Chilling Out (And Getting Sweaty!) in Finland...

Sorry for the delay...have got wrapped up in Olympic excitement! Just wanted to share a few pictures from Kaipianen, the hometown of our great friend, Paavo. Who knew that when we met Paavo and Yussi in Cambodia last February, we'd end up meeting again in their home country just over a year later? That has to be one of the best aspects of travelling- keeping in touch with like-minded travelling friends.

The Finns certainly know how to chill out; Paavo had a sauna in his back garden. Upon learning that saunas were a Finnish invention, I asked if every Finn owned a sauna.
'Stupid question-' said Oli, Paavo's neighbour, '- of course they do!'
It was great to learn how a sauna should be taken; here's a quick lesson. You step into a sauna that's set between 65 and 80 degrees celsius; any hotter is uncomfortable and dangerous. After around 5-10 minutes of opening your skin pores, you step out and pour cold water over yourself to wash off the dirt that has been sweated out (lovely image, eh?). Then, you step outside into the fresh Finnish air and let it seep into your newly cleansed pores, taking in the beautiful forested scenery around you (that last bit is a bit more tricky in England, I think). The result? You feel like a new person, ready to take on anything...or drink a Kaaf beer!

In fact, the whole vibe of Paavo's place was relaxed, from his village- with one shop and one bar- to his uber-modern interior decor, to his home-made wood-burning BBQ. On the latter, we cooked elk surprisingly tasty with minimal seasonings! The barbecued rainbow trout was not only one of the culinary highlights of Finland, but our whole trip...we're still talking about it now! Paavo's also inspired us to grow our own fruits, vegetables and herbs when we get our own place; he grew chillis, oranges, oregano, cherries, beans, and much more that I can't remember! That's before you even get to the berries growing naturally in the forest- redberries, blueberries, raspberries...basically, it's a foodie's paradise!

Our Finnish adventure wasn't all lazing in saunas and cooking delicious food. We also went on a road trip around the local forest, courtesy of Oli. Of course, no road trip is complete without a few beers- and these ones even had names! After 'just-in-case' beers came 'road-trip' beers, which were nice predecessors to the 'sauna' beers later! Paavo and Oli took us to a few hunting and nature-watching huts that they had built, giving a great view of the local scenery...and wildlife! We saw an osprey nest on top of a bare tree that Paavo and his dad had helped to maintain for many years. Five minutes later, we even saw the little white osprey himself!

Anyway, that's enough from me; I think the pictures say it all. Thank you Paavo- and Jussi, our other Finnish friend who we shared a few beers and vodkas with- for such a relaxing end to our epic trip- definitely one of the most memorable times. Can't wait for you guys to visit us in London- or to travel back to Finland for more beers and saunas!

Pounding the elk pre-BBQ.

Oli and Patrick.

 

Cloud-berries- almost exclusively found in Finland.

Paavo and Patrick at a local lake.

 

'FKK' is apparently the international code for nudist beach...a joke sign painted be somebody!

We kept our clothes on, don't worry...

Inside one of the hunting huts.

Looking for the osprey nest.

There it is!

 

Post road-trip beer at the local bar.

 

Getting sweaty in the sauna!

Outside of the sauna.

Last picture before we said goodbye!

St Petersburg: Culture At Every Turn- Except The Theatre...

St. Petersburg...our final stop in Russia, and the most European-feeling yet. All my high street favourites crop up here: River Island, H&M, Oasis, Monsoon...even Marks and Spencers! For all my non-British friends- trust me, you can't really get more British than M&S.

Anyway, a few words on St. Petersburg's main attractions. The main street, Nevsky Prospect, is a monster of a road...it just goes on and on and on. However, just taking a stroll down it is sightseeing in itself, with all the pastel-coloured, opulent 19th century buildings that crop up along the street. Kazan Cathedral in particular was beautifully grand; we were lucky enough to have lunch in a cafe that provided prime viewing of the building in all it's splendour. Also alongside the street, enthusiastic tour guides (probably- I speak niet Ruske, after all) reminded me of those I often see in London, complete with double-decker sightseeing buses.

The star attraction in St. P has to be the State Hetmitage museum, set in the cool mint-tinged Winter Palace. After politely declining to have our photo taken with a Russian lady dressed as a sexy soldier (even though she insisted that she took 'very pretty picture'), we headed inside...with no queues! The entrance itself is spectacular, with golden-gilded ceilings and a red-carpeted, grand staircase. There were tour groups galore around the palace, especially in the 19th century Russian living quarters and modern art sections (though the latter was a delight- more in a mo). But we managed to find a haven in the Gorden Horde section on the bottom floor, which showed relics from the Volga-Bulgarians and Mongolians.



As you can tell from my last blog post, I'm always excited to see works from my favourite artists. Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso...all those paintings I had to copy when studying Cubism in Year 9, actually there in the flesh! Pretty overwelming.

There was so much in the Hermitage that we didn't have the time- or energy- to see...exhibitions on Ancient Egypt, Japanese art and culture, 19th century European art, and so much more. If you want an all-encompassing experience of European 'culture', both past and present, all in one setting- and a beautiful one at that- then this is the place.

I know I spoke of going to the Mariinsky Theatre while we were here, to experience some real Russian theatre. The plan was to get to the theatre around 7pm tonight, 23rd July, and see if there were any cheap tickets to the current production of 'My Fair Lady', then grab a nice meal at Sadko, a recommended restaurant, afterwards. Flawless, right? Not quite...we kind of forgot that closing night was last night, and therefore the theatre was completely and utterly closed tonight. In fact, it was boarded up, and people were removing stage furnishings when we got there. Ah well, we could still fulfill the second part of the evening by heading to the highly recommended restaurant, Sadko. Trouble was, there was a predecessor that was pretty difficult to contend with...

 The appetizer at our fave St. Petersburg restaurannt- cheese, cheese and more cheese!

Last night, we discovered our undisputed favourite restaurant of the trip. I think it's called the 'Buffet Cafe'- but please don't let that put you off. Wanting something a little less catered to tourists, we wandered into a side street off Nevsky Prospect, and discovered a gem of a place. Only five tables and a vast array of black-and-white photographs greeted us as we tentatively walked in- but one look at the menu told us we'd made the right choice. Sadly, I would have to indefinitely wait for the 'Rabbit "Just You Wait"' dish; instead, I chose the scrumptous-sounding 'Trout with Walnuts', and Patrick chose 'Chicken Goudgeon in Garlic Sauce'. Both lived up to our expectations, and were preceded nicely by 'Herring with vodka'- a dish I have seen on various Russian menus, and wanted to try for a while. It's now or never, right?



Speaking of favourites, here are a few more favourites of our Trans-Siberian trip:

PATRICK AND JEN'S FAVOURITE...

...BORSH: It may have been an obscure hotel, but the borsh at Hotel Variant was undoubtedly the best of the trip... we couldn't find any that compared to the sumptuous homemade flavours in the Variant's borsch.
...RUSSIAN BEER: Without a doubt, Baltika number 3..or number 8, the wheat beer.
...CITY: After much discussion, Vladivostok was our face- the gorgeous weather and the aniticipaton of the forthcoming trip probably helped. Kazan and St. Petersburg follow pretty closely behind.
...TRAIN RIDE: It was a long one, but our 68 hour journey from Irkutsk to Kazan also provided the most fun, courtesy of Bulat and friends, as well as a fair bit of vodka!
...TRAIN FOOD: Probably not my cheesy chicken ketchup salad. Maybe Patrick's 'solyanka'- a soup with smoked meats.
...RUSSIAN SAYING: Still has to be 'stop stop stop stop stop...shut up' from random drunk ex-army guy on Chita to Ulan-Ude train.
...FISH: Omul, the Baikal fish that's related to the salmon... salty and delicious.
...MEAT: Provably the Mongolian lamb (or beef?) barbecued kebab we had in Ulaanbaatar.

So, spasiba Russia- you really have exceeded all of our expectations. On the whole, your hard expressions betray your loyalty and friendly nature. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we cross the border into Finland and head to Kouvola to see our Finnish friends, then...London's calling!

Tottering Around Mockba...

...quite literally. Patrick and I did a little shopping yesterday at Okhotny Ryad, one of Moscow's major malls. Now, I'm not usually a shoe person, but in preparation for our posh meal that evening at Cafe Pushkin, I thought some ridiculous high heels would do nicely. I think the ladies of Moscow gave me far too much confidence with their effortless shimmies down the streets in their high heels! After an eternity wearing flip-flops, my legs and feet didn't know what had hit 'em. One word of warning for stiletto-loving ladies: Moscow's metro stations are not well designed for high heels. Especially on a rainy day. Who would have thought it, eh? Ah well, my calves are feeling much better for it this morning.

Enough about that...a mall is a mall is a mall, after all. Time to describe Moscow's more unique qualities. I saw a great website where the writer describes Moscow restaurants in one sentence...and I'm going to shamelessly copy his idea, but with all the sights we've seen, and places we've been. Alright, you all know I'm a waffler...I'll try and describe each place in 3 sentences or less.

SIGHTS WE'VE SEEN...

St Basil's Cathedral: Straight out of a fairy-tale...or Disneyland, I can't decide. Looks like it is made from sherbet, peppermint and gingerbread.

Red Square: The surrounding buildings are ornate and beautiful, but I think it's best if you spin to every corner, and try to imagine the rioters, protesters and infamous Russian leaders that once stood where you now stand.

Lenin's Mauseleum: Though Lenin was flattened and waxy, I was more creeped-out by the statue-like guard in every corner who only came to life to shush people.

New Tretykov Gallery: One of the best modern art galleries I've been to. Too exciting to see Kandinsky paintings in the flesh... and discover new Russian artists such as Natalia Goncharova. Strangely difficult to find...at first glance, looks like a dilapidated building with barbed wire and a scrapyard in front.

Kremlin: Queues, queues, queues- and an angry cloakroom woman (why are they always so angry?). It felt like a university campus, just with gold topped cathedrals where Tsars were crowned and buried instead of lecture halls. The biggest bell in the world lies within the Kremlin's walls; disappointing that it never actually rang though.

The hourly changing of the guard just outside the Kremlin.

Just managed one pic before this strict Russian guard moved me along!

 Fancy-pants photography.

PLACES WE'VE BEEN...

Capital Hostel: Great location- close to tube and vast array of bars/restaurants. Not many people- nice and chilled atmosphere (i.e antithesis of Golden Gobi, as much as I loved that place).

GUM: I thought this was one of the Red Square's 19th century government buildings until I stepped inside. A decadently decorated mall just filled with natural light, expensive clothes and food and very beautiful people.

Rock Vegas: Sounds like an American bar, yet trying to look like a British pub. As a result, it's distinctly Russian- even despite the French music channels.

Bar BQ- 80s music videos on the TV screens couldn't quite distract us from our unexpectedly delicious meals. Very forward-thinking...we tapped our order into an iPad that was sent to the bar and kitchen. Is this the future?

Cafe Biskotti: Bloody good omelette.

Cafe Pushkin: As we sat next to a tall cabinet of dusty, leather-bound books, and the harpist and flautist began to play, I felt as though I'd been transported to a more decadent era. Wine prices were a little shocking, but my tomato-and-herbs stuffed salmon with shrimp dumplings was delicious. Nice touch making the salmon into the shape of a shrimp's body, complete with real shrimp's head at one end, and fan-tail mange-tout at the other end (yes, I'm easily impressed).

Shop and Bar Denis Simachev: If this place were a dance move, it would be a cool head bop, carefully surveying the dance floor with one arm propped up at the bar. In other words, exuding a cool and swagger that effortlessly draws wannabe-trendies in. The kind of place that installs a fake toilet system on the tiled booth walls, complete with drunken 'inspirational' scribblings from past patrons.

Ostrovsky Restaurant: Great carbonara- even better than Vang Vieng's (long running private joke). Finally fulfilled my bizarre month-long hankering for a chicken Kiev...and it was delicious. Not even the chatty tour group next to us could put us off the fantastic food; the latter's quality was definitely on a par with Cafe Pushkin's, for a quarter (or less) of the price.

Moscow: Culturally rich and effortlessly trendy city. Offers something of quality for everybody.

We've just arrived into St. Petersburg on our final overnight, and plaskart, train experience. The train was the most modern so far...real toilets, that you can use even when the train has stopped! Truly exciting stuff. In the next few days, we'll mainly be trying to soak up some culture, and hopefully catch a Russian musical in the Mariinsky theatre, St Petersburg's most renouned. Looks like I might have to refine my lady-like swagger in those stilettos...