I haven’t been able to figure out how to summarize the trip. In one word, I think “awesome” would summarize it pretty nicely. Russia is an amazing country. The United States goes back 300 years, while the city of Moscow alone goes back 860 years! The country is HUGE too.

It is easy to write about it, or look at pictures of Russia. But to actually go there, smell the air, and experience life, it is something else. I think for everything that is good about Russia, you can find the negative. It is still a tough place to live, in my opinion, although it does appear to be getting better. The trip allowed me to meet Masha, Olessia’s sister, as well as see where Masha and Olessia grew up and lived. I also saw where Olessia went to school, where she used to work, as well as where her mom and dad used to work and where her mom works currently. I experienced travel by road, boat, train, and metro (the subway).

Olessia’s mom cooked for us often. I tasted Russian ice cream and can say it is really good, so good in fact, I could see it being worth while eating outside in the cold of winter (which Russians do). It was a real treat to be able to go to Saint Petersburg as well as make it to the air show (the air show runs only once every two years). We ran out of time before we could see or do everything we wanted. This just means we’ll have to go back some time.

Pictures are available. I’ll try to narrate them here. Each album in the gallery is one day. So the first album is day one, the next album is day two, and so on.

Day 1 – Leaving Cleveland and Arriving in Moscow – Saturday, August 18th, 2007

The weather was warm in Cleveland with clear skies. I had been following the weather in Cleveland as well as the weather in Moscow. Moscow, at times, was actually warmer than Cleveland! In the pictures, you can see we are loading up and getting ready to go. The airport picture is in the terminal at Hopkins. We had a short (and a bit bumpy) flight to JFK. The flight was kind of fun since it followed 480 west bound to 77 and I was able to spot Rockside and several other local land marks. I didn’t see our house since the plane was flying too far south.

The flight from JFK to Moscow was long and it didn’t help we lost a bit of time due to a medical emergency on board. We had an unscheduled stop in Boston to drop the sick passenger off. The flight out was about 8 hours of flying time, not counting the Boston stop (or the time to get to New York from Cleveland).

We made it through security in JFK and Moscow without any problems. Olessia’s mom picked us up and brought us home to Dubna.

Day 2 – First Day in Dubna – Monday, August 20th, 2007

Rob’s first full day in Russia! We started out with breakfast and a tour of Olessia’s mom’s home. We took a taxi to Olessia’s mom’s work. From there, we made some copies of my passport and I a few minutes to hop on the internet to let people know we arrived safely. From the office, we went to the police station so I could be registered. Olessia’s mom took care of this and we waited in the park. Later, we went to Olessia’s school and walked around the neighborhood. At one point, we stopped at the local cell phone store and got a SIM card for my phone. Getting it to work for voice calls was easy and painless. Getting it to work with data and text messages was more difficult with the instructions being in Russian.

Day 3 – Moscow, Red Square, Around Town – Tuesday, August 21st, 2007

Our goal for today was Red Square and the Kremlin. We first had to take a bus to get to the Dubna train station. Then take a train from Dubna to Moscow, which took about two hours. Once in Moscow, Olessia navigated the maze that makes up the Metro. We popped out in an alley that led to Red Square. I’ve seen Red Square on TV and in pictures, but to stand in Red Square, to feel the breeze, to smell the smells, to witness the beauty of the square and its buildings, it was breath taking. We walked around the square from one end to the other and back. It was toasty out, probably in the low 90F range and rather humid. We stopped at Kilometer Zero and made a wish, then moved on towards the Kremlin. We didn’t actually go into the Kremlin as it had a pretty healthy line, required storing our gear, and it was rather hot out. We opted to walk around some more and find food. We headed over to the first McDonalds to open in Russia (opened in 1990). The food was tasty. Of course, the fries and Coke tasted just like home. My double cheeseburger was very good and tasted a little different than home. We hung out for a bit to cool off and watch the Russians. It was fun to note how there’s not many tables and people will sit down with complete strangers to eat their meals. After a bit, I decided I’d try ordering another medium Coke, by myself. Luckily, Coca-Cola is universally known so I was able to speak that, but I didn’t know the word for “medium”. So I asked for a medium Coca-Cola and the girl looked at me funny. She recognized I spoke English and I wanted a Coke, but she couldn’t figure out the size. Luckily for me, the guy next to me had ordered a medium of something so I pointed to his cup to let her know the size. We cooled off a bit inside, we decided to go outside in Pushkin’s square and hang out there. There were lots and lots of people out and about. It was fun to watch different styles of fashion. At this point, we had Olessia’s mom and her driver come pick us up. They arrived and the driver gave us a quick tour of downtown Moscow. We then went to Sheremetyevo 1 to pick up Olessia’s sister, Masha. The airport was being renovated and the parts that were open were very nice. Much more spacious and modern then Sheremetyevo 2. Word is Sheremetyevo 1 will open for international travel.

Day 4 – Exploring Dubna – Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

We spent this day relaxing and catching our breath from all the travel (our day in Moscow wore us out). It was a chance for everyone to catch up and spend time with Masha. That evening Olessia took me around town and to the Moscow Sea.

Day 5 – Around downtown Moscow – Thursday, August 23rd, 2007

Olessia’s mom had to return a kitchen sink and the store was near downtown Moscow. All of us piled into the Focus and set out for Downtown. We went to Pushkin’s Museum which had most of its galleries closed due to renovation (much like the Cleveland Art Museum has its galleries closed due to its renovation). The Pushkin’s Museum did have a gallery open and it was on 300 years of American invention. It was a large collection of paintings from America during the 300 years it has been around. Masha seemed to enjoy it and Olessia and I had fun. We found a work by an artist who works out of Columbus, Ohio. We had previously seen his work before, although not the painting on display in Moscow. Afterwards, we toured more of Moscow, saw the TV tower, the KGB building, and parts of the Kremlin. We then stopped at a home improvement store so Olessia’s mom could return her kitchen sink. We were so warn out from the day we decided to sit and watch the shoppers check out. Around about this day, I figured out how to access the internet from my phone. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized how the billing system fully worked, and not only used all my rubles on data, but managed to get a negative balance in rubles!

Day 6 – At Home in Dubna – Friday, August 24th, 2007

Here we recouped from the previous day’s adventures. The time was spent at Olessia’s mom’s home. Olessia and her mom had gone out shopping. While they were gone, Masha asked me to take pictures of her in her new dress. The cute part about this was how she asked. In a little bit of English and some hand motions, I quickly understood what she was looking for.

Day 7 – MAKS Air Show – Saturday, August 25th, 2007

We had to be up bright and early to go to the air show. This was about the earliest we had gotten up so far, some time around 4am. Our ride was supposed to pick us up around 5:30am but was a little late. Instead of Olessia’s mom’s chauffeur, with the Ford Focus, we had another driver who had a minivan. Olessia’s mom tried very hard to get her regular chauffeur to take us, but he had to harvest potatoes this weekend. The minivan had so much more room for all of us that it was a nice change. The trip took six hours! We encountered a LOT of traffic. Plus, the show wouldn’t let people park until a certain time so everyone was outing out on the road. We entered the parking lot, which was a grass field adjacent to an old runway, and military guards pulled each vehicle over and did a quick vehicle inspection. These were not guys you mess around with. Then we parked and got in line to the bus. Problem here is they had more guards who whittled the line down to single file and hand-inspected all bags. I got stopped and my camera bag was the subject of this inspection. The problem here is I didn’t speak Russian and I didn’t understand what the guard was telling me. On top of that, Olessia was already moving through another line and she was able to keep an eye on me, but she wasn’t able to be there to translate. My goal here was to try not to give up my identity as being a foreigner as that will just lead to more questioning, more delays, and more hassle. My mind raced as I tried to anticipate the guard’s requests. I opened the bag and showed him the contents. He asked something. Then he asked again and pointed. I saw he was pointing at my tripod (it’s a Gorilla Pod and looks pretty funky). I tried to pull it out, but the bugger was wedged in the bag, I tried to work it free. But this was taking too long and the guard got a little frustrated with me holding up the line and told me something while pointing and pulling me forwards in the line. I took this as a “we are done” signal and moved along. Whew! We took a 15 minute bus ride over to the air show. The show was likely sold out as we didn’t see any where to go to buy tickets. We got into a huge line, which wasn’t so much a line as a crowd of people. The goal here seemed to be to keep moving forward and closer to the entrance of the show. We did, although a ticket taker stopped me and spoke some Russian. Olessia was there and the instruction was I had to move to another line since I had a bag. This line was longer and slower moving, although a bit more organized. As we got closer, you could see an armed guard controlling each queue, then another couple guards and an x-ray machine. They took only one person at a time. Yikes! I studied the flow carefully and Olessia and I formulated a plan. I would go first so Olessia could keep an eye on me. If there were any visual signs of problems, she would explain the situation to the first guard and hope he would let her in to help me out. My instructions from Olessia, for all encounters with Russians, especially armed ones, was to not say a word and look Russian. I made it through without a problem and no questions asked. Whew! We were at the show! To think this was the forth or fifth day of this show, and to see so many people there, and a flight schedule which starts at 10am and goes till at least 9pm at night, was jaw-dropping amazing! There were all sorts of Russian aircraft there. Aircraft I never thought I would see in person was there. The flight demonstrations were awesome. The day we were there had mostly Russian’s schedule for flight demonstrations, so I saw a lot of Migs and Sukhoi aircraft. A surprise to me was to see an F-15 demonstration. We eventually took a break and got some hotdogs. Olessia’s mom found a patch of grass and lay down with her umbrella. She assumed this position for the five hours we were at the show. While getting hotdogs, a Russian guy came up to me and asked me something. I had to get Olessia involved. It turned out he wanted to get a hat like mine and wanted to know if I had gotten it at the show. After lunch, we walked around the static aircraft displays. Several of the aircraft were open to walk in to, but the lines and the waiting was pretty long. We walked and walked. We got to the end, and realized we hadn’t seen any of the manufacture booths setup inside the hangers! There just wasn’t enough time to do that so we headed back to Olessia’s mom and Masha. We left the show some time after 3pm. We were exhausted. The heat (it was in the low 90F’s) and all the walking wore me and Olessia out.

Day 8 – Downtown Moscow, Train to St. Petersburg – Sunday, August 26th, 2007

Things are becoming familiar to me now. We started the day by walking to the bus stop. We had a short wait and then hopped on the bus. We took it for about 20 minutes and got off a little before the train station. We walked over to the station and waited for the train. We were going first class this time. In first class, four people share a table and the TVs actually show videos (we watched an American film dubbed in Russian). We had taken a similar train earlier in the trip. This one felt more relaxing, maybe because I was familiar with the surroundings. Across from us were a mom, her daughter, and their Siamese cat. The cat was cute and wanted to roam around. After an hour on the train, it gave up and started to nap a bit. The train takes about two hours to get to downtown Moscow. We arrived and started exploring more of downtown. Olessia navigated us through more Metros. We popped out to surface in the area where Olessia lived when she lived in downtown. In fact, we stopped by the building where her she had an apartment for two years which had been Fyodor Dostoevsky’s at one time. Now, the building has a McDonald’s on the ground floor. We had dinner at a local sports bar (soccer was the sport of choice that evening). We then set out to do more exploring. Eventually we settled for a drink and desert on one of the famous tourist strips. There are a lot of souvenir shops on this street, along with people making a buck by selling artwork or doing tricks. It was fun to leisurely browse around. We then went off to view the front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. It is quit an impressive building to view in person, very majestic and grand. After shooting some pictures, we escaped underground to catch the Metro. Olessia navigated us through the maze of Metro stations to get us to the train station we needed for St. Petersburg. Olessia and her mom spent much time researching all the train options. Olessia settled on a first class ticket on this particular train, which left around 10pm or so and would arrive in St. Petersburg around 6am. She had everything timed just right so when we arrived in St. Petersburg, the Metro there would be operating and we could enjoy a full day of touristy activities. The first class car was numbered number 9. Apparently this first class car is always numbered number 9, even during Soviet times (Olessia said jokes are even made of the #9 car). She had ridden in it before with her mom back in the early nineties. It turned out the car was decorated as it was during Soviet times. It was very comfortable and roomy. After the excitement wore off, we went to bed. When we woke up, we were in St. Petersburg.

Day 9 – St. Petersburg, Apartment, Bus Tour – Monday, August 27th, 2007

The big concern was finding the apartment we would be staying in and to get there on time. We had to wait a couple hours in the train station. It was much colder in St. Petersburg. Everyone had bundled up (we had our jackets too). We waited inside, on cold wood benches. It wasn’t much fun. We ventured out into the cold and after navigating another Metro; we popped out and walked a block or two. We found the apartment without problems. It was a beautiful place with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a closet with just a toilet, a living room and dining room, and a kitchen. The place was roomy and nicely decked out. We napped for a little bit to regain our energy. Then we ventured out. We walked a good part of Nevsky Prospect, enjoying the architecture and sites. It was a work day and a lot of people were out and about on the street. Of course, there were a lot of tour operators out too and we found a bus tour which looked good. They took us around the city to some of the major sites. At the end, we continued trekking towards the Hermitage. We knew it was too late in the day to go in, but figured we would try to find it and the place to stand in line so we could be ready for tomorrow. Turns out, the Hermitage is closed on Mondays. That’s ok; we weren’t planning on going in. It was hard to convey this to the Russian stranger Olessia had asked directions from (it turned out we were a half block from Hermitage and just needed to turn a corner!). The square was as impressive as the Red Square in Moscow. It is rather powerful to stand in the square and think about all the history that has taken place on it. The architecture is beautiful too. After soaking in the site of the Hermitage and the square, we headed back. We stopped at a Sushi place for dinner and then headed back to the apartment. The apartment was probably about 2 kilometers from the Hermitage, or about a 20 minute walk. The location couldn’t have been any better.

Day 10 – St. Petersburg, Hermitage, Peterhof – Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

Olessia was telling me it could be a zoo at the Hermitage. We arrived at the square to find a line that went from the building almost out to the center of the square. Luckily, we don’t have to wait too long to get in, but there we had to fight another line to get tickets. Olessia worked her Russian magic and scored tickets for the two of us in no time. The Hermitage is HUGE. To think we only visited one building out of three, and of that one building we visited, we spent about 5 hours in it and only saw HALF of what was on display! Amazing. And what we saw was even more amazing. We saw paintings and artwork by all the big names. I’m sure I saw works I’ve only seen in textbooks. Not only where the works on display impressive, the rooms they were in were equally as grand. The only reason we left was because we were worn out and getting hungry. We exited to find a pair of girls with a bear cub! The bear was from the circus. We moved on to the other side of the Hermitage since there was a boat ride available to Peterhof. We were thinking to go the next day, but decided since we were here, we might try today. The weather was a bit iffy and we weren’t sure if the weather would be any better the next day. So off we went. Again, I had to look and behave like a Russian so Olessia could get the tickets at native prices (and I’m surprised I some how managed to blend in). It was about a 20 minute ride to Peterhof, which is where Peter the Great had his palace/home. The landscaping here was something to see. Everything was in its place, with a beautiful canal running from the palace to the Golf of Finland. There was a lot of gold used throughout, in the fountains, and the buildings. We wanted to go into the palace, but it is closed every last Tuesday of the month for cleaning. So we walked around the grounds and took in the sites. In several hours, we managed to cover only a half of Peter’s backyard! We figured Wednesday we could return if we wanted to. We took the boat back. On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at Yolki Palki’s for dinner. It is a fun restaurant which captures Russian dining and culture. Later that evening, I ventured out with Olessia into the slight drizzle to get some night shots of St. Petersburg. It has a particular look during the day and really lights up at night.

Day 11 – St. Petersburg, Last Day – Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

We were worn out! We ended up sleeping in and resting for a good part of the day. Around noon we finally were presentable enough to venture out. Of all places, we went to McDonald’s. It was too late for breakfast so we had lunch. Olessia had a Big Tasty as they call it, and it was bigger than the Cheeseburger Royal (which is a quarter pounder with cheese, over here). It was a cheap meal which filled us up and restored our energy. We returned to the apartment to get some more rest. Later in the afternoon, I channel flipped while Olessia was getting ready for the train. I discovered a station which was airing older Russian cartoons. It was perfect timing for me to catch Vinnie-the-Pooh! I called Olessia over and she confirmed what I found was actually Vinnie-the-Pooh. They also aired several cartoons after it which was Olessia’s childhood favorites. Some time later, we trekked off to the train station. We found an easier way which didn’t involve the Metro. We spent some time at the train station and ran across quite a selection of Lays potato chips. They had chips that came in crab flavor! The train ride back to Moscow was similar to our trip to St. Petersburg. We traveled first class in the same car.

Day 12 – Train back to Moscow, Dubna, Karaoke – Thursday, August 30th, 2007

We arrived back in Moscow. Instead of waiting a couple hours to catch a 2 hour train, Olessia found a bus that goes to Dubna. The concern was if the bus would have enough room. Olessia’s skills in navigating a Russian line came into play and she was able to secure a seat for me. Eventually I made it on. I think there was a person who wasn’t able to go since there wasn’t enough room. About two hours later, we were back in Dubna. Today we didn’t have any set plans. We shared the pictures we took in St. Petersburg with Olessia’s family. Olessia caught word from Masha that their mom was looking for a DVD player. We had brought a DVD containing our wedding pictures and a CD as a gift from my dad and his wife. But Olessia’s mom had no way to enjoy them. So Olessia and I went off looking for a DVD player. We found one which also included speakers and it seemed like a good balance of price and features. We brought it back home and snuck it in. It was a surprise for after dinner. The surprise went over great. The karaoke feature was an added bonus and Olessia’s mom and sister had plenty of fun with it.

Day 13 – Dubna, Vulga-Dubna river split, cemetery, Lenin, DVDs, public alcohol consumption – Friday, August 31st, 2007

Today we had a little bit of access to Olessia’s mom’s chauffeur. He was available for about two hours which we used to go souvenir shopping and some other errands. Masha found a linen store and stocked up on some supplies for her new place in Irkutsk, Siberia. We found a nice little shop which sold Russian Matryoshka (nesting) dolls. Based on the number of dolls we purchased, along with a couple other goodies, I think we made the shop lady’s day. The driver took us to a spot where the Volga and Dubna rivers split. Olessia says the city of Dubna started around this split and archeological evidence shows early tribes settling here. Near here was a Russian Orthodox Church. This was the first church in Dubna. It was also the church Masha was married in 1991. The church was locked. We saw the priest run out and into a waiting car. We had also passed a horse ranch which is pretty prestigious. Any dignitaries who are in Dubna and wish to ride a horse are directed to this ranch. The driver returned us home and we went back out shopping for additional supplies and goodies. We stopped at a couple local health shops to find supplies for Masha. We later regrouped with the driver and Olessia’s mom and went to Olessia’s father’s and grandmother’s graves. Olessia’s grandmother didn’t have a headstone yet since it is customary to wait a year or so for the ground to settle before placing the stone. As we entered the cemetery, a dog and cat had greeted us. The cat followed us all the way around and back and seemed to be begging for attention. The cemetery seemed to be located in the woods, where there were a lot of trees and shade. It felt like you were returning to nature. Many many headstones had a picture of the deceased. Each plot is maintained by the deceased family. Some plots were well kept and others were grown over. It was a powerful place to walk though. On the way home, we stopped at Europe’s tallest statue of Lenin. Across from Lenin used to be Stalin and the two would stair at each other over the canal. Some time ago, the Stalin was removed. The driver dropped us off at some shops and we went in to get some DVDs. After a bit, Olessia and Masha went off to a jewelry store. The DVDs were something else. Word was if the package was shrink-wrapped, then it was a licensed copy. A lot of the DVDs were not shrink-wrapped. Because copyrights are not a big deal, what was neat was they offer DVDs with a collection of movies from various famous actors. For example, if you like Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, you could get the DVD with his face on it and 8 or so movies he was in. They were likely in DIVX format and compressed down a bit. I found a movie for Olessia’s mom and she found several Russian ones. We purchased them and returned to the jewelry shop for a bit. Afterwards, we returned home and trained Olessia’s mom on how to use the DVD player.

Day 14 – Dubna, Souvenirs, at the market, Dachas – Saturday, September 1st, 2007

This was an exciting day to be in Moscow. September first is always the first day of class for all students in Russia. This goes for university/college, high school, and below. Also, and even more exciting, its Moscow’s 860 anniversary! The city of Moscow has been around for eight-hundred and sixty years. Sure, there are other cities in Russia that are older. But eight-hundred and sixty is still very impressive. We started the day out by wrapping up our souvenir shopping. Olessia was looking for her favorite jeweler. We discovered a pet shop instead, which was fun. Since it was the first day of school, when we walked around the city, we could find school kids dressed for school. We stopped at a local market to pick up some supplies. The variety was very interesting. There appears to be a strong entrepreneurship spirit in the people. You could buy shoes, fresh fish, veggies, toilet paper, and other household items here. It is all outdoors. We had to be careful with the time because we had to be at Olessia’s mom’s best friend’s summer house (dacha). When we went, we walked past the hot water plant as well as the garage Olessia’s parents would keep their car. To get to the dachas, we had to walk through some woods. These woods were made up mostly of birch trees which looked really beautiful. It is difficult for pictures to do them justice. The ground around the trees had been dug up and the top soil removed. It turns out the locals dig up the top soil in the woods and bring it back to their dachas. You have to be careful walking through the woods since the top soil is missing and the tree roots are exposed. Once through the woods, we popped out into a neighborhood of small summer houses. These are buildings which most people have built them selves, on a spot of land, similar in size to the land our house is on. They use the land to garden and grow veggies or whatever they please. The houses tend to have a first and second floor. They have electricity, but no plumbing or heat. Olessia demonstrated how one handles the need of going to the bathroom when you are out at your dacha (hint: it involves bushes). We enjoyed a homemade dinner at the best friend’s house. Some gifts were exchanged. Olessia’s mom got me a fur hat! After dinner and drink, we headed off to Olessia’s mom’s dacha. Turns out Olessia and her father built a good portion of it. Olessia’s mom has been busy either replanting or getting the soil ready for replanting. Olessia’s mom also put us to work, collecting all the fallen apples. Olessia’s mom has several apple trees, along with a collection of flowers and veggies. To me, it was a real treat to come out to see and enjoy the summer houses. I had learned a little bit about them in my Russian class. It was a bit of a walk back to Olessia’s mom’s home, which was spent chatting and looking at everyone else’s summer homes.

Day 15 – Last day in Moscow – Sunday, September 2nd, 2007

We had been starting to pack on Friday and Saturday. The trick was figuring out how to get everything home. Olessia decided to keep some of her clothes behind. And I only needed one suitcase for my clothes. We had so many souvenirs though. We managed to distribute the clothes and souvenirs between the 3 suitcases in an attempt not to break anything (mission almost accomplished – a wood piece got chipped and a porcelain piece broke). For carry-on, I carried the samovar in our large carry-on bag, wrapped in clothes, with a couple other souvenirs. Everything was packed. By request, I took a picture of Masha, Olessia’s mom, and Olessia sitting on the couch. Olessia says this is a tradition for long journeys. We went to Sheremetyevo 2 airport to catch our flight. It looked like we would be running late. It turned out our plane was running late as well. It was held up in New York with a medical emergency, much like how our flight to Moscow worked. We had quite a wait. A guy I was standing next to was from the USA and we had chatted a little bit. He pointed over to the next couple standing next to him and mentioned that it was David Blaine (the magician guy). Eh, it sort of looked like him, ok. The plane arrived, we boarded, and this time we were sitting next to each other. We had a nice roomy exit row, which was nice, but it was right next to the bathroom, which was not so nice (“ew” on the smell). The flight home was about 12 hours and we arrived at JFK an hour late. We exited the terminal and found a guy holding a sing for David Blaine. Huh. I guess he really was on our flight. We had several hours for our lay over, but at JFK, it is hard to switch terminals in a timely manner. We had some running around to do and got ourselves checked in (it turns out the Continental agent was looking for us). We arrived and it turns out our plane was running late! It wasn’t clear how much time we had and if we could get something to snack on or go to the bathroom. So we’re both pretty hungry and I had to go the bathroom (I thought I might be able to hold it to Cleveland, but found that wasn’t the case). We got on the plane and it was only 5 of us total. Because of this, we had to sit in the back so add more weight there for the plane to take off. We also had a bit of a delay; they hadn’t loaded our luggage (it was held up over some international customs’ issues). Luggage got loaded and life was good. The flight went smoothly (more so than the flight from Cleveland to New York a few weeks earlier). We gorged ourselves on peanuts and pretzels (it was our dinner). The stewardess was cool and understood our hunger and loaded our tray table with snacks. We arrived in Cleveland, got our luggage, and hitched a ride with Amy.