Ok so I finally got to Sortavala on Saturday. It is billed as a gem of Finnish architecture (it was on the other side of the border before the war) and as most Finnish towns are a collection of non descript white concrete boxes near a lake I thought I would take a look. I left at 7.15 and arrived at 13.30, the bus was clearly having gearbox trouble and took pot holed B roads the whole way so not the fastest journey, but the countryside was stunning (a few photos to post later). I also got to use the first drop toilet I have seen since I was last in Russia and I reccomend they are best used when the weather is cold not hot.
Anyway I got their at 13.30 and had a ticket to return at 16.00 which didn't leave a lot of time for lunch and sight seeing and the plan was to amend the return ticket, but I soon discovered that the town consisted of a load of white concrete boxes near a lake and I decided that two and a half hours were quite enough.
Sadly the return bus was not available as it had a problem with the gear box but I was given a replacement ticket for a "gazelle bus" which makes the journey in only two and a half hours. I had a walk in the woods for two hours as something to do before getting on the minibus and we set off. Soon it bacame clear that the reason this bus took three and a half hours less is that although it followed almost the same route but without a couple of detours the driver drives like an absolute nutter and doesnt worry about driving straight into / over the numerous potholes or stopping for comfort breaks.
I got back home with a headache from where my head had been banging againgst the roof of the bus. The morale of this story is that in Russia it is often better to travel slowly than to arrive.
PS My mum informs me that Ceps are a wild mushroom - so now you know.
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Friday 25 July 2008
Sun Sand and Glamour
First of all in reply to your question Andy, Reindeer meat tastes very like beef, but I prefer reindeer, it is just a little bit liver like which doesnt sound like a great reccomendation but you will have to try it yourself. Also I am belly free for the first time in about 10 years so the diet here must have something going for it.
Anyway yet more excitement in petrozavodsk as we play host to the finals of the Miss Russia competition, which is held on the lakefront - thus justifying the name of my post. I am begining to feel like some of the russian is sinking in which is good and my trip to Sortavala (a pretty village west of here which used to be in Finland) is arranged for tommorow after I cocked up buying the tickets the weekend before.
Photo's of Sortavala to follow - I can see a Miss Russia website on the web with a presume pics of the contest and Petrozavodsk but the Universities computer system is blocking me from getting beyond the front page so I suggest you google it from home.
By the way I am also becoming increasingly tight with my money now I have tuned in to local prices, its interesting to see just how much athe price of something is dictated by wether its a luxury or not rather than the costs of production. Hence Chocolates and Coffee are much the same price as in the UK and I avoid them and tea and beer are dirt cheap, I am altering my expenditure accordingly and can now be seen in resteraunts and cafes doing maths under my breath before exclaiming something like "over a pound for a Cappuchino - not likely"
Anyway yet more excitement in petrozavodsk as we play host to the finals of the Miss Russia competition, which is held on the lakefront - thus justifying the name of my post. I am begining to feel like some of the russian is sinking in which is good and my trip to Sortavala (a pretty village west of here which used to be in Finland) is arranged for tommorow after I cocked up buying the tickets the weekend before.
Photo's of Sortavala to follow - I can see a Miss Russia website on the web with a presume pics of the contest and Petrozavodsk but the Universities computer system is blocking me from getting beyond the front page so I suggest you google it from home.
By the way I am also becoming increasingly tight with my money now I have tuned in to local prices, its interesting to see just how much athe price of something is dictated by wether its a luxury or not rather than the costs of production. Hence Chocolates and Coffee are much the same price as in the UK and I avoid them and tea and beer are dirt cheap, I am altering my expenditure accordingly and can now be seen in resteraunts and cafes doing maths under my breath before exclaiming something like "over a pound for a Cappuchino - not likely"
Saturday 19 July 2008
July Photos (so far)
All of the above are in Solomenoe
Wild flowers
This is the market at the (north) end of October Prospect. If you zoom in on the picture you will see that the tanker covered in silver foil is selling KBAC (pronounced Kvas) which is the popular summertime drink made from Rye flour, usually non alcoholic - Ive tried it and unless you buy it from the Karelian Resteraunt it tastes foul. Think of getting a can of ginger beer and then adding a few spoonfulls of soil and some lemon juice before drinking and you have the idea.
Traditional Karelian Dancing
Students from Korea
Birmingham Students
Outside the resteraunt the themeing continues with the re-creation of a village fance and sled.
Reindeer - its delicious
Rather pleased with my fish soup
More Pics from the first 4 weeks
Sunset looking back to Petrozavodsk
Peter the great saying "build me a city here to supply metal goods to St Petersburg, oh hello what do you do, have you done it a long time, really... and other royal things"
The trees at the front of my flat which is why I cant give you a better picture
Look closely - its the Russian Standard Bank, the same name brand and logo as the popular brand of vodka. Is it just me or would you refuse to invest your money in the Old Peculiar building society
No its not Kizhi - I went to an exhibition about a local man who has built a full scale version of the above near St Petersburg, I understand he has also built something (possibly with a viking theme) near Blackpool but I couldnt work out what.
The boat / hydrofoil to Kizhi
Thursday 17 July 2008
High Excitement in Petrozavodsk
Two things to say first of all - the Russian language menu from the Karelian resteraunt doesnt tie in with the English so your guess is as good as mine what Ceps are (one worries they are left overs from the Bear)
Secondly a great many roads in russia resemble Greenhead Park Tennis courts, which for those of you not familiar with Huddersfield they have more pot hole than original surface. So it was a bit strange that a lot of roads in Petrozavodsk were resurfaced in the past fortnight all forming a chain suggesting someone important might be driving through town.
Anyway by Monday everyone in town knew that President Medveded was visiting today and that is why everything was being spruced up. I have also been told by someone who knows someone who lives on the route he took that they had been told not to watch from upstairs windows as they could be shot as a sniper. Anyway he has been and gone and visited my University whilst he was here but the visit was remarkably low key no bunting, no schoolchildren with little flags and they only closed off the street half an hour before hand.
Sorry but their will definately not be any pictures, I asked one of the guards if I was allowed to take them and he very politely said no although the look on his face said "you crazy foreigner do you really think we will let you point things (even a camera) at the president". You might get some coverage in the Bearents observer - the link is on my first post.
Anyway thats it except to say that a second batch of students have left today to go back to Birmingham University - very nice but boy they made me feel old. One by the way was someone I had met 2 years ago in Huddersfield so we were a bit surprised to meet again here. Oh by the way I am doing some studying - I think I have finally got all the cases, reflexive verbs and the weird grammer around russian numbers but am still struggling with perfect and imperfect which as far as I can see have no logical pattern in Russian.
Secondly a great many roads in russia resemble Greenhead Park Tennis courts, which for those of you not familiar with Huddersfield they have more pot hole than original surface. So it was a bit strange that a lot of roads in Petrozavodsk were resurfaced in the past fortnight all forming a chain suggesting someone important might be driving through town.
Anyway by Monday everyone in town knew that President Medveded was visiting today and that is why everything was being spruced up. I have also been told by someone who knows someone who lives on the route he took that they had been told not to watch from upstairs windows as they could be shot as a sniper. Anyway he has been and gone and visited my University whilst he was here but the visit was remarkably low key no bunting, no schoolchildren with little flags and they only closed off the street half an hour before hand.
Sorry but their will definately not be any pictures, I asked one of the guards if I was allowed to take them and he very politely said no although the look on his face said "you crazy foreigner do you really think we will let you point things (even a camera) at the president". You might get some coverage in the Bearents observer - the link is on my first post.
Anyway thats it except to say that a second batch of students have left today to go back to Birmingham University - very nice but boy they made me feel old. One by the way was someone I had met 2 years ago in Huddersfield so we were a bit surprised to meet again here. Oh by the way I am doing some studying - I think I have finally got all the cases, reflexive verbs and the weird grammer around russian numbers but am still struggling with perfect and imperfect which as far as I can see have no logical pattern in Russian.
Sunday 13 July 2008
Wow its just like being in Tesco's
Ok so I have been doing nothing in particular, I rejected the University / travel companies kind offer of spending a day away on Valaam island for nearly 100 pound - which given that no food or accomodation involved means 100 pound for a coach journey and ferry - am investigating going their next weekend under my own steam.
Whilst doing the above I went on google maps, if you tried to look up petrozavodsk previously you got a brown smudge but it is now a very nice picture. My house is on the East side of Anokhina (just south of Ulitsa Lenina - the main street) where the two photo images join, hence my house kind of appears twice if a little out of focus.
Spent yesterday in Solomonoye to the north of town, nice walk through the woods and picnic and some lovely pictures of brightly painted wooden houses on slopes leading down to the lake, including some of cows in the street. Petrozavodsk is a very modern western city (in a quaint Harrogate esque sort of way) so it was a bit strange to walk to somewhere in 2 and a bit hours that feels like we were in 1908 rather than 2008.
In reply to your post Andy, I have my shoe off as I say this, Nyet, Nyet, Nyet.
Anyway Tescos dont seem to have got here just yet but I think the big Russian chain Sigma is so similar it is disturbing, most of the details of life here are still different from the UK but a walked around Sigma thinking I was in Seacroft center, only when they played No more heroes after Leo Sayer on the piped music did it begin to feel incongrous, oh and they have a big tank of live fish for you to choose from near the exit as well that was a bit different. Lenta by the way (for any supermarket anoraks) is their version of Kwiksave and the Finnish company Stockmans to fill the Beatties / House of frazer niche - but sadly Petrozavodsk doesnt have one yet.
Weather incredibly warm, my Russian is still awfull, but having a great time.
Whilst doing the above I went on google maps, if you tried to look up petrozavodsk previously you got a brown smudge but it is now a very nice picture. My house is on the East side of Anokhina (just south of Ulitsa Lenina - the main street) where the two photo images join, hence my house kind of appears twice if a little out of focus.
Spent yesterday in Solomonoye to the north of town, nice walk through the woods and picnic and some lovely pictures of brightly painted wooden houses on slopes leading down to the lake, including some of cows in the street. Petrozavodsk is a very modern western city (in a quaint Harrogate esque sort of way) so it was a bit strange to walk to somewhere in 2 and a bit hours that feels like we were in 1908 rather than 2008.
In reply to your post Andy, I have my shoe off as I say this, Nyet, Nyet, Nyet.
Anyway Tescos dont seem to have got here just yet but I think the big Russian chain Sigma is so similar it is disturbing, most of the details of life here are still different from the UK but a walked around Sigma thinking I was in Seacroft center, only when they played No more heroes after Leo Sayer on the piped music did it begin to feel incongrous, oh and they have a big tank of live fish for you to choose from near the exit as well that was a bit different. Lenta by the way (for any supermarket anoraks) is their version of Kwiksave and the Finnish company Stockmans to fill the Beatties / House of frazer niche - but sadly Petrozavodsk doesnt have one yet.
Weather incredibly warm, my Russian is still awfull, but having a great time.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
More Food
Before I get onto the main topic I ought to mention Ive seen several new movies such as the incredible hulk and my moms new boyfriend and they have all been rubbish.
Ivetta my host had her birthday on Sunday so myself and her daughter Dasha went to Petrozavodsk fanciest resteraunt. Photos to follow...
Copy of menu in English below
http://gornica.ru/content/section/2/32/lang,english/
The food was very good - I had eaten Reindeer before (its very nice) and seen Elk on the menu but I decided to pass on the Bear as it felt like I was flirting with cannibalism. As with all the other resteraunts here it is themed to look like the place the food comes from so the room was made to feel like the inside of an old wooden house.
Oh I also ought to mention that I have just finished laughing at the football
Did they pronounce the russian player Djerk'off with the correct pronounciation on the BBC? and also do any of you know what Schweinsteiger's name means (not you Cate - you told me).
Ivetta my host had her birthday on Sunday so myself and her daughter Dasha went to Petrozavodsk fanciest resteraunt. Photos to follow...
Copy of menu in English below
http://gornica.ru/content/section/2/32/lang,english/
The food was very good - I had eaten Reindeer before (its very nice) and seen Elk on the menu but I decided to pass on the Bear as it felt like I was flirting with cannibalism. As with all the other resteraunts here it is themed to look like the place the food comes from so the room was made to feel like the inside of an old wooden house.
Oh I also ought to mention that I have just finished laughing at the football
Did they pronounce the russian player Djerk'off with the correct pronounciation on the BBC? and also do any of you know what Schweinsteiger's name means (not you Cate - you told me).
Thursday 3 July 2008
We have photos
The lake front in Petrozavodsk - its just like Brid on a sunny day
I have loads more pics in my camera but as this is killing my hosts bandwidth allowance I will stop here for now. Will annotate the pictures over the next few days
Dash the daughter of my host installing the new curtains (before they fell down 2 days later)
Its a steam engine
The first set of students depart along with locals going to do their national service (hence the flag)
The students
Veiw from a bridge in the town center
Kasha
View from Kizh Island (looks better if enlarged)
One of the two main churches on Kizhi
Its chucking it down and I cant get the person to line me up to one side of the church, the boat has just arrived - hence the crowds.
Our boat (hydrofoil) from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi
View from the lake front
Which English Man do I remind you of?
Well in a poll of two the most popular choice is apparently Hugh Grant - not because of my looks or any alledged use of prostitutes but because I bumble just like his characters (apparently).
I regret to report that my relationship with my hosts took a return for the worst last night when I criticised Russian Pizza. If I said to you that they responded by saying "does it have too much Mayonnaise on it" you will get the generall picture that it was rather an unusual Pizza. More generally by the way the food is very good - and I still havnt had Cabbage. I caused further alarm and distress by drawing the curtains in my room and finding that I had somehow removed the curtain rail from the plaster along with the curtains - cue my assertion that I had only had one bottle of Baltica number 6 (Its a Porter beer and very nice) and that it must have been loose before hand. I might buy some chocolates before I go home.
I regret to report that my relationship with my hosts took a return for the worst last night when I criticised Russian Pizza. If I said to you that they responded by saying "does it have too much Mayonnaise on it" you will get the generall picture that it was rather an unusual Pizza. More generally by the way the food is very good - and I still havnt had Cabbage. I caused further alarm and distress by drawing the curtains in my room and finding that I had somehow removed the curtain rail from the plaster along with the curtains - cue my assertion that I had only had one bottle of Baltica number 6 (Its a Porter beer and very nice) and that it must have been loose before hand. I might buy some chocolates before I go home.
Soviet Joke
Stalin, Khrushev and Brezhnev are on a train...
The train stops for no obvious reason and after 10 minutes Stalin stands up and gives an order "shoot the driver"
The train still does not move and another ten minutes pass before Khrushev stands up and gives an order "rehabilitate the driver"
The train still does not move and after a further 10 minutes Brezhnev stands up and gives an order "everyone close the blinds on the windows and pretend the train is moving"
I promise this will be my last intellectual / non funny joke on the blog.
The train stops for no obvious reason and after 10 minutes Stalin stands up and gives an order "shoot the driver"
The train still does not move and another ten minutes pass before Khrushev stands up and gives an order "rehabilitate the driver"
The train still does not move and after a further 10 minutes Brezhnev stands up and gives an order "everyone close the blinds on the windows and pretend the train is moving"
I promise this will be my last intellectual / non funny joke on the blog.
Wednesday 2 July 2008
End of the first 4 weeks
Ok so first of all let me apologise once again that their are no pictures, their are some belters in my camera but i spent 2 hours yesterday trying to get them out of my camera and on the computer and it just doesnt work. All I had to do at home was plug it in and away I went but here its no use. The photos you cant see include pictures of classmates, my accomodation, and a steam engine (sadly not in use but left by the side of the track by way of ornament.
Anyway my first 4 weeks were up last Friday which means that most of my classmates who were doinbg a 4 week course have left - to be replaced by dozens of new people from the University of Birmingham.
Apparently at the end of each 4 weeks we have to put on a show of singin dancing etc to the other students so I had to 'perform' as "Ivan the fool", "Unsuitable husband No 3" and sing Katyusha along with some other students. So I have 4 weeks to look forward to my next dose of ritual humiliation.
We had an excellent goodby party (brilliant photos sorry you cant see them, we discovered that Smokie are a really big band in Russia and my teacher looked at me aghast when I tried to jog her memory of the Smiths with a few song titles. Apparently calling your song "girlfriend in a Coma" is unlikely to translate well. TTFN
Anyway my first 4 weeks were up last Friday which means that most of my classmates who were doinbg a 4 week course have left - to be replaced by dozens of new people from the University of Birmingham.
Apparently at the end of each 4 weeks we have to put on a show of singin dancing etc to the other students so I had to 'perform' as "Ivan the fool", "Unsuitable husband No 3" and sing Katyusha along with some other students. So I have 4 weeks to look forward to my next dose of ritual humiliation.
We had an excellent goodby party (brilliant photos sorry you cant see them, we discovered that Smokie are a really big band in Russia and my teacher looked at me aghast when I tried to jog her memory of the Smiths with a few song titles. Apparently calling your song "girlfriend in a Coma" is unlikely to translate well. TTFN
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