Packing Week in Moscow

I'm grateful that we are provided with packers and movers. Very grateful. Our furniture has lived in more countries that most people! It's still a stressful couple of days. Darron has been going back and forth between Moscow and Kiev-and is now in Kiev for good.That translates into--I'm on my own for packing week. I spent a few days placing post-it notes on certain items so the movers would know where to place everything on the truck. Some had "на хранение" which means it was going into storage, and others had "нет" which simply means no-those items belong to the landlord. Everything else they were told was going to our new apartment in Kiev. I had to hide my 2 suitcases I was taking to Moscow on the balcony so they wouldn't get packed! The movers didn't speak a lick of English. Once the packing started, I basically sat at the kitchen table and prayed they didn't have any questions I couldn't answer with my mad charade skills! Luckily we still had internet and cable service so I was able to keep myself entertained while I frequently went room to room to check on everyone. These chuvaks (dude in Russian) are speedy! They all start in different rooms, so anything I would need to use to make lunch was quickly wrapped, boxed, and taped! I was staying at the Marriott downtown since all our bed linens were all packed up quickly. We only had one mishap. The last morning the packers arrived, they just came by to "clean up" and carry any last large items to the truck. They had zilcho packing materials with them. That's when I noticed Darron's expensive speakers still in the living room! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! After several phone calls to the moving company, I found out some of our stuff in Moscow storage had water damage which would delay the transport of our stuff. SCORE! The moving guys were able to come back the next morning and pack up the speakers. Thankful for that little mistake on my part! Next up--living at the Radisson Hotel until our shipment arrives in approximately 2-3 weeks!

Storage Item

Hallway of Bedrooms

Boxes and Boxes of Tape!

Packing Chuvak

 

Second LookSee In Kiev

Darron was already living in Kiev, and coming to Moscow for weekends when he could. My first looksee trip wasn’t successful, so I went back to see Darron,and to hopefully secure an apartment. This time we did find an apartment, and much to Darron's delight, it's directly behind his office! No work commute… which equals less crabby husband! We have two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, small office area, and a small storage room. Plus some fancy schmancy lighting. Here is our apartment on Saksaganskogo street!

Our  Living Room

(landlord did provide us with a sweet plasma HD tv)

Our Kitchen

Our Bedroom

Big Bathroom

(with ginormous non-jacuzzi tub)

Small Bathroom with shower

(and hillbilly toilet seat taped down)

Walk-In Closet

Fancy Schmancy Chandelier In Living Room

First LookSee In Kiev

I was excited to see Kiev! Several of my expat friends had traveled there and really enjoyed it. Of course, visiting somewhere is quite different than living there. I traveled to Kiev for the first time on my own. I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel which was quite fancy. It was January 30, and it was mo fo cold. And I do mean mo fo! Despite the cold and a lot of walking outside, my first impression was very positive. The Christmas (celebrated January 7th) decorations were still up and the city was bright! Everyone was nice. Possibly less smelly men. Even though there were NO Starbucks, I soon found some great coffee cafes that were A-Okay! I also learned quickly how much smaller Kiev is than Moscow, and how much easier it is to get around. I had a few days with an apartment relator and driver looking at many different places. I have just a couple of pictures of the main downtown street, "Kreshatik" all lit up for Christmas. I knew Kiev was going to be okay.

DME airport bombing

Was very saddened by the news today of another suicide bombing. This time it was at the arrivals hall of DME airport. I am praying for those who lost their lives, their families, and those who were injured. I am so thankful that no one I know was hurt. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12268662

Red, White, and Blue….not anymore!

I realized the other day that all three countries we have lived have a flag with “red, white, and blue” colors. Not so in Ukraine! 

US Flag. (I bet you already knew that!)

French Flag

Russian Flag

Ukraine Flag

A modern interpretation of the meaning of the colors used in the Ukrainian flag is that the color blue represents the color of the sky, and yellow symbolizes the lush golden wheat fields of this country.

Please follow our journey as we move to…

KIEV! We are moving to Kiev, Ukriane! I was a little disappointed at first, as I really was hoping for Sweden, Belgium..somewhere much more west…not next door! BUT, as I have done my research, I have been getting excited and am looking very forward to our experience there! I have already contacted the women’s group. Another bonus-  one of the British expats here in Moscow lived there and she has been giving me lots of pointers! The plan is for me to go sometime end of January/early Feburary to look for apartments. Who’s going to be our first visitor?

This map gives you a better idea of where Kiev and The Ukraine are in relation to other European cities…

The plan is for us to move sometime before the end of March!

Krakow Poland, November 12th-15th 2010

Darron and I had been wanting to go to Krakow and we finally made it happen. We LOVED Krakow! Such a charming city with friendly people.

Starting our descent into Krakow!

The day we arrived, we just walked around the center and had some awesome perogies for dinner! Damn they were good! I miss them.

Our first full day we went on a trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. A World Heritage Site. Very interesting!

I wasn’t supposed to take pictures inside, but I quickly took this one of the last supper in pure salt. It was pretty amazing. I’m such a bad ass for sneaking this picture in. Maybe I shouldn’t say bad ass right after a religious piece of art…

After returning from our salt mine tour, we took a stroll to Krakow’s central square (called Rynek Glowny) which is the largest of medieval Europe. We really lucked out with the weather. The first picture I took off the internet because I liked it and isn’t that what the internet is for? The other two pics I did take.

“From its beginnings, the Market Square was the commercial and social heart of Cracow. It was an emporium of the Black Sea trade, and a spring-board for Poland's links with the West. Besides this, it was a place of festivals and public gatherings.” (from crakow-life.com)

I know the buildings look slightly crooked in this picture. They are not. Maybe I was.

The Cloth Hall

“The Cloth Hall, as its name suggests, was once a main focus of Cracow's trade. Merchants would meet here and discuss the state of business, whilst inside a lively bartering went on.

Today it may be slippers and one or two more tourist-oriented items that are on sale, but its wooden stalls maintain the hum of business as it was in earlier times.” (crakow-life.com)

Bazlika Mariacka-St. Mary’s Basilica

We took a short detour off the Rynek Glowny as I was on the hunt for specific Polish pottery. One of the expat ladies here has this amazing set of  Polish pottery tea cups and saucers. The name is Boleslawiec Pottery, and I was all about finding a piece or two. Now that I cook, I enjoy finding serving bowls and platters from places all over the world. Here’s the two pieces we bought. Score!

 

Our second full day we took a tour to Aushwitz. What a gut wrenching experience. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the atmosphere was solemn. The pictures will never be able to do justice to the horrific acts that happened there.

Auschwitz I has the famous gate in which prisoners would walk through to and from work, it said:  ARBEIT MACHT FREI, which means “work will set you free”. It was a sarcastic sense of humor that was used for the duration of the war.

This is where the camp orchestra assembled to play marches while  the prisoners filed past. This was to keep the prisoners in step and to make it easier to count them as they went to and from work.

Before the war began, Auschwitz was actually a Polish Military Base consisting of 20 buildings and during its occupation by the Germans, 8 more buildings were built by prisoners. A second Aushwitz, Birkenau, was built a mere 3 kilometers away which was 20 times bigger.

The belongings of the arrivals had to be sorted. Suitcases were sorted along with eye glasses, face creams, shoes, hair brushes, etc… 

The Shoes

 

Birkenau was the largest concentration camp in all of WW2.

Each day, more then 6,000 Jews arrived. 75% were put directly to their deaths within the first 2 hours they arrived. Those who were chosen to stay were shaved, bathed, clothed and sent to work. They worked long hours, slept crammed in uncomfortable beds, could only use the bathroom 2 times a day and had a caloric intake of about 1500 calories a day. Most of them died if they did not have a way to get extra food, due to their exhaustion and starvation.

The beds

The Toilets

                                 Memorial on the Tracks

On a happier note, Darron having a ginormous beer at lunch before we head back to the airport.

Halloween in Moscow

Halloween in Russia is less of a dress your kid up cute holiday, and more of an adult night club holiday. Yes, they do dress up. And by “they” I mean adults. Sexy Nurses, Sexy Politicians, Vampires, etc. It’s also a stay out all night kind of night. There’s no trick-or-treating either! I’m not saying I haven’t been to a few adult Halloween parties, but the focus in the US is still on the kids. Not so much here.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I LOVED trick-or-treating as a kid and miss seeing the little ones dress up these days. My neighbors and I would all trick-or-treat together with our moms. Afterwards, everyone would come back to my house for hot chocolate and the “candy swapping”. My dad would put some scary ass nylon over his face to scare the kids as he passed out candy.

Below is an article about Halloween in Moscow:

http://themoscownews.com/arts/20101025/188153122.html

Jenn to London (Oct. 10-19th)

Darron was supposed to head to Indonesia (trip was cancelled) and then Germany for work. We decided these weren’t good work trips for me to go along, so I decided to take my own trip—back to London! I heart London. I am thankful to Erin & Kevin for putting up with me again!

We did some unique things this trip. We went to a reading of the 6 shortlisted authors for the Man Booker Prize. We saw GREASE the musical..and we went on the London Beatles tour…our tour guide was very interesting and clearly LOVED the Beatles. He may have been slightly stalkerish. If you look VERY closely, you’ll notice the lining of his jacket is the Beatles.

 

Erin sporting a Beatles shirt

34 Montagu Square where Ringo lived. When he moved, he kept the apartment, but loaned it to friends over the years. Most notably Jimi Hendrix and John & Yoko. This is where John & Yoko were busted for drugs in 1968.

Yes-Erin even had a Beatles shirt for me to wear too!

Abbey Road studios

Me walking the famous crosswalk. Cars don’t stop so it’s pretty much like playing human frogger. Luckily my BRIGHT pink shirt was easy to spot!

We always try and do some trip when I visit Erin. Last March we went to Scotland for two nights. This time we decided to just do day trips. Hever castle-here we come!

We missed our stop because the train doors wouldn’t open. We were cracking up at the train station called COWDEN. I know you can’t see but it does say COWDEN on that white sign. Nobody was there-completely deserted! We had to wait for the train heading the other way. Isn't it the best to laugh at things that ordinarily wouldn’t be that funny?

This time Erin was NOT taking any chances. If you know Erin, she does NOT like to be late or miss stops. It makes her a bit, um, crabby. So, on the way back, she sat by the door with her hand on the button!

We were a little hesitant when we realized this was the path to get to Hever Castle. It wasn’t marked well at all. And It certainly wasn’t a very tourist friendly path. We climbed over anyway and walked through the mud!

Erin did not like this path. Nor was she a fan of the sheep pasture on the other side of the fence. She REALLY didn’t like me talking to the sheep!

We made it! Grounds of Hever Castle

Hever Castle-the childhood home of Anne Boleyn

Water Maze. FUN. Even for a 30 something year old! You walked on all these concrete planks, never knowing when they were going to spray! Erin opted out and decided to be my photographer.

Just made it past that splash!

Made it to the top! Just a little bit wet…

Pretty flowers in the garden

 

 

Notice the sign. Erin is NOT a rule follower! She’s quite the rebel.

For our second day trip, we decided to go to Rye in the southeast of England…and Erin’s husband was able to join us! Rye is a quaint little village and we had a great day walking just walking around. Of course, we had lunch and then stopped for a spot of tea! 

“Perched on a hill, overlooking the River Rother and Romney Marsh, this ancient town is the sort of place you thought existed only in your imagination.
With enchanting cobbled streets, medieval church and beautifully preserved historic houses from medieval, Tudor and Georgian times, Rye is almost suspended in time and has a uniquely unhurried atmosphere” (www.visitrye.co.uk)

Loved the cobblestone paths!

Loved that the homes had fun names! This one was “the house with two front doors” and the second was “The House Opposite”. We had fun making up names for what our houses would be called if we lived there. Some winners were…”home of the coffee addict” (Erin) and “home of the picky eater” (Me). “Home of the Never Late-Always Ridiculously Early Wife” (Kevin).  “Home of the chapstick addict” (Kevin)

 

Climbing to the top of a church with Erin’s husband Kevin. I can’t remember the name of it. So deal with it.

Saw these cows on a little walk we took. We named them oreo cows!

We saw this on our way out and were praying it WASN’T a restaurant. It was. But it was closed. Thank God, because I was NOT eating there.

Erin and I on a bus the night before I was leaving…

Thank you AGAIN Erin and Kevin for having me! I always have such a great time! P.S. I’ll be back.