March 2017 – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Winter in Moscow is known to be long, dark and dreary and this year is no exception. Luckily, I had decided that I would need time in the sun with friends and had planned a Caribbean cruise with Mindi and Sally out of Miami in early March on our old friend, NCL Escape.

My flight to Miami had a short connection in Rome so, of course, we were late leaving Moscow and then we needed to de-ice pretty much assuring travel issues.  The travel gods were looking out for me (at least a bit!) so I was greeted by a lovely lady as I deplaned to help me “navigate” the transfer. As luck would have it my Miami flight had been delayed and leaving from the adjacent gate so it should have been easy … but NO! In Rome, all incoming international passengers are required to take the train to another terminal, pass through security and then back on the train to the gates. Well, I am not a runner but I hustled through the terminals and made it to the gate (100 meters from where we had landed) while the flight was still open. Hurray!! The flight didn’t leave for a bit so I was even hopeful that my luggage might also make the connection. Alas, that was too much luck for one trip so my bag was still in Rome when I landed in Miami. Onward and upward…

I grabbed my carryon and jumped in a cab for a two-night stay at Marshall and Peggy’s in Southwest Ranches (Fort Lauderdale) before the cruise. Sadly, my cab driver didn’t have a clue despite chatting with Mindi about directions so the ride was an adventure. Eventually (after several more calls), we arrived at our destination.  Sally arrived from Ottawa a bit later and then we were all together enjoying the always great Cohen hospitality until the time difference and jet lag caught up with me.

The next day I was up early and enjoying the sunny warmth of Florida – so welcome after months of the long Moscow winter. After breakfast, we were off exploring Marshall’s new development and then a quick shopping expedition to get a few things I forgot to put in my carryon in case my bag didn’t arrive before the cruise.  Luckily, Sam and Adam were in town and able to come to Chez Cohen for dinner. It was great to catch up and swap stories since our last get together in Fort Lauderdale a year earlier. Dinner was from a local Italian restaurant and was almost as good as the company.  Around midnight my suitcase arrived – sadly without the handle thanks to either Aeroflot or Alitalia (who knows?) but I was happy to see my “steamer trunk” so I could have a plethora of options for what to wear on the cruise.

We headed to the Miami Cruise port and checked in for our cruise. Sally and I had an aft-suite (sweet!) and Mindi was in the adjoining balcony room. We managed to get Mindi upgraded to “Princess Class” so we could all enjoy the Haven restaurant and the other Haven amenities.  The weather the first couple of days was less than stellar and as they were sea days, we made some donations to the casino with the odd small win on our side as well.

Our first port of call was in St Thomas so we headed to Bliss to see if there were any sparkly bits that caught our eye. Sally somehow managed to avoid temptation but Mindi and I found some things we needed! The weather improved as the cruise went on so we were able to enjoy the Vibe Beach Club and soak up some badly needed Vitamin D.

My new bling

Too soon our cruise was over and I was heading to the airport for the long flight home; this time with Air France. With a bit more time in Paris to make my connection, my suitcases and I arrived together in Moscow on Sunday.


Monday morning, I was back in the office playing catch-up on emails and projects. I was feeling a bit weird by the end of the day but I assumed it was jet lag until I got back in my apartment. It felt like someone had hit me with an axe in the centre of my breastbone. I had had similar “attacks” that I had written off as heartburn over the past few months but Tums and Tylenol didn’t have any impact on this sharp pain. Stubbornly, I waited through the night but it was clear that I needed to seek medical attention. I called Tanya and off we went to the clinic to see what was up. With much prodding, testing and some pain meds and fluid therapy, I was sent home to await the results of the tests. The verdict came later that evening – acute pancreatitis and a “short” hospital stay would be required.

Wednesday morning, I grabbed a cab to the private hospital the Embassy folks frequent. Long story short, I was “incarcerated” in the hospital for two weeks of additional testing, fluid therapy, and antibiotics until my pancreas was back in shape. Luckily, my friends and colleagues helped me to stay sane with visits, including a card game one Saturday, cards, flowers and reading materials. 

Not sure that the excesses of the cruise were the culprit but two weeks of a very restricted bland fat-free diet took care of the few pounds that I had gained on the cruise and several more as well.

Cruise food

Hospital food 1

Hospital food 2

Back home, I am on a restricted diet until my gall bladder and pancreas recover. I will have several more opportunities to experience the Russian medical system for follow-ups and have gall bladder surgery scheduled here for late June. In the meantime, I am on the mend and back to work.






Three Weeks in February

February 6 - 12, 2017

Another week of meetings, Russian lessons and life in Moscow has flown by. I'm doing some traveling in February and March for work and fun so juggling my passport to get the necessary visas while ensuring I have it available when needed is a challenge.  

My big news for the week is that, as of Thursday, I am now the Event Coordinator for Canada Club! Yeah, I'd been looking for a volunteer opportunity and this should be a fun one especially considering the other folks on the Canada Club Executive. 

Friday, a crew of us trotted over to the Pinzeria for lunch to celebrate that the weekend was coming. I never tire of their thin crust creations and today I tried one of their amazing salads with pears, goat cheese and arugula as a starter Yummmm! The afternoon was short and then it was time for a couple glasses of vino in the Canada Club with the usual suspects.  

Saturday was spent catching up on laundry and vegging. Sunday was all about hanging with friends; breakfast at Cat's, a trip to Dubrovka market with Francine looking at fur and leather coats (I'm still looking for the one I want!) and then a birthday dinner for Alberto catered by Francine and Alain (their pizza was fabulous) and Cat.  Life is good!

February 13 - 19, 2017

There's lots of stuff (good and not so good) happening on the work front this week. On the good side of the ledger, my colleague, Les, and I are putting the final touches on the Program for our Mission to Kazakhstan next week. 

Overall, the week flies by in a jumble of meetings, meetings and more meetings. It's hard to believe when it's already Friday and we are, once again, at Canada Club quaffing wine!

Saturday, I'm up and at it early making fresh rolls to go with the lasagna that I'm serving for dinner tonight as an intro to an evening of cards with a group of friends from the Embassy. Some rosemary lemon chicken wings and spicy grape and ricotta toast for apps and a giant bowl of Caesar salad round out the simple menu. I've lined up a couple of the guests to make something sweet to complete the meal - Kerry's date squares and Alain's sugar pie definitely hit the sweet spot!

Soon enough the dishes are cleared off the table and the cards come out.  

Tonight, we are playing Wizard (again); a great game of skill and luck for 4-6 people! Cat sits out as she's heading home to take care of her fur babies but it is "game on" for the rest of us. The night comes to an end too soon! 

Sunday is the lazy day of this weekend with some dishes and cleanup the most important achievements other than packing for my early morning departure for Astana tomorrow. 

February 20 - 26, 2017

Early morning flights are typically heralded by a night of restless sleep and I wake up Monday morning feeling groggy. The Embassy car picks me up at 6:30 (which is not that early but I've become accustomed to starting a bit later so it's early for me!). Next stop is Les' and then we head off to the airport. Despite the early hour, Moscow traffic does not disappoint and the short trip takes over an hour. Check-in and customs are a breeze and then we grab a quick bite while we wait for our flight to be called.

A freaky new friend at check-in

The trip to Astana is just under four hours but they are three hours ahead of us so we arrive late in the afternoon to be greeted by Mergen, one of our hosts for the week. The drive around town is fascinating as the city is mainly quite new (and located in the middle of nowhere). Astana features an array of strange structures including pagodas, pyramids, the Central Concert Hall, which from above looks like a budding flower, a flying saucer-shaped circus, a presidential palace designed to replicate the White House, and Baiterek, a 100-meter-tall tower that  I think resembles a golf ball sitting on a tee. All pretty exciting for a previously empty patch of land best known as a former gulag prison camp for the wives of Soviet traitors. 

After a nap it is time for or a quick bite. Neither of us is overly hungry so when Les suggests the food court at the mall close to the hotel, I say why not (words that will be regretted later)! The nearby shopping mall is Khan Shatyr which doubles as the world's largest tent.  

Khan Shatyr

There are loads of boutiques and shops inside as well as a small amusement park including a ride up the "tent" pole in the middle that jettisons folks towards the ceiling and then drops them toward to the ground only to pull up quickly - what I'm sure is a stomach churning experience.  

Les indulges me before dinner with a little shopping (a girl needs souvenirs!) and then we head to the third floor to choose our poison. We opted for local cuisine which included a bowl of spicy soup and a stir fry for Les and the same stir fry served with a side order of dumpling that I split with Les for me.  It didn't seem to be a dangerous choice but let's just say neither Les nor I got a good night's sleep as we were overcome with digestive symptoms!

Tuesday we have meetings with folks in the Embassy including an audience with the Ambassador who seems like a very nice guy. It's always nice to meet the people you are communicating with by email and phone face-to-face and I enjoyed meeting our Embassy colleagues.  Next stop was lunch with a colleague from the US Embassy in Astana and followed by a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Agriculture.  

Meetings with government officials in Kazakhstan are very formal and the entry procedures for government buildings are very focused on security.  There are armed guards and scanners everywhere (there is even a scanner at our hotel) to make sure nothing and no one unwanted enters the building. I think it would take awhile before getting saluted every time I entered the office became routine. The meeting was well attended, cordial and informative so it was all worth it. 

Back at the hotel, it's nap time and when I wake up I check with Les but neither of us feels much in need of dinner so a bit of extra sleep wins out!

Wednesday is another day of meetings in Astana with the Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Economy. The security in all three buildings resembles yesterday's routine and all meetings are well attended, cordial and informative.  Another nap, another skipped dinner and it's Thursday morning.  

Thursday we are heading north to visit a large feedlot and a slaughter house/packer that is owned by Kaz Beef. The first 200 Kim's fly by as the highway has mostly been plotted and the traffic is light. The last fifty km is a bit iffier as the secondary roads still show the signs of Tuesday's snow storm. Mergen, our fearless driver and guide, gets us to the destination safely. 

Corn silage and distiller's grain - yum!

Red Steppe Steer

It's great to be on a farm and talk about cattle, feedstuffs and agriculture with the manager who is overseeing what looks like a world-class operation. The cattle are a mix of Red Steppe, White Face (local breeds), Hereford and Angus and they are feeding a corn silage based ration so it's all pretty familiar. 

Next stop is the slaughter plant where we are given the grand tour followed by some fillet cooked on the BBQ outside by none other than the manager. After seeing how clean the operation is, it's easy to enjoy the perfectly rare steaks served with salad and great bread. After a final look at the computer program that helps track the various parts of the operations, we jump back in the car for the three-hour drive home.  

Friday, we are headed to the Annual Meeting of the Kazakhstan Hereford Association. Like all farm association meetings I have ever attended, the topics that engender the most interest (and passion) are those related to money. This means the government official describing the latest changes to subsidy programs gets roasted for over an hour and the Association executive doesn't fare much better when they start discussing changes to fee structures.  

Mergen dropped us off at the airport where we grabbed a quick bite and I bought a few more souvenirs (got to make a contribution to the economy and leave behind the currency I'd had exchanged!). Another smooth flight and we are back in Moscow and navigating the traffic for a couple hours before finally arriving home. 

Saturday is a lazy day other than the laundry as I'll soon have to finish packing for my trip to Miami on Thursday. I'm heading out for a cruise with Sally and Mindi and can't wait to get a dose of sun and surf. I'm also having my first appointment with Mona who provides in-house spa treatments; just what a princess needs! I am having a toe-job aka a pedicure and some facial waxing to trim my stache and eyebrows (I know TMI!). 

Mona is a lovely Indian lady and arrives right on time with her kit. Soon enough my feet were soaking in a bucket and I was in the midst of the most intense pedicure I have ever experienced. My feet were baby soft when the process was completed and then on to the waxing. Apparently, the upper lip waxes that I have experienced in the past weren't complete so the process was considerably more painful that usual as it included waxing inside the nose! Who does that!! Ouch!!! Waxing was followed by threading and I'm cruise ready!

Sunday, my first stop is Dubrovka to pick up my hood for my winter coat which now has a fox fur collar instead of the faux fur collar. Stop two is Ismaylova to pick up a few souvenirs to bring to Florida as gifts for my host. Both locations have an overwhelming array of stuff but I persevered and got what I went looking for.  I'm getting better at figuring out the Metro but I manage to take at least one wrong turn before I get back home!!

Four more sleeps ...

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! 

Winter in Moscow

January 23-29, 2017

Winter has a grip on Moscow that makes even hardy Canadians shiver but life goes on.  Work, meetings, training, business lunches, dinners with friends, restocking the pantry shelves.

Fadi had to do a quick run to Paris and bought some great French cheese, pates and saucissons. Because he is a great guy, he invited some of his colleagues to share in the spoils on Thursday night. The overflowing plates of goodness would have made great food porn but alas we were all much more focused on eating than taking pictures. After eating our fill of French delicacies, we enjoyed some mushroom risotto and shrimp made with love by Stephanie. After a scrumptious apple crisp served a la mode, time for a couple of games of Wizard before heading home.

Cat, Alex and I did an early Metro run Saturday morning. As usual, the three of us bought enough stuff to fill Cat’s SUV!! After putting away my loot, I grabbed a nap before heading to Robin’s for dinner. I am becoming a Yandex pro. Yandex is Russia’s answer to Uber though you can use both here.

Robin has two beautiful dogs, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels though sadly I don’t have any pictures of them either. Robin made a veritable feast of mid-eastern delights and after a great evening, she sent me home with leftovers. It doesn’t it get any better than that!

Sunday was a lazy day punctuated with laundry and some cooking to get ready for the week ahead.

Life is good!

If it's Wednesday, it must be Berlin!

January 16-22, 2017

Monday and Tuesday are filled with last minute preparations and packing for a business trip to Berlin. I was part of a CFIA delegation to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) that was headed for Berlin to have bilateral discussions with some of our trading partners. Fast forward and it’s Wednesday and I’m in an Embassy car headed to the airport armed with a binder filled with briefing materials.

The Aeroflot flight to Berlin is uneventful so it’s into a cab with my luggage and off to the Ritz Carlton Berlin to find the rest of the delegation. After a quick check in, I am back in the lobby thinking about stretching my legs but I run into colleagues from Ottawa in the lobby and plans change – time for introductions, briefings and a quick bite at Starbucks. Canada’s Minister of Agriculture is also in town for meetings at the GFFA with a contingent of staffers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada folks so we all get together for dinner at the Marriott across from the Ritz Carlton. The food was nothing special but it was great to meet the big boss and have a casual evening.

Thursday morning and I join the gang in the restaurant at the RC and a buffet breakfast; something the Europeans do very well. The offerings include anything you would want for breakfast and then some – I am very focused on the tables laden with great cheese, beauteous fruit and flaky croissants – things that are in short supply in Russia. I am in heaven and there is not much chance of reversing the direction of the scale this week! 

Sated we all walk over to the Canadian Embassy for a meeting with the Ambassador. The hotel is located just east of where the wall once stood while the Embassy is in no man’s land with a clear view of where the “western “wall once stood.  After a successful meeting, it’s off to City Cube for the Kick Off Event for the GFFA and to check out the meeting facilities for some of ministerial bilaterals.  

Navigating the grounds while the vendors are setting up Green Week is an eye-opener. The site is huge with exhibits and stands from 70 counties. On our walkabout, we run into a retired German bar owner who is featuring all things Canadian including Moosehead beer, Crown Royal. Her booth is decorated with moose and buffalo heads, a bear hide and all manner of Canadiana. Too bad we won’t be back to check out the crowd when the exhibition opens.

Back to the hotel, I grab a quick nondescript dinner at the food court in the mall before heading back to the grounds for the Reception for Foreign Guests later that night. Even though we had found the building where the reception was going to be hosted in the daylight hours, we wandered about for a while before arriving at the right building. Lots of German and Hungarian food, wine and beer and a room stuffed with folks from 70 countries though there were a lot of Germans in attendance. It was hard to find folks you were looking for so we gave up and enjoyed the music and a second dinner ‘hobbit-style”!

After another amazing breakfast, Friday was spent at briefings and tweaking the materials for bilateral meetings.  After our last meeting, we headed to a traditional German restaurant where I opted for the schnitzel and spätzle washed down with some red wine.  Others tried variations of the German theme including fairly unsuccessful napkin dumplings and a successful sauerbraten plate. Overall, it was a lovely evening with great company.

Schnitzel and spätzle

With some last minute changes to our schedule, Saturday was more or less free. Sadly, I had some stomach issues that limited my opportunities for tourism. I did manage a bit of a walk about and ran into two groups of protestors in very short order.  The first group was protesting to support German farmers and the second was protesting against Mr. Trump’s presidency.

Power to the Bauer!

World's First Traffic Light

Pieces of the Wall (in situ)

 

 

Anti-Trump Demonstration

After a day of recuperation, I was well enough for a final dinner with the crew. I sampled the goulash while others tried the schnitzel, spätzle and sauerbraten. The food was good and as usual we had a lovely evening.

After a quicker (but not lighter) breakfast Sunday, I headed out to explore a bit of Berlin with one of my Canadian colleagues. 

First stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe; a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The site is covered with row after row of concrete slabs or stelae arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The monument is located a block from the Brandenburg Gate on the former location of the Berlin Wall, where the “death strip” once divided the city; a stark reminder.

Our next stop was the Brandenburg Gate a symbol of the tumultuous history of Germany, but also of European unity and peace.  

From there, we headed to the Reichstag to check out the seat of the German government, Platz der Republik and surrounding area.  The Spree River provides a pretty backdrop for what look like government offices; a nice place to work indeed!

We followed the Spree River and eventually ended up at the train station where we found the sculpture – Trains to Life – Trains to Death a memorial to the Children's Transports during the Nazi Era. 

The seven boys and girls in the sculpture represent the Jewish children of the 1930s. The arrangement of the group reflects the contrasting fate of the children in the Nazi era. Five figures in grey bronze look to one side, symbolizing the suffering of those deported to concentration camps to meet an early demise. Two lighter bronze figures, however, gaze in the other direction. They represent those Jewish children whose lives were saved by the Kindertransport to England. The sculptor, Frank Meisler was one of the lucky few who travelled on a 1939 children's transport from Berlin-Friedrichstraße to England (10,000 were saved and more than 2,000,000 perished).

We continued along the Spree River through flea markets and art sales until we arrived at Museum Island. Museum Island hosts five internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums.

No time for dallying, so we continued on our way eventually finding Checkpoint Charlie (aka Checkpoint C) the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991). Got to love the brand positioning of the iconic American company – McDonalds!

Soon enough it was time to head back to the hotel and grab a cab to the airport for the shortish flight home to Moscow. The flight was uneventful but the crazy Moscow traffic meant it was almost midnight by the time I arrived home. Berlin definitely requires a return trip as a tourist!