt to jump off the bus at the Bolshoi Theatre and head off to find some lunch. On our way to Stolovaya №57, a Soviet-style restaurant in the GUM Department Store, we walk through an Armenian festival and are tempted off course by the siren’s song of meat being cooked over coals. 

With a generous plate of shashlik and salad, we dine al fresco despite the Fall temperatures. Sated, we continue our way through the festival and are attracted by shiny strings of candied walnuts (though at first we thought they might be sausages or candles!). 
 

Roejeeg

Roejeeg – walnuts covered with an almost rubbery coating of thickened fruit juice. Both the pomegranate and grape varieties are delicious so we picked some up for later. In case you want to make some at home, here’s a recipe that I found http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/roejeeg.html

Time to head home and get cleaned up for Oktoberfest. I am going to be taking the Metro by myself to the apartment building where the bulk of the Embassy folks live for the first time so I need to allot extra time for getting lost! Amazingly, the Metro is easy (it is only one transfer!) but then the wheels fall off as my confidence in my ability to use my cell phone for directions is misplaced. My 500 meter walk turned into a couple of km so I got some exercise and still arrived before we were supposed to head out.

Kat had prepared some food and we had a couple of glasses of wine before heading to the German Embassy. The event was sold out and we were not exactly late but not as early as the rest of the folks but the five of us soon found seats scattered amongst our Canadian colleagues and their spouses. The $40 ticket included food (lots and lots of food), two pints of beer and a great German band.
 

Things started out fairly civilized but then the beer hit and folks were dancing on benches and tables. The whole scene brought back great memories of crazy nights at the Old Munich in Montreal when I was studying at Macdonald College.
The Canadians were among the last to grab cabs and head home so Sunday morning was going to be a wee bit painful at least!

A little worse for the wear, we headed to Danilovsky Market to get some fresh produce and a big bowl of pho at BO. After our disappointment of a couple weeks ago that the great outdoor Pho restaurant in Gorky Park was closed, we were really happy to find it's twin! The Pho was great as were the rice paper wraps and mango lasse! Just what the Doctor ordered. 

Making rice paper

Pho Fixings

Lunch - just what the Doctor ordered!

The market sells all types of local products from great cheese to wild mushrooms, all sorts of meats and several stands selling fresh-pressed pomegranate juice, guaranteed to cure what ails you! 

Dried fruit and nuts

Shrooms

We picked up some of the fresh food and headed home to catch up a bit on sleep. Another great week!!