RUSSIAN FOOD FACTS

Our journey yesterday (Thursday) was again very long, and once again we had to eat on the road. In fact we called in at a large Supermarket at 18:30hrs and were given one hour to eat and shop.

Juris found a place in the Food Court which did meals by the weight. Take a small plate and pile it up with half a kilo of food for 90 Rubbles, or take a larger plate and fill this with a whole kilo of food for 140 Rubbles. I took the larger plate and helped myself to fish baked with vegetables and cheese on top, and then piled on sauted whole new potatoes, broccoli and a cheese/carrot salad. Juris saw that my plate was not full enough, so having filled his he piled on mine a chicken leg and others.

I wanted a piece of Apple Strudel and Juris told me this also had to be piled on the same plate - it all came under the same weight. In fact our plates were only weighed by eye, and if you kept your pile quite short you were spared the weighing scales. 260Rubbles for 2 meals and a soft drink, hardly a fiver!

Eating eventually leads you to the toilets. I've been spared any really horrible toilets, but I do think that putting your used toilet paper in a bucket is totally inhuman. Almost as bad is the quality of the toilet paper. It is a ghastly beige colour and very thin.

I feel sure that the paper from the bucket is 'recycled' by washing and joining back together! At one place, having paid the attendant to enter the toilets she then offered me about 4sheets of toilet paper rolled together; there was none in the cubicle!

Thursday had started by visiting Rostov (Ростов), a really ancient walled monistical community, and totally gorgeous. Several magnificent cathedrals are contained within this citadel and onion domes of every hue thrust into the sky. Such communities were always solidly constructed for defence, and needed to stand up against possible Mongol hordes as well as neighbouring 'Russian' kingdoms seeking expansion.

But it didn't always work, and in Vladimir (Влади́мир) it was explained that when the population sheltered in the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (see photo) against attack, the aggressors lit fires around the church and caused the death of many inside from the heat and smoke; the church survived and was redecorated later (in gaudy baroque).

This part of Russia benefitted from having rich fertile black soil, unlike much of Russia to the north and west which has the much less good sandy soil so typical of the Baltic. With such soil, a rich agricultural thrived and on its back the monasteries built good businesses and very comfortable gilded communities for themselves. Take a look at Fountains Abbey, it was the same there as well.

In Yaroslavl (Яросла́вль) about 50 churches were built in only some 70years. Even now the street plan of Yaroslavl is like a wheel with roads going from the hub to the 'tyre' and each road ends with a church. It was impossible to visit all of Yaroslavl, or to take in all of its features.

Yaroslavl (Яросла́вль) celebrates a 1000years of history in 2010 and many domes were being freshened, interiors cleaned, and resoration work was all around. UNESCO is granting Yaroslavl the status of World Heritage site, with a certain amount of controversy and disapproval of some works currently ongoing.

This town lies on the River Volga (and Rostov is connected by River/canal too), some millions were spent on new facilities to encourage the river steamers to bring new visitors into Yaroslavl, but it hadn't worked. Unfortunately, between the lovely churches and historic aspects of Yaroslavl is a modern reality of a large city with Chemical works and heavy industry, and the thoughtlessness of Lenin and Stalin of how to combine history and industry; it is quite nasty in parts.

Enjoy !!!

The Church of St. Gregory of Nazianzus. 1670–1680s, Rostov Veliky (Ростов Великий) Rostov Kremlin. Church of Resurrection of Christ (1670), Rostov Veliky (Ростов Великий) Golden Gates of Vladimir (Zolotye Vorota). Supposedly the earliest stone structure still standing in Russia, originally constructed in 1164. Originally it sat in the middle of an immense defensive city wall instead of a traffic island. Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (Успенского собора во Владимире). Built 1158-60 and 1185-89, the building survived being set alight by the Mongols in 1239 even though the people sheltering inside it did not. Yaroslavl Churches: [Left] Church of Archangel Michael in Yaroslavl (Церковь Михаила Архангела. Западный фасад), [centre] Redemeer Church of the Transfiguration On-the-town, [right] New Cathedral on the site of the Dormition Cathedral

From Russia [a PICASA album by RedSimon]

TO KILL A MOCKBA

Moscow

Something of a lightning tour of Russia's capital.

After an overlong lecture of how Russia created Quartz crystals for radio sets in the 1950s at the Museum of Stone (Музей рукотворного камня) in Alexandrov, we then had a 2hour visit to the Kremlin (Alexandrovskaya sloboda) in this town.

Now a rather tired Nunnery, the Assumption convent (Успенский монастырь) was rather a pleasant time ambling on a guided tour of the many buildings within this walled fortress. Tsar Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV Grozny) thought it rather pleasant too, and after conquering the lands all around he decided to take over the place for his residence for 17years. We visited the very building that he used for himself.

And all the time we were treated to lovely musical bells - which I have recorded. There may have been a wedding in progress, or other function that caused the bells to be rung; delightful whatever the reason. Also at this place we were treated to "Tea with Carrot". This turned out to be a lovely light tea made from tea bag and water from a Samovar. A small iced cake was served with it, and this may have had some carrot in it, though it was quite like a Rock Cake. I managed to tip my cup into my lap and spent the next hour looking as though I was incontinent.

Moscow came next as was a dash around. We landed up at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Храм Христа Спасителя) and walked around it. We made to walk across a large open square and were halted by a young uniform who informed us that we could not go that way. We paused to consider this, and whilst we did this lots of individuals walked exactly the way we wanted to go and were not confronted. So we pressed on with our original route, and came to closed barrier with just enough room to squeeze through - which many people were doing. we started to go through until the arrival of the young uniform who told us again that something was happening and that we could not go this way.

We started to return, only then to be told by another young uniform that we could not go that way. Clearly in Russia the 'Lenin hand' does not know what the 'Stalin hand' is doing. We left these too toy soldiers (or toy police - I don't know which) to look extremely stupid all by themselves and just carried on as though we had never met them! What point is there in such regulation?

Anyway we then headed to the Metro and made for Red Square, but this was a very nervous underground trip for me and I really couldn't take in the special nature of Moscow’s Metro system. On arrival at Red Square Juris and I managed to lose the rest of the party which I found quite exasperating. But Juris did manage to phone our guide and as they were still by the Eternal Flame we regrouped quickly.


Red Square was something of a disappointment, particularly so because they had erected some giant metallic stadium within in for a public event and this ruined all views. Public spaces such as this should NEVER be filled with anything except tourists with cameras.

We beat a retreat to some square with a giant monument in Victory Park that commemorated the 1382days of the second World War, and took some refreshment. I also used a plastic portaloo at the extortionate price of 20Rubbles (about 40pence). There was no seat, and no way of washing hands, and I know EXACTLY what Russian poo looks like.

We have been stuck in one of Moscow's infamous gridlocks for about an hour whilst I typed this. The schedule for the rest of this day is make for the border and Novgorod and home. I am ready to leave Russia now, but I can definitely say that this has been quite an extraordinary journey in so many many different ways.

02:20hrs we are forced to park up on the gravel verge as a passenger side rear wheel is punctured and totally destroyed. Given the state of these roads it is surprising that tyres last more than a week or so. Some of us remain inside the vehicle, some meander around on the verge watching the relentless convoy of ill-disciplined trucks heading hard for St Petersburg in the black night. The road is a vile 3-lane section, sometimes giving the extra lane to our side and sometimes to the other side.

04:45 we pause at a Hypermarket on the edge of Novgorod. We will stay here until 07:00 and sleep until public transport awakens and can take us to visit Novgorod. No WiFi in this car park, so I cannot transmit from here.

07:00 we begin a tour of Novgorod Kremlin lately being spruced up for its 1150 Anniversary. Russia started in Novgorod.

At 13:30 we head home, a long drive on not very good roads, but we are promised a meal break just before the Russian border. But it doesn't happen (the meal I mean, not the border) and our starving souls are given a rebate instead of hot food.

Then the border, and only one hour to clear it this time, but once again we had to march off the bus with our luggage and it was so well inspected that when the guy checked our passports in his kiosk he could not know how many bags we carried or what colour it was. And the stupid fact is that we left as much stuff in the minibus as we carried into the building. Hundreds of carrier bags with shopping, clothes, gifts, food .... all completely unchecked.

22:30 reach Flat in Riga. Phew !

I am left with lots of positive feelings about this holiday, even though a lot of what I have written here may seem critical. The British LIKE to criticise, rather than to praise. This trip was very very arduous, but it never pretended to be otherwise. It was also full of interest and excitement. I am glad to have had the privilege.

I don't know whether I will stay under the Red Flag (actually it's now Red White and Blue) again, but I would encourage others to consider coming to this giant country, though consider it most carefully first.

Museum of Stone (Музей рукотворного камня) at Alexandrov (Александров). Attached to the institute of synthetic crystals, where Quartz, Diamonds and other precious stones were industrially created. The shabbiness of the buildings and potholed and puddled roads and paths is typical of Russia today. Terrible Residence. Tsar Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV Grozny) lived here from 1564-1581 within the walls of Assumption convent (Успенский монастырь) at Alexandrov (Александров) Ivan Infanticide. Il'ya Repin's historical portrait (1885) Ivan IV killed his son. Photographed in Alexandrovskaya sloboda Red Square, Moscow. The stepped square building in front with the black band is Lenin's Tomb, MacCartney's Tomb has not yet been built. Red Square, Moscow

From Russia [a PICASA album by RedSimon]