Troika Weekend

January 30 - February 5

A very average week at work is made notable by weekend plans to head north to Bogdarnya, an agro-tourism center, with a gaggle of Embassy colleagues. Our shuttle bus is picking us up at 2:30 Friday so I opt to take the morning off to get into the zone and bake some cookies for the journey which is supposed to take 2-3 hours depending on traffic. 

The bus arrives more or less on time to pick the twelve of us up.  After loading our luggage and enough adult beverages and snack food for a small army, we are off! The first hour or so is exhausted navigating the rings of Moscow through this always traffic-clogged city, then another hour or so of highway driving and we are in the village of Krutovo. 

That's when the wheels fell off!! Well, not really ... but the driver turned right when he should have turned left (navigation software doesn't work well out in the back of beyond!) and we ended up wandering in the woods for almost two hours. The first half hour or so, we thought we might be on the right track but it became "obvious" that we had zigged when we should have zagged but there wasn't much to be done so onward we went on what looked to be an old logging road or maybe a snow mobile route. Everyone was pretty excited to see some lights in the distance but alas we were not at a farm but a very remote village.

After a few attempts to figure out where we were, the driver stopped and asked one of the locals and off we went in the opposite direction on an even rougher road. You know you are lost when a man decides on his own to ask for directons!  

This "road" featured an undulating terrain that meant each time we crested a "hill", the back of the bus hit the ground with a thud. We came to find out that there was a trailer hitch on the bus but there were many times, I thought that the bus would break in half and we would be stranded in the middle of the woods and headed on foot to our destination. Luckily, the driver persisted and the bus stayed in one piece until we made it to the hotel; a bit later than expected but no worse for the wear.

After unloading our supplies, we checked into the hotel. As we put our stuff away in our rooms, Francine put the name tags and cartoons that she had prepared for each of us on our doors so we could find each other. After the first (of several) adult beverages and a quick game of cards it was off to the dining room with bottles of wine to quaff with dinner. 

We had pre-ordered our meals so the process was reasonably efficient for the two women serving us. The food was good country fare and the meal was punctuated with lots of laughter, a "flavouring" that makes any meal a culinary success.

Sated, we headed back to the Francine and Alain's suite (aka the party room) to play pass the ace, BS and hangout eating junk food until it was time to crash.

The next morning, it was back to the dining room for a Russian breakfast tray replete with buckwheat porridge, kefir, cottage cheese, a cinnamon bun with jam followed by eggs and toast. I really enjoyed the farm-made kefir (a thick drinkable yoghurt) but passed on the гречневая каша!

We were heading out on a troika ride today followed by shaslik (shish kebabs) at a campfire in the woods so we bundled up for a few hours of winter weather after breakfast and headed out to explore a bit before our ride. The troikas (sleds with three horses in a single line) are prepared and the teams are taken for a practice run to get them ready for passengers.

The two troikas aren't quite large enough for twelve Canadian asses so two of the guys offered to go to the campsite by car. The rest of us headed off for a half hour ride through the snowy woods - likely using the same road as the bus the night before! Too soon we arrive at the campfire and the horses head back to the barn for some well-deserved oats. 

Steve, me and Tanya

Samovar of tea

Francine breaks out her homemade Caribou (a mixture of vodka and port) to keep our insides warm and the fire takes care of the rest. Some of the guys toss around a nerf football while the rest of us hang around the fire Drinking Caribou, tea and глинтвейн (mulled wine). The cook fires up the grill and we feast on chicken, pork and beef shaslik with a few veggies that freeze if they are left on the table too long. Despite best efforts, I can't get a singalong started around the fire.

Shaslik on the Q

Tout Le Gang

Soon enough, it's time to return to the hotel and this time our transportation is the more "modern" Zil; an armoured troop transport. Packed into the back we ram through the woods at breakneck speed awash in carbon monoxide fumes.  Apparently, a Zil is pretty much indestructible and so are we! 

Zil

Back at the hotel, folks opted for exploration, cards or napping for the rest of the afternoon. I will let those that know me best guess which two of those activities would likely fill my afternoon.

There is a birthday celebration in the dining room tonight so we are off to the banquet hall for dinner. I had ordered egg plant rolls stuffed with fresh made cream cheese mixed with walnuts as a starter again as it was a big hit for me and my table mates last night. Another lovely dinner with friends punctuated with lots of laughter. Our host, John Kopiski (a Brit that married a Russian woman) popped by with some homemade hooch to wash everything down before heading back to the party room for more cards and silliness.

After another Russian breakfast, some of us headed off to explore the blue church across the fields. 

Bridge to the church

Icon Wall

 

John Kopiski (our host)

The Hotel

The Banya

After a bit more exploring, a couple games of cards, a trip to the "store" to purchase some farm-produced dairy products (including some of the best cheese in Russia that I have found) and a bowl of soup, it was time to board the bus for the return journey. The driver had the map figured out so no more jaunts in the woods and we were home without incident.  A lovely FUN weekend!