Stuff plus trip to Minsk, Belarus

In June, we were invited to the residence of the Swedish Attaché - Jan and Liljana. It was a BBQ, so we were really looking forward to it since we are unable to BBQ here in our apartment. Craig absolutely pigged out on steak.... we haven't found tasty steaks in the grocery stores here, so he's asked our hosts where they purchased it. The BBQ was a Swedish Midsummer Party which included team games. It started off with a shot of vodka before the games began. Then we were all lined up in our teams - I was ready with the potatoe on my spoon and the spoon in my mouth and when the whistle blew, I took off like a rocket....and immediately pulled a muscle in my calf. I kept going and did the other games (darn competitive streak) and then sat down and had a few drinks. By the end of the night, I was limping out and unfortunately couldn't walk (or leave apartment) for three whole days! Not fun, but I'm back to 100%.

Speaking of steaks, we recently went out to Chicago Prime restaurant here in Moscow and I had one of THE best steaks ever! It was Angus beef (apparently they ship the cows from the US) and it was bacon-wrapped filet Mignon.... so yummy along with crab mashed potatoes with whole chunks of crab! Hmmmm....This was a going away diner for Dominic/Mary, Aaron/Tina. Their time in Moscow has, unfortunately, come to an end. We didn't have much time with them here, but it was wonderful meeting them and spending some time with them. Farewell to you guys and all the best back in Canada!

Dominic & Mary

Aaron & Tina

June 24th Craig and I attended the first AFOA lunch. It's like my AFOSA group, but this one is Air Force Attachés and their spouses and the attachés organize it. This particular one was organized by the Mexican Attaché and so it was held at the Mexican Club Restaurant. It was a fun time with great food and even a little dancing to a mariachi band! They started off with a traditional Mexican dancer in costume for us, which was wonderful!

This was Craig's first AFOA meeting, so they have a little fun thing they do.... all the new guys race to take off their current ties and put on their new matching AFOA ties (how cute). Craig was last of the three! Oh honey! 

Great mariachi band!

Daniella (from Romania) and I snuck in a pose behind the band... too bad it's a little blurry.

June 25th I went back to Kolomenskoe Park. The first time I went with Cynthia and we didn't feel like walking to the Great Wooden Palace 2.5 km's away. This time, I went with Liljana (from Sweden) and we felt up for a long walk so we managed to find the palace and paid to go inside and to take pictures (It's usually two separate fees - in churches, museums, castles, etc. One for entry fee and one fee if you want to take pictures...which of course, I do). We did a quick tour of the palace and then took a detour back (through the forest and a graveyard and down and up a big staircase from the big gully - we were a little lost, but managed to find our way out). We had "business lunch" at a little cafe nearby and then popped on the metro back home. It was a lovely day.

Great Wooden Kolomenskoe Palace

An intricately carved bed within the palace

Entrance to wooden palace - Liljana

A "Banya" within the palace - note the branches - their used to whip others, seriously!

June 26th - I went for a mani/pedi for the first time here with neighbours Helen and Shirly. It was Shirly's first time EVER! We enjoyed ourselves....the two services are done at the same time. Thank you ladies...it was fun!

Shirly's first time ever! What a good sport and neighbour!

Who doesn't love to be pampered???

Helen, the instigator - and also awesome neighbour!

June 29th I had my first haircut here. Thank you Helen for the recommendation! I had brought this little printed blurb (in Russian) just in case I wasn't able to communicate what I wanted, but as it turned out, between my Russian and a little hand gesturing, she did a great job and I will be happy to go back. Unlike the salon at the end of our street ($500/haircut), my haircut was only $50!

June 30th we left for Minsk, Belarus. Where's that you say????



Why you say???? Minsk is the capital of Belarus. It is a cultural city with many museums and theaters. It's a bit like Moscow with the Stalinist architecture, but it's got more of a laid back feel than Moscow. It's not so hectic. During the German-Soviet War, Minsk became a major centre against the invasion and was also one of the largest Nazi-run ghettos in WW2, temporarily housing over 100,000 Jews. It is bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. We went there because Craig, in his position as Deputy Canadian Military Attaché is accredited to Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Once a year he will visit each of these countries as a Canadian representative. Together, we enjoyed touring around and sampling the food.... see picture
and we were also fortunate to have been invited to a show/concert to commemorate their Independence Day celebrations. It started off with a 30 minute speech from the President of Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko) followed by lots of traditional and not so traditional singers and dancers, musicians and acrobats. Anna, I thought of you with these celebrations as I imagine some of the costumes and dancing styles would be similar to that in Poland.

Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary - 1710

"The Pub" - that's quite the death stare by the other patron!

Bronze statue outside the Church of Saints Simon and Helena - or "Red Church" - opened 1910

My handsome soldier (and I) going to the concert/show at the Palace of the Republic

President of Belarus giving speech

The costumes were gorgeous!

How do they do that? He made it look so fun and easy!

A good look at some of the costumes

We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Minsk and it was a good location and they had a good breakfast. We treated ourselves to a massage at the hotel the night before we left and it was very similar to the massage I had in Argentina where they massage your stomach and all around your chest! She even was kinda in my butt crack! lol Luckily my massage was first, before Craig's!! lol  (for those of you who know Craig well, you will understand what I mean!). Do they not have king-sized beds in Europe? They had two single beds together in Minsk, but then the comforter was only a queen, so it didn't reach either side of the bed. They also seem to just have a comforter and no top sheet. Always interesting to see the differences in other countries! Next stop, Stockholm, Sweden and my friend Liljana and her husband will be in Stockholm when we are there so they are going to show us around a bit. What a great way to see the city - with locals!

Moscow River Cruise and Romania

Every year, about this time, the hot water is shut off throughout the city of Moscow for maintenance. Those of us lucky enough to have a water heater are still able to enjoy hot showers, but without one, people do not have hot water for a couple of weeks a year for showers, laundry or dishes. It hasn't been a problem for us, thankfully, because we do have a heater, but it only provides hot water for the two showers. We use the kettle for hot water to wash dishes.Today we shut off the water heater and went back to city water, but we had to run the water for a while because it was brown from the old pipes. Lovely....... can't be good for ya.

Speaking of kettles, that reminds me of this delicious, sweet "tea" they serve here. There are various kinds, but they aren't made of tea leaves, but rather fruits and spices and usually mint leaves too. Even Craig likes them! I think I'll try making them at home.

Monday was the last AFASA (Spouses Association) meeting until Fall and we cruised along the Moscow River. It was a gorgeous day and the boat was full with our group and all the food everyone had prepared for the pot luck! Imagine what a pot luck would be like with approx. 40 women from around the world??? Africa, Korea, Japan, Thailand, USA, Egypt, India, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Germany, Belgium, etc. It was a guessing game of what the items were, but I was adventurous and tried lots of interesting items! The cruise lasted 3 hours total and it went by really fast. Although I have only known some of these women a month or so, it was sad to be saying good-bye to those who are leaving this summer. They are a unique, interesting and friendly group and I look forward to becoming friends with them.

We sailed by the Kremlin, which includes the Grand Palace - a must see inside!

A look at just some of the food

We enjoyed our evening at the Japanese Forces Day event at the Japanese Embassy. I am so thankful that I have the ladies from AFASA to chat with at these events. We talk about the different places to travel in each others countries and about the unique cultural differences. Below is a picture of some of us ladies who gathered together representing Japan (in Kimonos), Thailand, North Korea, India, Slovenia, Egypt, Germany and Canada.

We just returned from our very first trip outside of Russia - to Romania! Who does that? Goes to Romania for a long weekend? Apparently we do now! We are still amazed by that!

Most people from Canada get a ride to the airport or take a taxi, but in Moscow, we take the metro to the train station to the airport! Even getting to our flight is an adventure! I love how there is a line for "Diplomats Only", but in Russia, that's just a suggestion, not a rule. It worked well in Romania, however. We were out of the airport in record time because we only had carry-on luggage. We arrived, checked into our hotel and immediately headed out to catch the free walking tour. Our hotel, Hotel Christina, was a cute little boutique hotel that had a massage chair, an excellent free breakfast and adjustable beds.

Our guide for the free city walking tour, Andrew, was pretty comical and made the tour that much more enjoyable. We started off in Unirii Square Park and from there wandered through the maze of cobblestone pedestrian streets seeing more than 500 years of history from the times of Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula) to the era of communism and the 1989 Revolution. Highlights of tour included:

Stavropoleos Convent

1. The Stavropoleos Convent - an adorable little church in the middle of the maze of pedestrian streets. I wish we had gone inside because it has a gorgeous courtyard.

2. The ruins of Vlad the Impaler's Citadel (below). Vlad's story is an interesting one...Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476/77), was a member of the House of Drăculești. He is also known by his patronymic name (Vlad) Drăculea. His father was Vlad II Dracul. He was named Vlad the Impaler because he impaled his enemies and displayed them. His reputation spread across Europe and he was widely feared. Because he protected the Romanians, he is known as a hero despite his excessive cruelty. The name of the vampire, Count Dracula, in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula" was inspired by Vlad.

The ruins of Vlad's Citadel

Church next to ruins of Vlad's Citadel (I cannot recall name of Church)

Savings Bank Palace

3. The Savings Bank Palace (left) - An iconic building designed by a French architect (French influence was strong back in 1897). It one day will become a museum.

Side of Palace of Parliament

4. The Palace of the Parliament - it is the 2nd largest building in the world (next to the Pentagon). We walked all the way to this beautiful building (on our own) to take a tour only to find out that the large bus tours had monopolized the tour times and we were unable to take the tour and unable to tour the building on our own. It is strictly enforced and I recommend anyone wanting to see this palace make reservations ahead of time.

Top view of Palace

5. Our awesome tour guide, Andrew, pointed out Caru' cu Bere (The Beer Cart) on the tour and we enjoyed our last evening there for dinner. It is one of the oldest taverns in Bucharest (pronounced Bucharesht) dating back from 1879. It's a very lively place on a Saturday night in the Old City pedestrian area and there is even dancing inside where patrons are dragged from their seats to dance. We sat out on the patio, but it is gorgeous inside. The patio area is great, but the awning really takes away from the beauty of the building. This is a photo from inside, but I didn't capture the ceiling...Here's another picture from the internet that does. The outside is equally as gorgeous, but you can't get a good picture of it.

Caru' cu Bere (The Beer Cart) Restaurant

 

Peleș Castle/Palace -
inauguration held in 1883

Our second day was a 12-hour tour! We left the bustling city (population close to 2 million) and headed to the Carpathian mountain area to see some castles! First stop, just outside of a quaint ski town of Sinaia, was Peleș ("Pelish") Castle inhabited by Kings and Queens. As you can see, it's huge and it's gorgeous! We loved it! It is very decadent and a pleasure to view with its intricate woodwork and decor. The woodwork really is amazing. Craig was impressed by the collection of arms and armor (over 4000 pieces)! There was so much for the eye to take in! I couldn't choose just a couple of photos, it was just too amazing!

I still haven't quite figured out how to neatly post pictures, so bare with me. Below are pictures of both castles. Bran Castle was more of a fortress to hold back the enemy so it had practical portions like really thick walls, holes for canons, etc. An amazing day spent with our guide, Christina.

Brasov was the last stop on our tour - a Medival town, but we were tired by this point and didn't have much touring left in us. Still, it was an adorable place. Minus the Gypsy lady who wouldn't leave me alone.
.

Check out the woodwork detail!

Arms Room

Very cool armor!

The library. It came complete with a secret staircase not seen here.

The dining room

The men's relaxation room.

Incredible!

Our lunch in Bran - near Bran Castle - Hmmmm...meat

You can just see Bran Castle in the background

Merchants selling their wares

Mountain Town of Brasov - our last stop on the 12-hour tour